DES MOINES — Good times were in short supply for West Marshall girls basketball on Monday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

Facing what was eventually a historically-insurmountable challenge, the Trojan girls kept pushing nonetheless.

Top-ranked Mount Vernon blasted West Marshall, 75-19, in a Class 3A state quarterfinal in Des Moines.

The Mustangs advanced to Thursday’s semifinals against Estherville-Lincoln Central. West Marshall’s season ends at 19-6 overall.

Mount Vernon’s margin of victory is the largest in 3A history, clearing the previous mark of 46 points set by Davenport Assumption in a 2013 win against Red Oak.

“We knew it’d be a challenge for us, unfortunately they were making a lot of their shots and we weren’t,” West Marshall head coach Cody Hackett said, “and if that’s the way it’s gonna go, you have to work as hard as you can and lay it on the line — if you can look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the night and say you gave it your all, you should be happy.

“Sometimes shots fall and sometimes they don’t, it was just one of those nights for us.”

Natalie Nichols scored the first basket of the game to make it 2-0 West Marshall. Sydney Huber answered with a three for the Mustangs, part of a 12-0 response, and the rout was well on its way at 25-7 after the first quarter.

Mount Vernon made 13-of-25 attempts from 3-point range on Monday, led by freshman Savanna Wright’s five treys toward her career-high 23 points.

“They came out with a bunch of energy, they weren’t scared of anything,” West Marshall senior Bella Borgos said. “They were very well prepared.”

The Mustangs were just as dangerous on defense, swiping 16 steals and limiting what the Trojans could do inside with intense guarding, paced by 6-foot-3 Louisville volleyball commit Chloe Meester.

West Marshall had 21 turnovers in total and finished 8-of-44 from the floor, including 1-of-15 from 3-point range.

The Mustangs’ early momentum snowballed into the second quarter, in what was a 25-0 run and a 47-9 lead at halftime, leading to a second half of continuous clock. Mount Vernon was 30-of-58 from the floor.

“They could literally make every single shot, I swear,” Trojan senior Lily Zahnd said. “There wasn’t much we could do in the second half, so we just had to play hard, try to have some fun and play the best we could for the last time together.”

Borgos finished with seven points for the Trojans. Zahnd added four points and four Trojans had a bucket each — Nichols, Halle Jones, Lilie Rosedale and Shelby Johnston. The latter three represent West Marshall’s future, with Jones and Johnston — along with Riley Randall — as seniors-to-be.

“I hope they never get discouraged to try harder,” Borgos said. “Go out of your comfort zone, do what you have to to win. I feel like we showed those younger girls to never give up, even if you’re underestimated — we had a lot of doubters that said we weren’t going to make it here so getting here is just a milestone itself.”

Monday was the final game for Borgos, Zahnd, Nichols and Avery Evertsen, and that reality hit hard. West Marshall was also a state quarterfinalist in 2023.

It was easier to talk about the good memories of the lead-up to Monday’s game — the team breakfast, the small-town community send-off, being back on “The Well” floor.

“These are memories I’ll never forget,” Zahnd said. “Some of my teammates and I were lucky to experience something like this twice when not everyone gets to even experience it once.”

Borgos added: “Having West Marshall across my chest has meant so much. The coaches I’ve had, the teammates I’ve had, my parents, everyone has been so supportive. These things always hurt, but when you have a good team, and a good environment around you, it makes it better.”

Iowa Girls State Basketball Tournament

At Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines

CLASS 3A

Quarterfinals

Monday, March 3

Mount Vernon 75, West Marshall 19

Estherville-Lincoln Central 57, Cherokee 33

Dubuque Wahlert 51, Spirit Lake 46

Tuesday, March 4

No. 3 Williamsburg (23-2) vs. No. 6 Des Moines Christian (21-3), 10 a.m.

Semifinals

Thursday, March 6

No. 1 Mount Vernon (24-1) vs. No. 5 Estherville-Lincoln Central (21-3), 1:30 p.m.

No. 2 Dubuque Wahlert (20-4) vs. No. 3 Williamsburg (24-2) or No. 6 Des Moines Christian (22-3), 3:15 p.m.

Championship

Friday, March 7

Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.

No. 1 Mount Vernon 75, West Marshall 19

WEST MARSHALL (19-6) — Bella Borgos 3-18 0-0 7, Lily Zahnd 1-4 2-2 4, Natalie Nichols 1-5 0-0 2, Halle Jones 1-4 0-0 2, Avery Evertsen 0-1 0-0 0, Olivia Randall 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Randall 0-3 0-0 0, Mia Christianson 0-0 0-0 0, Dalaney Eldridge 0-1 0-0 0, Kinley Johnston 0-2 0-0 0, Lilie Rosedale 1-1 0-0 2, Shelby Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Nelle Kemmerer 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 8-44 2-2 19.

MOUNT VERNON (24-1) — Savanna Wright 9-11 0-0 23, Taylor Franck 3-9 0-0 7, Chloe Meester 3-8 0-0 6, Courtney Franck 3-7 1-3 7, Sydney Huber 6-10 1-1 16, Alivia Truitt 0-0 0-0 0, Quinn Pershing 3-3 0-0 8, Eryn Jackson 2-5 0-0 6, Lucy Wischmeyer 0-4 0-0 0, Sophia Meester 0-0 0-0 0, Rylee Rasmussen 1-1 0-0 2, Ella Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 30-58 2-4 75.

W. MARSHALL 7 2 2 8 — 19

MOUNT VERNON 25 22 17 11 — 75

3-Point Goals–West Marshall 1-15 (Borgos 1-8, Zahnd 0-1, Jones 0-1, K. Johnston 0-1, Kemmerer 0-1, R. Randall 0-3), Mount Vernon 13-25 (Wright 5-7, Huber 3-6, Pershing 2-2, Jackson 2-5, T. Franck 1-3, C. Franck 0-1, Wischmeyer 0-1). Rebounds–West Marshall 28 (Zahnd, S. Johnston 6), Mount Vernon 37 (C. Meester 9). Assists–West Marshall 2 (Borgos, O. Randall), Mount Vernon 18 (C. Franck 7). Team Fouls–West Marshall 6, Mount Vernon 8. Fouled Out–none.