Iowa Girls State Basketball: Dallas Center-Grimes Caps Stunning Rally

One team was left heartbroken and the other was filled with nothing but joy when the buzzer sounded on the first Class 4A semifinal at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Tournament on Thursday.

For Norwalk, a six-point lead with 46 seconds remaining wasn’t enough, as Dallas Center-Grimes rallied for a 47-42 victory. They will now take on Carlisle on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for the crown.

Ava Smid was the star, scoring four points with a steal in a matter of seconds to turn a two-point deficit into a two-point lead. The Mustangs would seal the deal at the free throw line, taking advantage of a technical foul in the process.

Dallas Center-Grimes outscored Norwalk in the fourth, 19-11, as all 11 points from the Warriors came courtesy of star Braylyn Birmingham. Smid had eight and Tessa Jones five over the final eight minutes.

Smid scored a team-leading 16 points, with Jones adding 12. Smid also had six steals, five rebounds and two assists, Leah Brauch scored nine points with seven rebounds and two assists, and Addie Abens added six rebounds and four points.

The Mustangs were plus-20 on points in the paint and converted 16 turnovers into 18 points.

Birmingham finished with a game-high 26 points, adding five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, as Ava Carlson had 13 rebounds, five points and two steals for the Warriors.

Carlisle Rolls Past No. 1 Sioux City Bishop Heelan

Macy Comito, Carlisle, Iowa, girls basketball, state tournament — Carlisle's Macy Comito (23) takes a shot from three-point range on March 3, 2026, at Casey’s Center in Des Moines. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Macy Comito came to play, and Carlisle took advantage of it.

Comito, an Iowa State commit, scored 42 points to lead the her team to the state championship with a resounding 73-60 victory over Sioux City Bishop Heelan.

Carlisle will face Dallas Center-Grimes on Saturday afternoon from the Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa for the title. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m.

Along with going 12-for-22 from the field, Comito was 13 of 13 at the free throw line. She buried five 3-pointers and added five steals, three rebounds and three assists, breaking the 4A state tournament single-game record that was set earlier this week by Melina Snoozy of Sioux City Bishop Heelan.

Kami Clark scored 11 points with four assists, Ella Smith had nine points and four rebounds, and Mallie Stoner added six points, seven rebounds and two blocks. The Wildcats shot 53 percent from the floor and made 79 percent of their free throw attempts.

Snoozy did all she could to match Comito, scoring 27 points with six rebounds, two assists and two steals before fouling out late. She was 11 of 14 from the field and made four triples.

Ella Otten and Trishelle Miller each scored 12, as Miller also had seven assists.

Points off turnovers was the biggest difference between the two, as Carlisle converted 18 turnovers into 26 points compared to 13 points by Heelan off 15 Wildcat turnovers.

The state championship game will stream live on WatchIGHSAU.com.