The Mississippi Valley Conference is filling up the semifinal bracket in Class 4A.

Fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington became the third MVC team in the semis when it outran defending state champion Sioux City North in a 75-63 first-round victory.

Washington moves into the 2:30 p.m. slot on Friday with a 21-2 record. MVC rivals Iowa City High and Marion Linn-Mar meet in the 1 p.m. game.

Future Northern Iowa teammates Katelin Oney and Kaitlin Armstrong led the way for Washington, which won the state title in 1995 and finished second in 2005 and 2006.

Oney scored 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out four assists and made three steals. Armstrong, one of the state's quickest players, had 23 points, six steals and four assists.

Micha Mims added 11 points for Washington, which shot 59 percent in the first half and made 18 steals. Those steals helped the Warriors scored 25 points off turnovers.

Jalyssa Ceasar, the star of last year's state championship game, led North (20-5) with 17 points, while Steph Robinson and Erica Denney each scored 10. North finished with 16 steals.

As expected, it was a fast-paced, entertaining game between teams that like to get the ball up the floor in a hurry.

North led 19-13 after the first quarter, but Washington's quick hands and withering pressure on the ball eventually began taking a toll and the Warriors pulled away in the second quarter.

Armstrong had two steals, converted one of them into a layup and sank two free throws during an 11-2 run that gave Washington a 36-26 lead. By halftime, when fans could finally catch their breath, Washington led 44-35.

North twice got to within five points in the third quarter before Washington finished the period with a 15-4 burst to go up 61-45. Oney had seven points in that run, which put Washington safely ahead. The lead was never below 13 after that.