Sioux City now has a state champion in girls basketball.
Jalyssa Ceasar helped Sioux City North get off to a
fast start with her sharp shooting and the top-ranked Stars went on to beat
defending champion Des Moines Roosevelt 71-57 to win the Class 4A title.
The championship caps a memorable 25-2 season for
North, which beat Cedar Rapids Washington when the Warriors were ranked No. 1
and also defeated the No. 1-ranked teams in Nebraska and South Dakota.
Ceasar led North with 25 points and nine rebounds
after going scoreless against West Des Moines Valley in the semifinals. The
5-foot-9 sophomore made eight of 12 shots and went 9-for-14 at the free throw
line.
Jacqui Kalin added 15 points and five assists for the
Stars, who jumped to an 8-0 lead and never trailed after taking a 17-16 lead at
the end of the first quarter. North's Likeisha Dotson finished with nine points
and eight rebounds and teammate Steph Robinson scored eight.
Charmaine Bell led Roosevelt (23-3) with 25 points and
was voted captain of the all-tournament team. Freshman Riley Norman added nine
points for the Roughriders, while MyKenya Johnson had seven points and 10
rebounds. Roosevelt's Emma Van Winkle contributed nine rebounds, five blocks,
five points and four assists.
Ceasar shot 5-for-7 and scored 17 points in helping
North build a 35-22 halftime lead. Bell then fueled a Roosevelt run to start
the second half.
The 5-foot-10 senior scored the first nine points of
the half and teammate Ashley Tindrell added a jump shot as Roosevelt cut the
lead to 35-33. North answered with an 8-0 run that Kalin capped with a
3-pointer, putting the Stars up 43-33.
The Stars never let Roosevelt get closer than seven
after that and secured the championship by making 16 of 18 free throws in the
final 4:07. North finished 34-for-46 at the line for the game.
Kalin, North's Tanaeya Worden and Roosevelt's Morgan
Hamner joined Bell on the all-tournament team. Also named were West Des Moines
Valley's Molly McClelland and Cedar Rapids Washington's Kaitlin Armstrong.