—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Newell-Fonda’s Ella Larsen shoots over Council Bluffs St. Albert’s Keely Socha during a Class 1A quarterfinal on Wednesday inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. For more photos, visit CU at messengernews.net

By DANA BECKER

sports@messengernews.net

DES MOINES — It was business as usual for top-ranked Newell-Fonda here Wednesday afternoon.

Back inside their second home, Wells Fargo Arena, the defending Class 1A champion Mustangs showed they are ready to make another run, blitzing Council Bluffs St. Albert in the quarterfinals, 77-47.

The win pushed Newell-Fonda’s (25-0 overall) current streak to 52 in a row dating back to the 2018 finals. They will face seventh-ranked Saint Ansgar (21-2), a 51-46 winner over No. 5 Montezuma, on Friday in the semis at 1:30 p.m.

Ella Larsen led four players in double figures with 14 points in just 19 minutes. Bailey Sievers and Maggie Walker each added 13, and lone senior Megan Morenz scored 11.

Larsen also paced the Mustangs with six rebounds, five steals and three blocks, with Morenz adding four steals and Macy Sievers nine points and four assists.

“It feels great knowing the hard work paid off,” said Larsen, a returning starter from the title run last year. “We can’t wait for the next game. We just have to keep working hard every practice and come ready to work. Get our game plan and go from there.”

The state leader in points and steals coming into the week, Newell-Fonda picked up right where it left off as Bailey Sievers knocked down a three-pointer and the defense forced a turnover on the first two possessions of the game.

“We worked really hard for this and we just have to keep going and take the next one and the next one,” Sievers said. “Just keep playing Mustang basketball, keep playing hard and keep working for that goal.”

After eight minutes, the Mustangs found themselves in complete control, leading 28-13 and having forced 12 turnovers that resulted in 16 points. Newell-Fonda made 10 of 17 shots from the field and knocked down 4 of 5 triples with Larsen scoring nine.

It was more of the same in the second quarter, as the Mustangs outscored the Saintes 25-9. Council Bluffs St. Albert (13-12), making its first state appearance since a 2000 loss in the finals, committed 23 turnovers by halftime.

“First of all, I always tell the girls that you have to win the right to play another game,” said N-F head coach Dick Jungers, who is now 391-68 in his coaching career. “This time of year, any wins is a great win. I thought all of the girls performed well.

“Our defensive intensity was good and that pressure created opportunities. We had good ball movement and unselfish play.”

Newell-Fonda finished the first 16 minutes with two more made field goals (18) than the Saintes attempted shots (16).

“We just keep having to give our best every practice and every time out there,” Morenz said. “Always work on making that extra pass.”

With a running clock for much of the third, St. Albert was able to outscore the Mustangs, 14-10. Despite that, the Newell-Fonda lead grew to as many as 37.

Allie Petry, who will join the Iowa State volleyball team as a preferred walk-on in the fall, recorded a double-double for the Saintes with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The rosters includes three other future college athletes, as Bel Pershing is headed to Grand View to play basketball, Makenna Shepard to Iowa State for soccer and Jordyn Blaha to Buena Vista for track.

“They were a very fast team,” Sievers said. “We just had to compete with them and play our game. After that, just let the chips fall where they may.”

The Mustangs have surpassed the 70-point mark in each of their last eight games, going over that number 19 times in all. They finished having forced 29 turnovers that turned into 35 points, outscoring St. Albert 10-2 on fast-break points and picking up 14 assists on 26 made field goals.

Newell-Fonda, at state for the 11th time under Jungers, is seeking title No. 3 and a seventh championship game appearance. They have played just two games decided by 11 points or less this season: a 62-52 win in the opener at Western Christian and a 55-44 victory at Emmetsburg in late January.

NEWELL-FONDA 77, COUNCIL BLUFFS ST. ALBERT 47

Newell-Fonda – Bailey Sievers 5-9 1-2 13, Macy Sievers 3-5 3-4 9, Maggie Walker 5-10 2-2 13, Megan Morenz 4-6 2-2 11, Ella Larsen 5-9 3-3 14, Mary Walker 0-2 0-0 0, Mia Walker 0-1 2-5 2, Emma Erickson 1-2 0-0 3, Nevaeh Lyman 0-1 0-0 0, Laney Hogrefe 1-3 2-2 4, Sophie Stewart 0-1 0-0 0, Ellie Lago 2-4 2-3 8, Izzy Sievers 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Roberts 0-1 0-0 0, Haylee Puhrmann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-54 17-23 77.

St. Albert – Bel Pershing 3-7 2-3 8, Allie Petry 8-12 3-5 19, Makenna Shepard 0-3 0-0 0, Jordyn Blaha 2-5 0-1 4, Veronica Svajgl 2-4 0-0 4, Brenna Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Pearl Reisz 1-2 0-0 2, Lauren Williams 2-2 0-1 4, Keely Socha 1-2 0-0 3, Allison Narmi 0-0 0-0 0, Ava Hughes 0-0 0-0 0, Carly McKeever 0-0 0-0 0, Landry Miller 1-1 0-0 3, Lena Rosloniec 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-38 5-11 47.

Quarter scores: Newell-Fonda led 28-13, 53-22, 63-36. Three-point goals: Newell-Fonda 8-20 (B. Sievers 2, Walker, Mag. Walker, Morenz, Larsen, Erickson, Lago 2); St. Albert 2-6 (Socha, Miller). Total rebounds: Newell-Fonda 26, St. Albert 27. Assists: Newell-Fonda 14, St. Albert 7. Blocked shots: Newell-Fonda 4, St. Albert 1. Steals: Newell-Fonda 19, St. Albert 6. Turnovers: Newell-Fonda 13, St. Albert 29.