After an improbable comeback in the semifinals, Mustangs girls basketball regathers and refocuses on the state championship game this afternoon against the Carlisle Wildcats.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding the heroics of Ava Smid in DCG’s last game, but Carlisle pulled off just as astounding an upset in the semifinals themselves. In the game immediately following the Mustangs, the Wildcats knocked off #1-seeded Bishop Heelan Crusaders, who were undefeated until they ran into Macy Comito and company. The senior for Carlisle caught fire in a career performance. She dropped a 4A single-game tournament record 42 points to hand Bishop Heelan their first loss of the year by a score of 73-60 and advance to the state championship game. 

During the regular season, the Wildcats walked all over the Raccoon River conference with a perfect 16-0 record to claim the conference crown. They come into the title game today with a record of 25-1, with their only loss to #7-ranked Valley (a 5A school) by just one point in the last game of the regular season.  

DCG is 23-2 heading into the final game of the year, and they are in the midst of a 15-game win streak. Ava Smid was the leader in the last round of the tournament, scoring eight crucial points down the stretch, including a flurry of six points in 10 seconds to put DCG in front late in the ballgame. Her final line was 16/5/2 with six steals in the semifinals.

The 4A championship is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 pm. We’ll have all the action for you on KDLS 99.7 FM, 1310 AM, and raccoonvalleyradio.com with pregame coverage beginning at 2:15 pm from the Casey’s Center.