MOUNT AYR 57, MARTENSDALE-ST. MARYS 48

Mount Ayr took down the No. 1 team and now has a chance to claim an even bigger prize.

Bailey Myer scored 22 points and No. 8 Mount Ayr avenged its only loss, beating top-ranked Martensdale-St. Marys 57-48 on Wednesday night to reach the Class 1A state championship game.

Mount Ayr, which had never won a state tournament game before this year, will take on second-ranked Exira in the title game at 6 o'clock Friday night.

Jensen Stewart added 18 points for Mount Ayr in a game that see-sawed back and forth until the Raiderettes pulled away in the final four minutes.

Mackenzie Morrison led Martensdale-St. Marys with 12 points and Carrie Wood added 11 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Martendsale-St. Marys beat Mount Ayr handily in the first meeting, winning 58-42 late in the regular season. But the Blue Devils never led by more than four points in this one and couldn't come up with the plays they needed down the stretch to regain the lead.

Mount Ayr was leading just 43-42 when it hit Martensdale-St. Marys with a quick flurry to open it up. Stewart made a layup after the Raiderettes broke the Blue Devils' press and Myer followed with a jumper. Myer then sank two free throws to make it 49-42 with 2:24 left, giving the Raiderettes the cushion they needed to pull off the upset.

Myer entered the state tournament with a modest 8.6 scoring average, but she's come up big at Wells Fargo Arena. She had 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals in a first-round victory over North Sentral Kossuth.

Martensdale-St. Marys finishes 26-2, its other loss coming to 2A state tournament semifinalist OA-BCIG. Mount Ayr and Martensdale-St. Marys both are young clubs, with each having just one senior.