Saturday’s Class 4A Iowa State Girls Basketball Tournament Championship game in Des Moines was between Carlisle and Dallas Center-Grimes. However, there were several ties to Jefferson and Greene County in the contest won by Carlisle, 38-36.

Mallie Stoner of Carlisle is the granddaughter of John and Nancy Gerken of Jefferson. Their daughter Mandy is a 1999 Jefferson-Scranton graduate, and Mallie’s Mom. Stoner scored eight points in the title contest and was named to the 4A All-Tournament team. Adam Jones, the 1998 J-S High School graduate, is DC-G’s head coach. He’s the son of Linda Jones and the late Sid Jones of Jefferson. Adam has two daughters on the team, starter Tessa, a junior, and reserve Taeya, a freshman.

This wasn’t the first meeting at a State Tournament between the two schools and it may not be the last. The 2024 softball State Tournament quarterfinal saw the Wildcats top the Mustangs, 8-6. Both Stoner and Tessa Jones pitched in that game, and the two teams met in the 2025 regular season as well. With Stoner and Jones leading their respective pitching staffs, another meeting or two in 2026 could be on tap for this season.