Back to back to back.
For the first time in Class 5A history, one team has claimed the Iowa high school girls basketball state title in three-straight years.
Johnston (27-0) defeated Waukee Northwest, 51-37, on Friday, March 6, adding to their championship trophies from 2023 and 2024.
The Dragons became the ninth team in state history to win three championships in a row, joining Ankeny, Assumption, Dike-New Hartford, Lynnville-Sully, Newell-Fonda, Springville, Washington and Western Christian.
Johnston senior guard Jenica Lewis scored a game-high 22 points – in addition to seven rebounds and two assists – in the win. Ari Phillips added 11 points, and Kelli Kalb contributed eight rebounds.
The championship kicked off with a block party, as both teams combined for three blocks – two from Waukee Northwest’s Vana Bilic and one from Phillips – in the first 45 seconds of the game. And what followed were a lot of missed opportunities, with Johnston going 1-of-11 from the field and Northwest going 1-of-10 overall.
Each team scored just one field goal in the first quarter, but the Wolves managed to build an 8-3 lead by making all six shots they took from the foul line.
Romey Croatt extended Northwest’s lead to eight points with the first basket of the second quarter – a 3-pointer – but Lewis responded with a 3-point basket of her own to snap the Dragons’ scoreless streak, which spanned over six minutes between the first and second quarters.
Lewis scored five more unanswered points to tie the game at 11 apiece; she netted 14 of Johnston’s 18 second-quarter points, giving her team a 21-16 lead at halftime.
The Dragons managed to widen the gap in the third quarter. Lewis scored Johnston’s first four points in the second half, and then her teammates started to find more ways to the basket. Although not as dominant a performance as in the second quarter, the Dragons outscored the Wolves, 14-10, in the third to take a nine-point lead heading into the final frame.
By the mid-way point of the fourth quarter, Johnston had basically secured their third-straight title, holding a 17-point lead over Northwest.
The Wolves finish the season with a 19-6 overall record, after advancing to the state championship game for the first time in program history. Croatt scored 11 points and Sadie McCann added 10 points for Northwest.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Johnston claims third-straight Iowa girls basketball state title
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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