North Polk is winning in March again.
The fifth-seeded Comets got 27 points from Drake commit Maggie Phipps and rolled past fourth-seeded Red Oak 68-40 to reach the Class 3A semifinals for the third straight year.
Phipps, a junior, made all six of her 3-point shots, three of them during a personal 11-0 run in the third quarter, and finished 8-for-13 overall. She also went 6-for-6 on free throws.
Jaedon Murphy, the only senior who starts for the Comets, put up a solid line with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while sophomore Lucy Shaffer added 11 points and eight rebounds.
North Polk, which lost in the championship game last year, stood 7-4 after a mid-January loss to Grinnell but has won 13 of its last 14 and 10 in a row. The Comets will take a 20-5 record against top-seeded Dike-New Hartford in a semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Red Oak brought an eight game winning streak into its second state tournament appearance in three years but could not keep up with the Comets' offensive balance. Chloe Johnson had 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting, five rebounds and three steals to lead the Tigers. Sophie Walker added 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
North Polk never trailed in the game and it was tied only once -- at 2-2. The Comets led 20-10 after one quarter and once they went on an 8-0 run to open a 28-15 lead midway through the second quarter, they stayed ahead by double figures the rest of the way.
It was 40-26 when Phipps started her big run. She hit a 3-pointer, drove for a bucket, nailed a step-back 3 from the top of the key and followed by swishing yet another 3-pointer, this one from the right wing, stretching the lead to 51-29. She nailed a final 3 for a 65-36 lead before heading to the bench for good.
Red Oak finishes with a 21-4 record. Two of those losses were to unbeaten Glenwood, which will play in the Class 4A tournament on Tuesday.