The Matchups

No. 1 Johnston (23-0) vs. No. 8 Liberty High (17-6)

Liberty High makes its state tournament debut in just its eighth season as a program and will attempt to add to what has already been the best season in history.

The Lightning set a single-season program record for wins and advanced to the state tournament for the first time with win over City High in the regional final.

Liberty High dropped back-to-back games to end the regular season but rebounded with consecutive postseason victories over West Des Moines Valley (61-44) and City High (72-55).

Liberty High is led by junior Natalie Ramsey who is one of only two 5A players averaging a double-double with 22.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Senior Madeline Casey, a Quincy University recruit, is the all-time 3-point leader at Liberty High and ranks second on the team with 12.9 points per game.

Casey is shooting 36 percent from 3-point range this season and leads the Lightning with 62 made triples.

Sophomore Ava Casey averages 6.2 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game and senior Janessa Mosley averages 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

Defending state champion Johnston enters the state tournament riding a 49-game winning streak and chasing history.

Johnston is seeking a fourth title in six seasons and attempting to become the first large class team to win back-to-back championships since Ankeny won four straight titles from 2002 – 2005.

The Dragons are making their 11^th consecutive state tournament appearance and haven’t lost a game since falling to Pleasant Valley in the 2023 5A title game.

Johnston has 10 wins over state qualifiers this season including eight victories over teams in the Class 5A field.

The Dragons led 5A in scoring at 67.8 points per game and have five players averaging 7 or more points per game.

Junior Jenica Lewis leads the Dragons with 18.8 points per game while senior Amani Jenkins, a Virginia Tech recruit, averages 15.8 points and 8 rebounds per game.

Freshman Kelli Kalb averages 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds, sophomore Ari Phillips averages 8.9 points and 3.2 assists and junior Jaliyah Kinnetz averages 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

No. 4 Ankeny Centennial (16-7) vs. No. 5 Pleasant Valley (19-4)

Ankeny Centennial is making its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance and is seeking its third semifinal appearance during that stretch.

The Jaguars have won five straight games with three wins over 5A No. 13 Southeast Polk in that stretch including a 42-37 win over the Rams in the regional title game.

Six of the seven losses for the Jaguars this season have come to the top three seeds at the 5A state tournament with two losses each to top-seed Johnston, second-seed West Des Moines Dowling and third-seed Waukee Northwest.

Ankeny Centennial has one of the top duos in the state in seniors Jaeden Pratt and Mya Crawford.

An Illinois State recruit Pratt leads the Jaguars with 15 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while Crawford averages 14.1 points and 7. 9 rebounds per game.

Senior Ava Martin averages 7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds and senior Finley Blackmore is a Western Colorado recruit averaging 5.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

The only team other than Johnston to win a 5A title in the past three seasons, Pleasant Valley is making its fourth consecutive state tournament appearance after falling in the opening round last season.

Pleasant Valley has won eight consecutive games entering the state tournament following a 47-37 win over No. 12 Waukee in the regional title game.

All three losses to in-state foes for the Spartans have come to state tournament qualifiers with two losses to 4A qualifier Central DeWitt.

Senior Quinn Vice leads Pleasant Valley with 18.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while senior Reagan Pagniano averages 15.7 points and 6.9 assists per game.

Junior Isabelle Kremer averages 11.2 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game.

No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (20-3) vs. No. 7 Davenport North (19-4)

A rematch of the 2023 state quarterfinal between the two teams Davenport North and West Des Moines Dowling have both been regulars at the state tournament over the past several seasons.

The defending 5A runner-up West Des Moines Dowling returns to the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season and is seeking a third consecutive trip to the semifinals.

Both losses to in-state competition for West Des Moines Dowling this season have come to top-ranked Johnston and the Maroons have five wins over state qualifiers.

West Des Moines Dowling has won 15 of its last 16 games with the lone loss in that stretch a two-point loss against Johnston on January 24.

Senior Ava Zediker leads four players averaging at least 9.7 points per game with a team-high 18.8 points per contest.

Junior Ellie Muller averages 16.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and a Class 5A-leading 3.3 blocked shots per game.

Sophomore Katie Muller averages 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and senior Laya Trytten is averaging 9.7 points and 3.2 assists per game.

Davenport North returns to the state tournament for the third consecutive season and fourth time in program history seeking its first win at state.

The Wildcats fell to West Des Moines Dowling in the 2023 quarterfinals and dropped its opener to Cedar Falls last season.

