Martensdale-St. Marys 57, Lynnville-Sully 32

Martensdale-St. Marys played its usual harassing defense and was rewarded with a trip to the Class 1A semifinals.

The top-ranked Blue Devils came up with 20 steals and held Lynnville-Sully to 10 field goals in a 57-32 first-round victory on Monday.

Sophomore Morgan Halverson led the Martensdale-St. Marys offense with 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including a 5-for-6 effort from 3-point range.

Sam Norris added 13 points and eight steals for the Blue Devils, while 6-foot-4 Mackenzie Morrison did her part inside with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Carrie Wood, the team's only senior, contributed six steals and two assists to the victory, which was the first for Martensdale-St. Marys in state tournament play.

The Blue Devils made the tournament for the first time last year and lost to Springville in the first round. Martensdale-St. Marys takes a 26-1 record into a semifinal game at 8 p.m.

Wednesday against eighth-ranked Mount Ayr, a team the Blue Devils beat 58-42 during the regular season.

Brianna James led Lynnville-Sully with eight points and Tara Van Rees scored seven. The Hawks, who made the tournament for the first time since winning the 1A championship in 1999, finish 18-7.

Lynnville-Sully kept pace with the Blue Devils early, then couldn't keep up once Halverson started connecting from long range. Halverson hit back-to-back 3s at the beginning of the second quarter, starting a 17-5 run that put her team in control.

Martensdale-St. Marys led 32-17 at halftime, then began the third quarter with a 10-1 burst that Halverson capped with another 3, stretching the lead to 42-18.