Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines

No. 4 Benton (22-3) 40, No. 5 Des Moines Christian (21-4) 34

DMC 5 6 14 9 - 34
B  17 9 10 4 - 40

Jenna Twedt led Benton with 16 points. Emma Townsley added 10 points. Piper Nelson had eight rebounds. With two assists each were Townsley and Addison Phillips. Nelson had two blocks.

Maren Miller led Des Moines Christian with 10 points.

Coach Jeff Zittergruen’s comments: “Our girls did an excellent job of executing the defensive plan on Monday night. We were dialed in and did a great job of taking away their individual player’s strengths. We got off to a good start offensively. I thought our experience of being down there last year helped us to get past some of the early nerves and we were able to execute early. They did a good job of adjusting defensively and made it more difficult for us offensively. Credit to our girls, they battled through some adversity and made the plays needed to win.”

“Thursday is going to be a battle. They are a very good, veteran team. Both groups know a lot about each other and it should make for an outstanding game. We appreciate all the support we got from the community on Monday night and hope that we can get even more people down there on Thursday afternoon.”

Benton faces No. 8 Vinton-Shellsburg (18-7) on Thursday, March 2, in the semifinal round of Class 3A. Vinton-Shellsburg reach the semifinals by defeating No. 1 Estherville Lincoln Central, 54-46. The game is at 1:30 p.m.

	DMC	BC
Field goals	13/35	14/43
3-pointers	2/15	8/24
Free throws	6/10	4/8
Rebounds	27	28
Assists	6	8
Steals	1	3
Blocks	2	4
Turnovers	9	5
Fouls	10	9