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> >> Greeting'sfrom Iowa's capital city.

Welcome to another anticipated yearof coverage fromthe Iowa girls athletic Associationchampionships from downtown Des Moines.

We are just getting started.

Hello,everybody.

I am Paul Yeager hearfrom the perch at Wells Fargo Arena.

Getting ready to tip off two daysaswe broadcast.

Wedo have five classes of basketballand they are all championship games.

Tonight we havea doubleheader.

We are going to see two first.

Oneis 5A coming upand then is 3A.

Tomorrow's tripleheader, a fora ,2A, 1a beginning with pregame coverage.

Let's not get toofar ahead of ourselves because weneed to take a look back at how tonight's teamsmade it to tonight's tournament.

It'spretty fun to see how they playedin the semifinal.

Sam Powell is backto determinehis first.

Early onit isAva.

Then take alook at this one.

The jumper.

Moregets the board.

Look at this one.

Makes it look easy.

For walkie, gets it in throughthe traffic.

The play-up is good and the and one.

They wereup at the break by four , Northwestagain nicelooking shot , great young team there.

Passone, passed two, passed three.

We'vegot it right there.

Telling Catholic,Ellie Muller.

Again, she has justbeen awesome this tournament, 32 points,32 rebounds.

Dowling wins52-47.

They are backin the title game for the second consecutive year.

Who do they play?

It would be thewinner of this one, the Johnston dragons,you're defending 5A champs.

They are2-28-21, Centennial looking to getback into the first title game since winningit all in 2016.

The future Illinois state Redbirdhere with the turnaround.

Nice lookfrom the back end for Johnston.

You'regoing to hear some names tonight.

Offer to --Jenica LewistoAmani Jenkins.

Then later on, Jenkins and Elaine so notonly from the outside, she can doit from theinside.

16 in the quarters, 19 in thesemis.

Johnston up at the half.

They were big at the quarter final score.

Six threes in thatgame against Pleasant Valley.

Look atthis one.

They put Jenkins in to stop thosebig threes because the Jaguars weremarching but it was just too muchJohnston at theend.

Jenkins toKinnetz to Lewis.

Look at that crossover.

The play-up throughcontact.

Johnston back in the finals again.

61-42.

We have a rematch of last year's5A final and a rematch of our crewfrom last year.

Glad to have you here.

We willtalk to you in just a minute.

You'vegot the drill down in year three.

Let's talk about this.

So,it isoffered to .

On her LinkedIn profile it says game manager.

Is that an insult?

>> Youknow, some people think that label isan insult.

I really don't and you thinkabout it, she is a player that understandshow to control the game.

When she needs to score, when sheneeds to get her teammates involved,when she needs the team to slow downor speed up or get upand start playing a little bit moredefense.

She has a high IQ and reallydoes know how to manage a game.

>>It makes it lookeasy when you've got someone likeAmani Jenkins.

She is always so strong in the postbut it is those threes.

A little bitof a conversation withthe crowd.

>> She kind of gets fires upwhen she hears it from the crowd andthe opposing bench but really whereshe is at herbest is when she is in the post.

Shedoes a great job of getting herselfset up, great footwork and commandingthe bag--basketball.

She leads 5A andfieldwork percentage.

>> This is the2015 program from the girls tournament here.

The Johnston team from that year hadplayers like Ellie Brown, HaleyTowers,Rachel tenders.

There is a X factorthere that is key in this Johnstonteam house one,too.

>>Phillips is one that is, big in this game.

Whenyou're focusing on Lewis and Jenkins youhave to worry aboutPhillips, as well, because she hada double double in the semi finals.

>> We talked aboutEllie Mueller.

Her mother played.

She won a state title.

What is itthat Ellie Muller does so well?

>> We saw a lot of things inthose highlights what she can do.

She is that of the three-pointshot to her game.

She's probably goodin the middle or better in the middleposting up and she does a lot of workdown low.

She is tough to defend becauseshe is so long and can finda lot of ways to get herself folded.

>>Ava Zediker also outstanding.

Shedoes so many things.

>> She did agreat job and last year's final.

However, she needs a little help heretonight.

She scored over 70% of theteam's points last year.

She was the only one in double figures.

Sheneeds to have some of her teammatesstep up and help her?

>> Does Dowlinghave an X factor?

>> They do, it is Layla Trytten.

Shedoes a little bit of everything butwhat she has been doing in this tournamentis scoring thebasketball.

Focus in on Muller andZediker.

Trytten is going to comeup and burn you.

>> Laura will havethe five a call.

Let's go to3A now and talk aboutthe Golden Eagles.

They have fourlosses to bigger schools.

Their opponent, the Raiders a staplein softball.

She plays for her aunt, former Miss Iowabasketball Stephanie Rich Daisy.

Weare just going to say basically on namehere Claire was outstanding.

Big threeshe went on for 26 in the opener,she had a 27 this month.

Rebound afterrebound.

Look at this.

Step through.

Andnow she alsohas a short range jumper.

Waller wasup big at the break, 29-14.

The future night lays it in.

She hadthe and one on that play.

Clear Luca onthe run out.

She looksleft, pump fake gets the bucket to go andnow we are going to have the stealon the put back for two and now there'sgoing to be the inbound coming .

They will play thewinner of Mount Vernon and test of theLincoln Center.

Restaurant mustangsrolled in the corner75-15.

Early on it iscurious as to Riley Yeager on the assistfor the play-up that the Stokes outin front to Riley Egger.

