By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The state basketball tournaments are underway for both the boys and girls teams in Iowa. Despite the fact that neither ACGC or Panorama were able to send one of their programs to the tournament, I thought it would be fitting to detail what the best basketball programs in the state are up to. The finish of the Dallas Center-Grimes vs. Norwalk game went viral last night in an ending I have never seen before.

With 45 seconds left on the clock, DCG was down by six points. Ava Smid stole three straight inbound passes and hit three straight layups, including one she was fouled on, scoring seven points in 16 seconds. DCG would win the game to head to the finals to face Carlisle. It was an unbelievable highlight, garnering millions of views across several different twitter accounts, even getting picked up by Barstool Sports. It reminded me of one of my favorite NBA highlights of all time: Tracy McGrady scoring 13 points in 35 seconds.

On the girls basketball side, the championships across all classes are being played throughout the day today and tomorrow and will be broadcast on Iowa PBS. As for the boys, their first-round matchups will begin on next Tuesday, March 10.

Girls basketball

1A: No. 1 seed Bishop Garrigan (23-2) faces No. 5 Dunkerton (23-2) in the semi-finals. The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 2 Newell-Fonda (23-2) and No. 3 St. Albert (22-3).

2A: In the 2A semi-finals, No. 1 Hinton (21-1) faces No. 4 Denver (23-2). As this column goes out, No. 2 Rock Valley (23-2) will be playing against No. 6 Treynor (22-2) for a chance in the final.

3A: No. 1 Mount Vernon (24-2) vs. No. 2 Maquoketa (23-4). I caught the end of the Maquoketa vs. Des Moines Christian game. DM-C blew a double-digit second-half lead, sending the Cardinals to their first state championship appearance in school history, led by their all-time leading scorer Cora Widel.

4A: No. 2 Dallas Center-Grimes (23-2) vs. No. 5 Carlisle (25-1). Can the Mustangs keep the magic rolling? They’ll have to defeat Carlisle star Macy Comito, who scored a 4A state tournament single-game record of 42 points in the semifinals. She can shoot the lights out.

5A: The title game for 5A is set for a showdown between No. 1 Johnston (26-0) and Waukee Northwest (19-5). That game is being played tonight, March 6 at 6 p.m. According to ESPN, The Johnston Dragons girls basketball program is ranked 17^th in the country.

Boys basketball

1A First Round Matchups:

No. 1 St. Edmund (23-2) vs. No. 8 Woodbine (17-8)

No. 2 Bishop Garrigan (23-2) vs. No. 7 Marquette Catholic (23-2)

No. 3 MMCRU (25-1) vs. No. 6 Boyden-hull (18-7)

No. 4 Burlington Notre Dame (24-2) vs. No. 5 Bellevue (22-3)

2A First Round Matchups:

No. 1 Kuemper Catholic (22-3) vs. No. 8 Union Community (22-3)

No. 2 Regina Catholic (22-1) vs. No. 7 Aplington-Parkersburg (22-3)

No. 3 Unity Christian (22-2) vs. No. 6 Western Christian (18-6)

No. 4 Treynor (22-3) vs. No. 5 Grundy Center (23-1)

3A First Round Matchups:

No. 1 Ballard (23-1) vs. No. 8 Gilbert (16-8)

No. 2 Storm Lake (23-2) vs. No. 7 Solon (23-2)

No. 3 ADM (22-2) vs. No. 6 Xavier (15-8)

No. 4 Pella (21-4) vs. No. 5 Carroll (20-5)

4A First Round Matchups:

No. 1 Cedar Falls (22-0) vs. No. 8 Urbandale (14-8)

No. 2 Waukee Northwest (20-4) vs. No. 7 Johnston (15-8)

No. 3 Waukee (21-2) vs. No. 6 Prairie (18-5)

No. 4 Dowling Catholic (20-3) vs. No. 5 Dubuque Senior (21-2)

There is a ton of great high school basketball to watch. The girls will be crowing their champions, and the boys will be battling all week long. On both sides, there is going to be plenty of college-level talent on the hardwood. The girls finals will be streamed on Iowa PBS, and here is a link on how to watch the boys games once they start next week.

Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

As of Friday morning, March 6, Guthrie County and Adair County are among 13 Iowa counties that remain under an open burn ban, meaning that citizens are prohibited from open burning. To see the updated status of burn bans or other important notices from the Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management Agency, see the agency’s Facebook page.

Note: this ban does not prohibit the use of outdoor fireplaces or barbecue grills.

Special to the Times Vedette

St. Cecilia’s Knights of Columbus Council No. 11242 recently presented a check in the amount of $1,259.38 to Country View Estates in Guthrie Center as a donation from a portion of the funds raised in the Knights’ Tootsie Roll Drive. Pictured are Knights member Deacon Dick Ziller and Janet Oberholtz and Gary Randel with Country View Estates. 

New Opportunities staff show the donated cans of soup.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Guthrie County Outreach Coordinator Rhonda Huggins at New Opportunities shared two recent success stories in the battle against hunger in the county.

Huggins noted that New Opportunities partnered with Guthrie County State Bank for the annual “Souper Bowl” program, which ran Jan. 20 through Feb. 11. The bank matched donations can for can. This year, the program collected a total of 848 cans of soup.

“We so appreciate this event and look forward to it every year. The donations help us to stock up the pantry for our clients,” Huggins said. “Thank you so much to everyone involved.”

Another program Huggins mentioned is “Pork in the Pantry.”

“The program provides funding to county organizations for pork donations to local food pantries. The Iowa Pork Producers Association will reimburse participating counties up to $1,000 for pork products donated to local food pantries,” Huggins said. “Thanks to Grace Evans for reaching out to us here at New Opportunities in Guthrie Center so we could be included in this very worthwhile opportunity.”

Grace Evans (Iowa Pork Producers), Rhonda Huggins (New Opportunities) and Merici Sheeder (Guthrie County Quality Meats).