Top-ranked
Decorah showed its versatility in rolling into the Class 3A semifinals.
The Vikings got 22 points and 11 rebounds from
Northern Iowa recruit Rachel Madrigal and shot 52 percent in beating Keokuk
72-50. Samantha Jewell added 12 points for Decorah (25-0) and Bethany Van
Sloten added 11.
Decorah went 6-for-9 from 3-point range and also was
strong inside, outrebounding Keokuk 40-33 and outscoring the Chiefs 28-16 in
the paint.
Sophomore Ollie Vandenberg led Keokuk (16-9) with 17
points and Jami Letcher scored 12. Vandenberg made seven of 11 shots and added
five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Decorah used a 14-1 run in the first quarter to open a
16-3 lead and was in control the rest of the way. Van Sloten hit two 3-pointers
during that surge and Mallory Broderick made one. When Madrigal tossed in a
long 3 at the first-quarter buzzer, Decorah led 23-6.
Keokuk regrouped and got the deficit down to 39-27 at
halftime. But Decorah opened the second half with a 17-4 run to go up 56-31 and
the lead was 60-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Madrigal shot 6-for-11, blocked four shots and made
two steals. Letcher and Heather High each had four steals for Keokuk, which had
18 steals in all.
Decorah will play fourth-ranked Spirit Lake on
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Spirit Lake advanced with a 49-38 victory over Sioux City
Heelan.