DES MOINES — For Newell-Fonda it’s simple — bring back the state championship.

The top-ranked Mustangs (26-0) kept that goal intact on Friday, dismantling Saint Ansgar 84-33 in a Class 1A semifinal.

The defending 1A champions will compete in their third straight championship game and ninth in 15 state appearances.

“It feels amazing to be back in the championship,” said Macy Sievers. “This was our main goal the whole season — we want to win state.

“We are going to have to work hard and play Mustang basketball to defend our title.”

For their second straight state title, the Mustangs will have to beat fourth-ranked Bishop Garrigan (25-1), who was a 69-37 victor over Bellevue Marquette in the other semifinal. Tip will be at 7 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena.

The Mustangs, who have made the trip to Des Moines in seven of the last eight seasons, are 9-2 in semifinal games in the school’s playoff history. With the victory, Newell-Fonda has won seven straight semifinal contests they’ve played in.

“It feels amazing to be back in the finals,” said Maggie Walker. “We all work very hard at practice and in games to reach our goal. To get to the championship game is awesome.

“Getting to this position is what we have worked for from the beginning and to see all of our hard work pay off is great.”

This group has made statements on the court all season long, and the journey has been just as important as the destination for the young Mustangs.

“We just have so much fun playing the game we love,” Walker said. “We are all very close and we just have such a great time together.

“We just do a great job of playing Mustang basketball.”

From first tip the Mustangs controlled the entire game. Newell-Fonda built a 59-24 halftime lead, shooting at a 61 percent clip (34-for-55).

“When that happens (getting off to an early lead) it makes you feel good,” said Newell-Fonda head coach Dick Jungers. “It allows us to get focused and we caught fire right away and that helped us get going.

“The big thing with this team is that they are unselfish. They bring great effort and energy and get better each time out.”

The Mustang offense was spearheaded by its defense. They scored 37 points off of the 26 turnovers they forced. The defense pushed the offense as well, scoring 28 fast break points.

“Our defense will get after you,” Jungers said. “We force teams to make tough decisions and we play with a lot of energy in those situations.

“It’s huge when you can you take the ball away and force teams into mistakes. It also gives our offense scoring opportunities and a chance to be more efficient on the offensive end.”

Newell-Fonda showed no weakness on offense either, placing four players in double figures, while working hard on the inside and outside.

The top-ranked squad in 1A was 11-for-23 from three point range and did damage inside with 44 points in the paint.

Sievers led the offensive charge with 20 points on 10-for-12 shooting. Sievers added five assists and five steals.

“During the game a lot of things were working well.We were finding the open teammate and getting a good shot,” Sievers said. “We also sped up our opponent, forcing them into turnovers to create points. We came out from the beginning and were on fire with our shots. Individually my teammates were just finding me when I was open and getting me the ball.

“This team is just so special because we are so unselfish and don’t care who scores. All we want to do is win and come out on top. We also have so many memories as a group of girls, so we have so much fun together.”

Walker turned in a near perfect shooting performance, going 6-for-6 from the floor, 3 of 3 from three point range and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe for 17 points. She also had six steals.

“Throughout the whole game my shots were falling and my teammates did a great job of finding me,” Walker said. “As a team we all did a great job of finding the open girl and getting that extra pass in.

“We just do a great job of getting the ball to the hot shooter.”

Ella Larsen had 13 points, five rebounds and six assists. Ellie Lago came off the bench to score 12 points in 11 minutes. She was 4-for-6 from the field, all behind the arc.

“When you have good balanced scoring, it’s more challenging to defend us,” Jungers said. “You can take away some of the scorers, but not all of them. They all shot the ball well and our outside shooting was good while knocking down the open shot.”

Now the Mustangs will face a stern test against the Golden Bears.

“They (Bishop Garrigan) are very athletic,” Jungers said. “(Audi) Crooks is a force to reckon with inside.

“Best on this week, these are the two best teams in Class 1A.”

NEWELL-FONDA 83, SAINT ANSGAR 33

Newell-Fonda — Bailey Sievers 3-7 1-2 7, Macy Sievers 10-12 0-0 20, Maggie Walker 6-6 3-3 17, Megan Morenz 4-8 0-0 9, Ella Larsen 5-9 0-0 13, mary Walker 1-6 0-0 2, Mia Walker 1-1 0-0 2, Emma Erickson 1-4 0-0 2, Nevaeh Lyman 0-0 0-0 0, Laney Hogrefe 0-0 0-0 0, Sophie Stewart 0-2 0-0 0, Ellie Lago 4-6 0-0 12, Izzy Sievers 0-1 0-0 0, Paige Roberts 0-1 0-0 0, Alexis Mandernach 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 35-63 3-5 84.

Saint Ansgar — Hannah Patterson 3-6 0-0 8, Hali Anderson 2-8 3-4 8, Gracie Urbatsch 1-5 0-0 2, Brooklyn Hackbart 3-3 0-0 3, Madison Hillman 1-4 3-4 5, Lauren Bork 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Gooder 0-0 0-1 0, Kirsten Boerjan 0-1 0-0 0, Maggie Davis 0-2 1-2 1, Kira Baldus 0-0 0-2 0, Adrianna Kruse 1-2 1-4 3, Taylor Hanna 0-0 0-0 0, Kennedy Schwiesow 0-1 0-0 0, Haley Peterson 0-0 0-1 0. Totals: 11-33 8-18 33.

Quarter scores: N-F led 31-13, 59-22, 73-32. Three-point goals: N-F 11-23 (Lago 4, Larsen 3, Maggie Walker 3, Morenz 1); SA: 3-12 (Patterson 2, Anderson 1); Turnovers: Newell-Fonda 7, Saint Ansgar 26; Points off turnovers: Newell-Fonda 37, Saint Ansgar 6; Total fouls: Newell-Fonda 15; Saint Ansgar 6; Total rebounds: Newell-Fonda 30, Saint Ansgar 25.