State Tournament Preview: Day 5

We are now down to just eight teams looking to get into their respective state title game. The first four days are complete and now we look to semi-final action in the 1A and 2A classes. Only four games will be featured in this preview as we will have our state title previews on Twitter in the game thread. We will look at each matchup below as well as give a few players to watch and finally give our predictions! View the complete schedule here: <a href="https://ighsau.org/upl/downloads/library/basketball-2020-finalpairings805.pdf">Girls State Tournament Schedule</a> <hr /> <strong>2A Semi-final</strong>: #1 Cascade (26-0) vs. #4 Osage (23-2) @ 10 AM Cascade has been very good all year long but they likely haven’t seen the height that Osage will have in this game. Osage’s defense could cause them problems and I think this is a big mismatch for Cascade. Osage has a lot of momentum after coming from 11 points down and beating West Branch in their opening round. Cascade has been here before and the moment isn’t going to be too big for them. I would look for a defensive battle and the team that makes the least amount of mistakes should win the game. <strong>Players to Watch</strong> <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sidney-brandau/">[player_tooltip player_id="133976" first="Sidney" last="Brandau"]</a> – 2020 – Osage <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/dani-johnson/">[player_tooltip player_id="13949" first="Dani" last="Johnson"]</a> – 2021 – Osage Ellie Bobinet – 2021 – Osage <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/nicole-mcdermott/">[player_tooltip player_id="134340" first="Nicole" last="McDermott"]</a> – 2020 – Cascade – Clarke commit <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/skylar-dolphin/">[player_tooltip player_id="135081" first="Skylar" last="Dolphin"]</a> – 2020 – Cascade <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/abby-welter/">[player_tooltip player_id="135035" first="Abby" last="Welter"]</a> – 2020 – Cascade <strong>Prediction</strong>: Cascade 46, Osage 43 <hr /> <strong>2A Semi-final</strong>: #2 West Hancock (25-1) vs. #3 North Linn (23-2) @ 11:45 AM West Hancock didn’t have much problem in their opening round game and will face off with a tougher opponent in the semi-final round. West Hancock won by 26 points while North Linn survived a scare in their opening game. North Linn has been battle tested all season long and have taken on some of the very best 2A teams in the state. West Hancock has proven that they belong all year long with their huge wins and now they get to prove that they can beat the very best. <strong>Players to Watch</strong> <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/amanda-chizek/">[player_tooltip player_id="134343" first="Amanda" last="Chizek"]</a> – 2020 – West Hanock – Grand View commit <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/rachel-leerar/">[player_tooltip player_id="131131" first="Rachel" last="Leerar"]</a> – 2021 – West Hancock <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/grace-flanagan/">[player_tooltip player_id="135015" first="Grace" last="Flanagan"]</a> – 2020 – North Linn – DMACC commit <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/ellie-ware/">[player_tooltip player_id="64796" first="Ellie" last="Ware"]</a> – 2021 – North Linn <strong>Prediction</strong>: West Hancock 65, North Linn 63 <hr /> <strong>1A Semi-final</strong>: #1 Newell-Fonda (25-0) vs. #5 Saint Ansgar (22-2) @ 1:30 PM Newell-Fonda has been rolling and there looks to be no end in sight. Their press is very tough to combat and there hasn’t really been anyone in the last two years that have been able to break it. They are on a 52 game win streak and it is tough to see them losing to anyone this year much less next year. Saint Ansgar is a very good team however and cannot be taken lightly with their ball-handling guards. Newell-Fonda is very good at what they do and shouldn’t have too much of a problem with anyone in the tournament. <strong>Players to Watch</strong> <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/maggie-walker/">[player_tooltip player_id="131138" first="Maggie" last="Walker"]</a> – 2021 – Newell-Fonda <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/bailey-sievers/">[player_tooltip player_id="64766" first="Bailey" last="Sievers"]</a> – 2021 – Newell-Fonda <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/macy-sievers/">[player_tooltip player_id="129006" first="Macy" last="Sievers"]</a> – 2022 – Newell-Fonda <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/hali-anderson/">[player_tooltip player_id="131250" first="Hali" last="Anderson"]</a> – 2021 – Saint Ansgar <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/brooklyn-hackbart/">[player_tooltip player_id="131245" first="Brooklyn" last="Hackbart"]</a> – 2021 – Saint Ansgar <strong>Prediction</strong>: Newell-Fonda 75, Saint Ansgar 53 <hr /> <strong>1A Semi-final</strong>: #2 Marquette Catholic (24-1) vs. #3 Bishop Garrigan (24-1) Marquette Catholic won a very low scoring game in the opening round as they came out a little antsy in the game. Bishop Garrigan took care of business rather easily in the first game as after a slow start they got rolling and the matchup problem in the post was too much to handle. Both of these teams are going to play close but the guard play of Bishop Garrigan I think wins out in the end as they handle the pressure very well. Bishop Garrigan should be able to get the inside-out game going quickly. <strong>Players to Watch</strong> <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/audi-crooks/">[player_tooltip player_id="63019" first="Audi" last="Crooks"]</a> – 2023 – Bishop Garrigan <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/molly-joyce/">[player_tooltip player_id="63033" first="Molly" last="Joyce"]</a> – 2023 – Bishop Garrigan <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/miranda-peters/">[player_tooltip player_id="135053" first="Miranda" last="Peters"]</a> – 2020 – Marquette Catholic <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tori-michel/">[player_tooltip player_id="133957" first="Tori" last="Michel"]</a> – 2020 – Marquette Catholic <strong>Prediction</strong>: Bishop Garrigan 58, Marquette Catholic 45