High School Basketball
With our local teams getting a short breather with Winter Break, we will take a look at our conference standings after the season’s early showdowns, moving on to the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division.
On the girls’ side, #10 Mediapolis is sprinting away with another conference title with Central Lee trying to keep pace. The undefeated Bulldogs have been stellar on defense, averaging 18.5 steals per game, and behind the arc, shooting 37.3% from three-point land. The Hawks have relied on a tough defense, allowing only 40.8 points per game. The two will meet after winter break on January 2nd.
Van Buren County and West Burlington are hanging out behind the front runners with 4-2 records. Both teams have fallen to the Bulldogs. Danville sits at 2-3 in the conference and has already knocked off Central Lee 68-52. Senior Macie Wagner talked about what makes this group special,
“We have a lot of growing on the specific aspect of the game, like what we actually have to do with different teams. Like we have to be very fast paced because we don’t have a lot of height, but I think something that sets us apart from other teams is that we are very connected to each other. We have a lot of chemistry. And so we just gel really good on the court. I mean, once you’ve played with girls for a long time, you know what their strengths are and what our weaknesses are so that when you know that a really good team can form out of that.”
Holy Trinity Catholic and Burlington Notre Dame are each 1-4, while New London is still searching for their first victory of the season.
For the boys’ teams, Burlington Notre Dame has appeared almost unstoppable. The Nikes have failed to score less than 70 points just twice this season, beating Central Lee 57-49 and Holy Trinity Catholic 59-43. The Nikes are shooting 46.7% from the floor as Shay Stephens has played out of his mind, averaging 26.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.2 steals per game.
Mediapolis and Central Lee both have lost to the Nikes this season, but have otherwise played strong. The Bulldogs shoot nearly 50% from the field and average nearly 11 steals per game, while the Hawks limit their opponents to just 40 points per game.
West Burlington, Danville, and Holy Trinity Catholic all have three losses against South foes, while Van Buren County’s sole conference win this year was against a winless New London squad 60-56.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will compete in the Keokuk Invite on January 3rd. Head coach Abby Blint talked about some of the girls to look out for as the year progresses,
“Well, our returner state qualifier from last year, Zenlynn Lee, she’s been working hard. So we’re expecting her to work hard again this season. And then I would say all of our girls this year are really working hard, and they’re wanting to do some cool things.”
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant and West Burlington will get back to action with the Louisa-Muscatine Invite on January 3rd.
Southeastern Community College
The women’s basketball team will travel to Iowa Lakes Community College on January 3rd, at 1 pm.
College Football
#23 Iowa will take on #14 Vanderbilt on December 31st at 11 am for the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida.
College Basketball
The #10 Iowa State women’s team will get back to action on December 31st against Houston on the road at 1 pm.
The #14 Iowa women’s team will take on Penn State for their Big Ten Home Opener on Sunday, December 28th, at 3 pm.
The #25 Iowa men’s team will host UMass Lowell on December 29th at 4 pm.
The #3 Iowa State men’s team will face off against Houston Christian on December 29th at 7 pm at home.
This Day in Sports History
1888 – First indoor baseball game played at the fairgrounds in Philadelphia; 2,000 watch the Uptowners beat the Downtowners 6-1.
1971 – Longest game in NFL history as the Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in 2OT in an AFL playoff game; the game lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds.
2020 – New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara equals Ernie Nevers 1929 NFL record of six touchdowns in a game in the Saints’ 52-33 win over the Minnesota Vikings at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.