The No. 14 in class 3A Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls basketball team faced a stiff playoff test Wednesday night, travelling to Donnellson to battle 18-4 Central Lee in the regional semifinals.

Mid-Prairie passed the test with flying colors, beating Central Lee 84-52. The two teams traded baskets to start the contest but the Golden Hawks went on an 11-2 run late in the first quarter to open up a 19-10 lead at the end of the first frame. Mid-Prairie continued to stretch their lead in the second period, seeing it grow as large as 17 points. The Golden Hawks would take a 15 point lead into the lockeroom at 39-24, despite having four starters on the bench for the final three minutes of the half with foul trouble and being outrebounded by the best rebounding team in 3A.

In the third quarter Central Lee put together a run of 7-0, cutting the Mid-Prairie lead to 13. Following a timeout the Golden Hawks answered by reeling off a 12-4 run and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way. Mid-Prairie beat Central Lee at their own game, blasting the state’s fifth highest scoring team with 84 points, the most they have surrendered all season, while defensively forcing 20 turnovers and holding Central Lee 10 points below their season average. The Golden Hawks also worked around foul trouble, despite entering the fourth quarter with all five starters having three or more fouls, no Golden Hawks fouled out. Mid-Prairie was led on the night by Alex Rath, the senior went for 24 points to lead all scorers, Ali Butters had 16 points and Addison Rath finished with 12.

With the win Mid-Prairie improves to 15-8 on the season, Central Lee ends the year at 18-5. The Golden Hawks advance to Saturday’s regional final in Oskaloosa to battle South Tama who was a winner over Williamsburg on Wednesday night. With a win the Golden Hawks would qualify for their first state tournament since the 2012-2013 season.