Davenport North got a measure of revenge with a 48-46 win over Cedar Falls in the regional title game last week.

All four losses for Davenport North have come to state qualifiers including a pair of losses to 5A qualifier Pleasant Valley.

Davenport North has one of the best duos in the state in seniors Divine Bourrage and Journey Houston.

An Iowa recruit, Houston leads the Wildcats with 20.4 points per game to go with 7.5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3.7 assists per game.

Bourrage is an LSU recruit that averages 18.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2.7 steals per game.

No. 3 Waukee Northwest (18-4) vs. No. 6 Cedar Rapids Prairie (20-4)

Waukee Northwest joins Liberty High as first-time state qualifiers in the Class 5A field.

The Wolves have been impressive this season with the four losses coming to the top two seeds at the state tournament this week in top-ranked Johnston and second-ranked West Des Moines Dowling.

Waukee Northwest defeated No. 14 Ankeny 43-37 in the regional final last week.

The youngest team in the 5A field, Waukee Northwest doesn’t have a senior on its roster and underclassmen account for 45.8 of the Wolves 57.5 points per game.

Sophomore Romey Croatt leads the Wolves with 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while junior Vana Bilic averages 11.1 points and 3.3 assists per game.

Cedar Rapids Prairie is making its fifth state tournament appearance and first since 2020.

The Hawks have relied on balanced scoring with four players averaging in double figures led by senior Asia Beale with 15.7 points per game.

Junior Emily Larsen averages 15.5 points and 4.6 rebounds and sophomore KeaOnna Worley averages 13 points and 5.5 assists per game.

Junior Brynlie Hadenfeldt averages 11 points and 6.5 rebounds and senior Nevaeh Diaz-Doolin is averaging 7.1 points per game.

Cedar Rapids Prairie first-year head coach Bruce Dall led Dike-New Hartford to the past four Class 2A state titles.

The Players

Liberty High: Natalie Ramsey, 6-0, Jr. – A South Dakota recruit Ramsey has been one of the most productive players in the state this season ranking second in 5A in scoring (22.8) and third in rebounding (10.5) while shooting 51 percent from the field including 34 percent from 3-point range.

Johnston: Jenica Lewis, 5-10, Jr. – Among the top players in the state and one of the top juniors in the country Lewis has enjoyed a breakthrough season averaging a career-high 18.8 points per game to go with 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.2 assists per game.

Ankeny Centennial: Mya Crawford, 5-8, Sr. – A Drake recruit, Crawford does it all for the Jaguars ranking second on team in scoring at (14.1) and rebounding (7.9) and leading the team in assists (3.8), steals (3) and blocked shots (1.2)

Pleasant Valley: Quinn Vice, 6-4, Sr. – A Drake recruit, Vice averages 18.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1 blocked shot per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 79 percent from the free throw line.

West Des Moines Dowling: Ava Zediker, 5-10, Sr. – Creighton recruit leads the Maroons in scoring at 18.8 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor and better than 40 percent from 3-point range. Zediker averages 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Davenport North: Divine Bourrage, 6-0, Sr. – An LSU recruit, Bourrage is among the most dynamic players in the state ranking in the top 10 in Class 5A in points, rebounds and assists. Bourrage averages 18.7 points per game and leads the Wildcats in both rebounds (8.8) and assists (6).

Waukee Northwest: Romey Croatt, 5-9, Soph. – Croatt has emerged as a leader for a young Waukee Northwest squad leading the Wolves in scoring at 13.9 points per game and ranking second on the team with 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range.

Cedar Rapids Prairie: Asia Beale, 5-8, Sr. – Beale leads a balanced Cedar Rapids Prairie offensive effort with a team-high 15.7 points per game while shooting 53 percent from the field. Beale also averages 5.8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

The Storylines

The Favorite

Top-ranked Johnston is the biggest favorite across all five classes this week.

The defending champion Dragons are 98-2 over the past four seasons, bring a 49-game winning streak into the state tournament and are seeking a third 26-0 state title season in the past four years.

Johnston has 10 wins over state tournament qualifiers and has had just one game decided by fewer than nine points this season.

The Underdog

If being a first-time state qualifier didn’t make eighth-seeded Liberty High the underdog going up against the defending state champion in the opening round certainly does.

Liberty High has the makings of an underdog with bite.

The Lightning have a legit star in junior Natalie Ramsey who ranks in the top three in Class 5A in scoring (22.2) and rebounding (10.5) and has pieces around her capable of putting up points in a hurry led by program career three-point leader Maddie Casey.

