ALGONA—Algona started fast and held off a fourth quarter rally by Cherokee to defeat the Braves 52-44 on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and advance to the Class 3A regional final against top-ranked Estherville-Lincoln Central.

The red-and-black scored the first 10 points of the contest and led 10-0 after three minutes of play. The visitors’ first point came with 3:19 remaining in the opening frame as the home team led 15-6 at the conclusion of the first quarter.