JEFFERSON — The Newell-Fonda girls are returning to their second home in hopes of defending their back-to-back Class 1A state titles.

Behind another strong offensive performance, the second-ranked Mustangs rolled past CAM here in the Region 2 championship, 75-37.

Newell-Fonda (23-1 overall) will be the No. 2 seed with top-ranked Bishop Garrigan (23-1) also advancing. The Mustangs downed the Golden Bears in the state finals last year, with Garrigan scoring a win in the regular season rematch this past winter.

Senior Ella Larsen led Newell-Fonda with 12 points and six steals while Bailey Sievers, Maggie Walker and Macy Sievers each had 11. McKenna Sievers recorded seven rebounds.

A quick start helped the Mustangs, as they led 25-8 after the first and 50-16 at the half. Newell-Fonda had 28 steals with both Macy Sievers and Ellie Lago recording five each.

The Mustangs are two-time defending state champions, having also advanced to the finals during the 2017-18 season. They are 103-2 in their last 105 games and have now reached the state field 11 of the past 14 years.

Newell-Fonda scored 253 points in its three regional games, averaging just over 84 per night in wins vs. St. Edmond, Audubon and CAM.

Up first inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for the Mustangs will be Kingsley-Pierson (23-1) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The winner faces either Saint Ansgar (22-1) or Montezuma (22-1) on Friday at 4 p.m. with the finals set for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

E-Hawks downed

HARTLEY — The Emmetsburg girls were unable to secure a spot in the Class 2A state field, falling to Rock Valley here Wednesday night in a Region 7 final, 40-22.

The E-Hawks fell in an early 16-4 hole and were behind 34-15 at halftime.

Emmetsburg’s season ends at 15-9 overall. They will lose seniors Maddy Mueller, Abbie Schany and Taylor Steinkamp to graduation.

Joining Rock Valley in the 2A field at state will be Maquoketa Valley, Nodaway Valley, North Linn, Dike-New Hartford, Treynor, West Branch and Grundy Center.