Waukon basketball girls win first-round State Tournament test, 48-37, over Crestwood; Will face top-ranked North Polk Thursday

The ninth-rated Waukon girls basketball team (18-3) opened its Class 3A State Tournament in victorious fashion, outlasting seventh-rated Crestwood (15-5), 48-37, in the opening round of the season grand finale Monday, February 25 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Indians used a strong defensive effort that forced nearly the same number of turnovers (25) as the Cadets had in total shot attempts (29).

That first-round win advances the basketball Tribe to a Thursday, February 28 semifinals contest at 1:30 p.m. against top-rated and top-seeded North Polk (21-2), who defeated unrated and eighth-seeded Estherville-Lincoln Central (14-10) by a 59-47 result in other Monday night action. That Estherville-Lincoln Central team is coached by 1973 Waukon High School graduate Don Martindale, who took over the Lady Midgets’ program last year.

The semifinals winner will then advance on to play for the Class 3A State Tournament championship Friday, March 1 at 8 p.m. That championship opponent will be either fifth-rated Des Moines Christian (22-2) or the winner of Tuesday’s third-rated Center Point-Urbana (21-2) vs. unrated West Marshall (14-7) match-up.

Complete coverage of all the Waukon girls basketball team’s State Tournament games, including photos, will appear in the March 6 issue of The Standard.