Good softballplayers there, as well and a goodcrossover.

Here is Taylor Frank onthe driving play-up and now it's goingto be clearly Mr. gets theinbounds pass, gets it to crawl aroundthe remembered.

She had 14 boardsin this game, Mount Vernon up at thehave 17-14 .

HaleyStokes trying to get going with ashort jumper there she would finish with15 then the kick and shoot.

Taylor Frank now up to Sydneyhere were.

Here comes Sidney.

Thatishow it's done.

Courtney Frankcollects the rebound, puts it back upand nowFrank is going to go coast-to-coast.

She would finish with seven points, lowestoffensive output of the season for MountVernon.

Doesn'tmanage.

They win 35-34 and that ishow we get to ourthree-day finalists.

Allie Roth ridges with us.

With thisbasketball team full of athletes, Mount Vernonhas four in double figures so if you area coach, where do you start?

>> Ifyou are a Dubuque Waller, your eyesare all on Chloe.

You have to limitherpost touches and you have to packthe paint.

Chloe comes in averaging15 points a game and I want to givecredit to Estherat Central last night.

They limitedChloe to only taken five shot attemptsand getting six points right there.

However the have to beaware of Chloe Mr. attacking the boards.

Sheended last night's game with 14 boards.

>> I like that stat.

Rebounds areimportant for a team.

Itis about contributors.

Anybody elseyou want to clean up and mention onthe squad?

>>Do you want me to go down the list?

Let me start with freshmanphenom savanna right.

She had a freshman debut hereon Mondaynight.

She contributed 23 points butyou also have Sidney Hooper,Evansville commit.

She can knock downa three then you have the Frank sisterswhoare spitfires.

They can get up andgo, run the court, facilitate theball so you name whatever girl they'regoing tocontribute tonight.

>> Spitfires.

I wonder who that remindsme of it all.

We talk about othercontributors.

Let's talk about thedefense,Mount Vernon really low-scoring contest forthem.

They played good defense becauseLincoln central had really good players.

They're going to have a big task tonight.

Ifyou're Mount Vernon.

You start onyour defense there?

>>Clear is the heart and soul to this DubuqueWaller team.

Everything runs to her.

Shehas great outside range hitting thefrees but she alsohas really good post moves insideup and under moves and if the defenseis crashing down on looking, she findsher teammates and gives himthe ball.

>> Let's keep going .

Hergame is something the coach talksabout something special.

What else do see from her?

>> You, Coach Biglertalked abouthow good of a leader Claire is atthe beginning of the season.

Clairebrought them together and they hadkind of a bad taste in the mouth after losinglast year.

Claire brought the team together,go down a bunch of balls.

She actually, beforeevery game, lists the team goals for thegame so that is leadership right there.

They gravitatetowards clear so again the attention ison her tonight but she isalso going to need a supporting castfrom her teammates if they want to winthe championship tonight.

>> Thisis been a tough schedule for Waller.

Playing a lot of 4A, 5A schools.

What does a tough schedule do foryou here at the state tournament?

>> Having a really good strength ofschedule, it battle test youand prepares you for the exact momentwe are about to witness here with us whythey came in three a matchup later tonight.

>> TheWaller kids last year sat in the standsand watch the state championship gamefrom the stands.

Tonight, they arethe ones who are going to run out.

>> Right now they are probably taking inthe atmosphere of this five a matchupso they're going to be a littlenervous butI always say this as a player.

I got thenerves out as soonas the tipoff went out like you're justplaying basketball at the end of theday.

>> Let's talk about 5A for aminute because we did not reallyget into the whole rematch thing.

Johnston and Dowling have played threetimes.

This is the third.

Those games were single digits thatJohnston won.

Two of them came fromDowling soyou could say Dowling maybe does not lookat Johnstonthe way other teams do.

Is that werestill hanging over the dragons?

>>I do thinkthey still have the auraand they have the players to showthat and until somebody can breakthat or or have the keys tounlock the mystery to the dragons,they are going to continue to havethat aura but I think Dowling mayhave those keys hidden somewhere inthelocker room.

>> Maybe in the mysterymission somewhere.

>> Scooby-Doo.

Thank you so much, Elle Ruffridgeand LauraLeonard.

We will see you tomorrow in the pregameshow.

Let's go down to the court forthe all Iowa on her dance team.

>> 50 dancers will perform a hoopla routineto America.

The pregame was choreographed byRachel were and Ella John arefrom Pella.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the all Iowa onher dance team.

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>> The all Iowa dancers will now perform apatriotic finale featuring all thestate flagsof our great nation.

Presenting tonight'scolors are women soldiers from theIowa ArmyNational Guard.

Please stand as wehonor America, our military, and their families.

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>> The national anthem willbe sung byDawson anchor from Dowling Catholichigh school.

>>O, say, can you seeBy the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailedAt the twilight's Last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes And bright starsThrough the perilous fightO'er the ramparts We watched Were so gallantlyStreaming?

And the rockets' Red glare The bombs burstingIn air Gave proof [ Inaudible ]Through the night?

That our flagWas still there O, say, does thatStar-spangled banner Yet wave?

O'er the landOf the freeAnd the home Of the brave?

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>> Dawson anchor from DowlingCatholic and the all-Iowa honor dance team.

>> Iowa girls high school class5A and 3Abasketball championship doubleheader comingup next on your statewide network,Iowa PBS.