Top-ranked IKM is on its way back to the Class 1A championship game.

The Hawks capitalized on their height inside to earn a 59-44 semifinal victory over a scrappy Lawton-Bronson team.

One time it was 6-foot-2 Nelia Olson scoring for the defending champions. Another time it was 6-5 Stephany Scheuring or 6-3 Katie Schechinger.

Olson finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six steals. Scheuring had 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks, while Schechinger added 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Alyssa Brockhaus led Lawton-Bronson with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Brooke Williams scored 12 for the Tigers.

IKM takes a 26-1 record into Friday night's championship game against Graettinger-Terril, which beat WCLT 45-41 in overtime in the other semifinal.

Lawton-Bronson (20-6) played IKM closer than anyone except Class 3A state tournament qualifier Sioux City Heelan. Heelan beat IKM 51-49 early in the season and lost to the Hawks 70-62 in late January.

Lawton-Bronson kept hanging around until IKM finally put it out of reach midway through the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run that stretched the lead to 57-39.

The Hawks finished that spurt with a nice high-low play that ended with Scheuring feeding Schechinger for a layup. They had reversed roles in the previous possession, when Schechinger got the ball in the high post and passed to Scheuring on the low block for a basket.