The Darkhorse

Johnston is the unquestioned favorite and second-ranked West Des Moines Dowling is the top challenger after pushing the Dragons in a two-point loss last month.

Don’t overlook Pleasant Valley, which enters under the radar but capable of causing problems for any opponent in Des Moines this week.

Pleasant Valley has state tournament experience, a rock solid point guard in senior Wartburg commit Reagan Pagniano and a star in senior Quinn Vice.

The Focus

Can anyone take down Johnston?

Johnston is attempting to become the first back-to-back big school champ since Ankeny won the final of its four consecutive Class 4A titles in 2005.

The Dragons are unbeaten and largely unchallenged this season but the 2025 field is filled with talented teams seeking to dethrone last year’s champs.

The Numbers

Scoring Leaders

1. Natalie Ramsey, Jr., Liberty High – 22.8
2. Journey Houston, Sr., Davenport North – 20.4
3. Ava Zediker, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling – 18.8
4. Jenica Lewis, Jr., Johnston – 18.8
5. Divine Bourrage, Sr., Davenport North – 18.7

Rebounding Leaders

1. Ellie Muller, Jr., West Des Moines Dowling – 11.2
2. Natalie Ramsey, Jr., Liberty High – 10.5
3. Divine Bourrage, Sr., Davenport North – 8.8
4. Jaeden Pratt, Sr., Ankeny Centennial – 8.7
5. Isabelle Kremer, Jr., Pleasant Valley – 8.5

Assist Leaders

1. Reagan Pagniano, Sr., Pleasant Valley – 6.9
2. Divine Bourrage, Sr., Davenport North – 6
3. KeaOnna Worley, Soph., Cedar Rapids Prairie – 5.5
4. Ava Casey, Soph., Liberty High – 4.6
5. Mya Crawford, Sr., Ankeny Centennial – 3.8

3-point Leaders

1. Maddie Casey, Sr., Liberty High – 3.1
2. Jenica Lewis, Jr., Johnston – 3
3. Emily Larsen, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie – 2.7
4. Romey Croatt, Soph., Waukee Northwest – 2.6
5. Reagan Pagniano, Sr., Pleasant Valley – 2.3

Steal Leaders

1. Journey Houston, Sr., Davenport North – 4
2. Reagan Pagniano, Sr., Pleasant Valley – 3.7
3. Jenica Lewis, Jr., Johnston – 3.5
4. Mya Crawford, Sr., Ankeny Centennial – 3
5. Divine Bourrage, Sr., Davenport North – 2.7

Five Fast Facts

*- Johnston is 98-2 over the past four seasons and is seeking a third unbeaten state championship season in the past four years.

*- The Class 5A field features a pair of first-time qualifiers as Liberty High and Waukee Northwest are both making their state tournament debuts on Monday.

*- Waukee Northwest doesn’t have a senior on its roster and freshman and sophomores have accounted for 80% of the Wolves’ scoring this season.

*- Cedar Rapids Prairie head coach Bruce Dall is one of two coaches in state history to take four different teams (Allison-Bristow, Dike-New Hartford, AGWSR and Cedar Rapids Prairie) to the state tournament.

*- Liberty High junior Natalie Ramsey had 40 points in a regional final win over City High which tied for the highest single-game scoring total in Class 5A this season.

The History

Last 5 Champions

2024 – Johnston

2023 – Pleasant Valley

2022 – Johnston

2021 – Waukee

2020 – Johnston

Last Year’s Qualifiers

Johnston; West Des Moines Valley; Waukee; Ankeny Centennial: Cedar Falls; Davenport North; West Des Moines Dowling; Pleasant Valley

The Schedule

Monday’s Quarterfinals

Johnston (23-0) vs. Liberty High (17-6), 10 a.m.

Ankeny Centennial (16-7) vs. Pleasant Valley (19-4), 11:45 a.m.

West Des Moines Dowling (20-3) vs. Davenport North (19-4), 1:30 p.m.

Waukee Northwest (18-4) vs. Cedar Rapids Prairie (20-4), 3:15 p.m.

Thursday’s Semifinals

Johnston/Liberty High winner vs. Ankeny Centennial/Pleasant Valley winner, 10 a.m.

West Des Moines Dowling/Davenport North winner vs. Waukee Northwest/Cedar Rapids Prairie winner, 11:45 a.m.

Friday’s Championship

Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.

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