Looking back over the previous week in Wells Fargo Arena, a couple things stood out after Mount Vernon won a state title in girls’ basketball.
1. Defense. Mount Vernon set a 3A record for fewest points allowed – 19, 34, and 36 for a total of 89. (Coach Nathan Sanderson also set the record in 1A with Springville.)
A lot of goes back to lessons learned in the loss to ELC in 2024. The Mustangs relied on a zone defense that harassed a lot of teams with the Francks – Courtney and Taylor – at the top.
But this fall, both the coaches and players knew they should use more man-to-man.
“Last year, our zone got exposed a few times,” Sanderson said. “Courtney (Franck) had been asking since her freshman year to play more man.
“We have such dynamic athletes; it gave us more flexibility.”
“We kept telling him we had the players and the skill to play man,” Franck said. “He told us ‘I’ll take it under consideration.’ It worked out really well.”
2. Pile on Meester. It was a tough week for senior center Chloe Meester.
Teams wanted to take the 6-foot-3 center out of the Mustangs’ game plans. She ended up scoring just 17 points over three games (when she came to state almost averaging that every game), but she did have 30 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Most teams figured it out, it is harder to keep her from scoring once she catches it,” Sanderson said. “They made entry passes tough, made it hard to get it inside.”
And it showed the strength of the Mustangs that they could win without Meester having big games.
“We have so many offensive weapons,” senior Sydney Huber said. “Everybody can score on any night; different people step up. We’re happy whenever anybody gets their turn.”
3. Team effort. Mount Vernon relied a lot of its starting five during the state title run. But senior Eryn Jackson continued her work as the team’s sixth player.
“Eryn has been the first guard off the bench for four years, and that’s not always an easy role,” Sanderson said. “But she embraces it. She can come in and knock down open shots, and her defense has gotten better and better.
“She’s known as mama bear. She takes care of her teammates. It goes unnoticed, but not by the team.”
Sophomore Rylee Rasmussen logged minutes at post to give Meester some rest. Then the rest of the roster includes sophomore Alivia Truitt, freshman Quinn Pershing, sophomore Lucy Wischmeyer, sophomore Sophia Meester, and freshman Ella Wilson.
“The reserves formed the scout team, and they were a big part of our success at state,” Sanderson said. “The scout team learns what the opponent is doing. Against Wahlert, they had 20 minutes to learn it before the walkthrough.
“They make us so much better.”
Sanderson credits his assistants – Jacob Misener, Ben Knake and Jason Pershing. He also got help from volunteer assistant Susan Orbis, Jackson’s aunt and a former Iowa Hawkeye (Susan Koering) and high school coach.
“She scouted Wahlert, worked ahead on that, and when we got to the hotel Thursday night, she had a detailed scouting report and video clips,” Sanderson said. “That really gave us a head start.”
4. By the way. Sydney Huber finished her career with over 1,000 points. She was at 996 going into the championship, then scored 24 against Wahlert.
5. Double up. Mount Vernon added its name to a small list of programs who have won a volleyball title and a basketball title in the same school year.
“After having done it in volleyball, we kind of just wanted that feeling back,” Huber said. “When we did it, it was an amazing feeling.”
There is still time to add a track, or perhaps a softball banner, as well.
6. Repeat? The rebuild might be difficult, saying goodbye to two D-I athletes (Huber, Meester) and “mama bear” Jackson.
But Courtney and Taylor Franck will be seniors. Savanna Wright will be a sophomore.
“Oh yeah,” Wright said. “We’re trying to win back to back. If we put our heads down, and keep working towards it, we can do it again.”
Sanderson knows, after two straight trips to Wells Fargo, it has become the expectation.
“Once you’ve been there, you want to go back every year,” Sanderson said. “Obviously, we’ll look different. At the end of the year, all the pieces go back in the box. You take a few out, put a few in. Shake it up and see how it comes together.
“But I think the goal is to get back again.
“But first, we’ll enjoy this one a little bit.”