Led by outstanding play from its senior stalwarts last week, the Marion girls' basketball team punched its ticket to this week's Iowa Girls' State Basketball Tournament, its second trip to Des Moines for the "Big Dance" in the last three years.

The Class 3A eighth-ranked Indians beat Anamosa, 52-40, in a regional tournament final Feb. 23, their 17th straight win. Marion (23-1) was scheduled to play top-ranked and top-seeded Sioux City Heelan (23-1) in a 3A state quarter-final this past Tuesday at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines.

The winner plays in a 3A semifinal Thursday at 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo.

The Indians felt the sting of not making it to Des Moines last year after the 2008 team accomplished that goal, and they are thrilled to be back in the mix.

"It's been … we've just felt so much pressure," Marion Coach Sherryl Gaffney-Paige said. "Coach (Steve) Fish and I wanted it so much for these girls. We put so much pressure on ourselves and the girls. That was their goal - to get back to state no matter what it took. Just go out there and have some fun."

Marion faced a Heelan team that was on a 20-game winning streak since losing to Class 4A top-ranked and unbeaten Linn-Mar, 71-55, back on Dec. 11. Could it be these teams from Marion have the Crusaders' number?

The teams were equally dominant on their way to Des Moines. Heelan averaged 72.3 points a game while giving up just 44.2, while Marion put up 68.9 to its opponents' 42.6.

The Class 3A state tournament field is loaded. It features No. 1-ranked Heelan (23-1), No. 2 Waukon (23-1), No. 3 Algona (24-0), No. 4 Davenport Assumption (22-2), No. 5 Ballard (22-1), No. 8 Marion (23-1), No. 12 Knoxville (23-1) and No. 13 Storm Lake (20-2).

"The top-five in 3A are just as good as any other field at the state tournament," Gaffney-Paige said. "There are a lot of D-I athletes out there. But our team - it's a nice group of girls and nice group of skilled athletes."

This Marion senior class combined for an overall varsity record of 93-13 as it headed into the Heelan contest.

The Indians didn't have to struggle much against Anamosa, a fellow WaMaC Conference entrant they didn't meet during the regular season because they are in different divisions.

Senior Morgan Paige was her usual, outstanding self, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, with four assists and four rebounds. Kristin Kramer was 2 of 3 from 3-point range and 6 of 6 from the free throw stripe, good for 12 points, and Alli O'Neill added nine points, four rebounds and four blocked shots. Brittany Fish finished with six points and three assists.

Paige and Fish are winding down extraordinary prep careers. Paige has accepted a scholarship offer from Division I University of Wisconsin and Fish will play at Division II Maryville (Mo.) University. A complete recap of their careers will appear in next week's edition of The Times.