High School

Council Bluffs St. Albert claims first title in instant classic

St. Albert tops Newell-Fonda in double-OT for 1A gold

Dana Becker

Newell-Fonda's Kinzee Hinders attempts a shot against Council Bluffs St. Albert's Avah Underwood (40) and Lexie Pearce (14) during the 1A IGHSAU state basketball championship at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday.
Newell-Fonda's Kinzee Hinders attempts a shot against Council Bluffs St. Albert's Avah Underwood (40) and Lexie Pearce (14) during the 1A IGHSAU state basketball championship at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday. / Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It took eight extra minutes of intense action, but for the first time in school history, the Council Bluffs St. Albert girls are state champions.

The Saintes claimed a double-overtime thriller vs. Newell-Fonda Saturday night in the Class 1A championship, 61-58. The contest marked the final one of the season from inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Avah Underwood had a monster game, scoring 20 points while grabbing 24 rebounds to lead Council Bluffs St. Albert. Molly Wise added 12 points while Eleanor Coughlin had seven.

For the Mustangs, who earned the ninth runner-up finish in program history, Kinzee Hinders had 22 points with nine rebounds while Jocee Walsh had nine points and nine rebounds. 

Wise had a key 3-pointer with 63 seconds left to lift St. Albert to the advantage on the scoreboard. Underwood, the all-tournament team captain, set three rebounding records.

Council Bluffs St. Albert had previously finished second in 2000 in 2A. Newell-Fonda was seeking title No. 5 in its record 13th appearance in the finals.

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

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