DES MOINES -- The Davenport Assumption students knew at 10-0.Mike Sconsa had a feeling earlier than that.Top-ranked Assumption solved the vaunted zone defense of No. 4 Cascade, drilling 10 3-pointers in a 63-26 Class 3A semifinal rout at the girls' state basketball tournament Thursday afternoon ...

DES MOINES -- The Cascade Cougars are devoted to defense."More than half of our practice is centered around defensive stuff, every day," said Holly Hunt.All that shifting and all those stances. Grunt work that isn't glamorous, or much fun.But Tuesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena, ...

Mike Sconsa isn't fooled by his opponent's record, and he isn't comforted by the ease of victory in the last encounter."I'm trying to get that across to my team," said Sconsa, whose fourth-ranked Cascade Cougars (19-2) host Dyersville Beckman (8-13) in a Class 3A quarterfinal ...

CASCADE -- The lead was all but gone. Collapse was lurking around the corner."Yeah, I was getting a little nervous," Haley Dudley said. "But you can't let nerves get the best of you. You have to stay strong."Class 2A fifth-ranked North Linn was super-strong early, suddenly ...

CASCADE -- North Linn is explosive. Cascade is stingy.And Tuesday's Tri-Rivers Conference girls basketball showdown is a prime example of contrasting tempos."They like to slow the game down, and we like to push the pace," North Linn Coach Brian Wheatley said. "Whoever controls tempo is ...

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cascade’s zone makes most foes shudder. It made the Mount Vernon Mustangs salivate.Reserve Micah Wieditz was 4-for-4 from long distance in the first half to stake Mount Vernon to a comfortable lead, and the Mustangs toppled No. 1 Cascade, 52-33, in a ...

MONTICELLO — Time of drought: 23 minutes, 10 seconds. That’s how long it was between field goals for Monticello. The result was predictable. Top-ranked Cascade smothered Monticello with its zone and cruised, 35-20, in a Class 2A regional semifinal girls’ basketball game Friday night at Monticello High ...

It’s Monticello. It’s regionals. It’s on the road. But Cascade Coach Mike Sconsa is reasonably relaxed. Or at least diplomatic. "There are no perfect systems, and if I throw a fit, the girls will throw a fit," Sconsa said. "We just have to get ready. It’s another ...

Poetry in motion? Not the Cascade Cougars. "We’re not flashy by any stretch of the imagination," said Coach Mike Sconsa. Style? Maybe not. Substance? Plenty of it. Class 2A state runners-up a year ago, the Cougars have held seven straight opponents in the 20s and have rattled off ...

By Jeff Linder The Gazette MANCHESTER — How ironic was that? “Beyond-belief ironic,” according to Cascade Coach Mike Sconsa.Cascade wasted a 13-point lead, recovered to force overtime, then got a late basket from Amber Meyer to shock No. 1 MFL MarMac, 40-38, in a Class 2A girls’ basketball ...