Mustangs girls’ basketball earned the right to compete with the top eight teams in Class 4A at the state tournament this week, and they begin their run at a title today in the state quarterfinals.

Their matchup is the Waverly-Shell Rock Go-Hawks out of the Northeast Iowa Conference. They have a record of 22-1 and have had two separate 11-game win streaks this year. They’re taking the latter into the tournament. WSR is constructed similarly to DCG in how they mix experience and youth in their starting lineup as well as on the bench. It’s an upperclassman, junior Lizzy Frazell, who leads the way for this team, averaging 19 points per game on the dot. She’ll look to lead the Go-Hawks to their first state championship after they were beaten by Clear Creek-Amana in the title game two years ago. 

In their way are the Dallas Center-Grimes Mustangs. They’ve made it to the semifinals four out of their last five times qualifying for state. Macy Meyer and Ava Smid are the dynamic duo for this team, averaging 14 and 12 ppg on the year. The two have had great chemistry with their point guard, senior Leah Brauch, who is at the controls of the offense when on the floor. The Mustangs have won a state championship once in school history and look to add more hardware to the trophy case at DCG High School.

Tip-off for the state quarterfinals is scheduled for 11:45 am from the Casey’s Center in downtown Des Moines. You can tune in on KDLS and at raccoonvalleyradio.com.