High School

First Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tickets Punched

Eight teams qualify for 3A state tournament.

Dana Becker

Solon’s Tenley Levin (23) shoots the basketball against multiple Mount Vernon defenders Dec. 16, 2025 in Solon, Iowa.
Solon’s Tenley Levin (23) shoots the basketball against multiple Mount Vernon defenders Dec. 16, 2025 in Solon, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Basketball Tournament is starting to take shape, as tickets in the Class 3A field were punched Saturday night.

The tournament takes place March 2-7 in Des Moines, Iowa from the Casey’s Center. More classes will determine qualifiers in the coming days.

Advancing as regional champions were Cherokee, Des Moines Christian, Forest City, Maquoketa, Mount Vernon, Mediapolis, Dubuque Wahlert and Williamsburg.

Defending Champion Mount Vernon Returns In 3A

Last year, Mount Vernon claimed the title with a victory over Dubuque Wahlert in the finals, 47-36.

Mount Vernon advanced with a 58-50 victory over Mid-Prairie while Dubuque Wahlert secured one of the eight slots when they downed Center Point-Urbana, 61-47.

All eight qualifiers were the higher-seeded teams for the regional finals.

The 3A state tournament will begin with three games on Monday, March 2 and the fourth quarterfinal going down Tuesday, March 3.

Here is the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Basketball Tournament pairings for the Class 3A field.

Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Basketball Tournament

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

Monday, March 2

  • Mount Vernon (22-2) vs. Cherokee (20-3), 5 p.m.
  • Dubuque Wahlert (18-5) vs. Williamsburg (20-5), 6:45 p.m.
  • Maquoketa (21-4) vs. Mediapolis (23-0), 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 3

  • Des Moines Christian (22-3) vs. Forest City (22-3), 10 a.m.

Semifinals

Thursday, March 5

  • Mount Vernon/Cherokee winner vs. Dubuque Wahlert/Williamsburg winner, 1:30 p.m.
  • Maquoketa/Mediapolis winner vs. Des Moines Christian/Forest City winner, 3:15 p.m.

Championship

Friday, March 6

  • Semifinal winner vs. semifinal winner, 8 p.m.

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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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