Author: Nathan Bloechl

Girls’ Prep Basketball: Osky’s Big 4th Quarter Leads to Win over Panthers; Other Area Finals:

Oskaloosa 62, Mount Pleasant 41

Oskaloosa used an 18-4 fourth quarter run to pull away for a 62-41 win over Mount Pleasant last night in a non conference tilt at Oskaloosa High School.

Mount Pleasant, who trailed by six at halftime, cut the deficit to as little as two in the third quarter before Oskaloosa’s fourth quarter avalanche.

Andrea Lopreato paced the Panthers with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Kenna Lamm finished with 10 points and three boards.

Andi Scott chipped in with five.

Presley Blommers scored a game-high 23 points for the Indians. Addison Carter added 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Indians sank 11 three balls to Mount Pleasant’s three.

The Panthers, now 1-4, will look to get back on track Friday night when they travel to Keokuk.

Tip from Wright Fieldhouse is set for 7:30 p.m.

Winfield-Mount Union 75, Lone Tree 11

Winfield-Mount Union led 23-0 after one quarter and 45-2 at halftime, suffocating Lone Tree in a 75-11 win last night.

Keetyn Townsley led four players in double figures with 16 points for the Lady Wolves.

Keely Malone and Bradie Buffington both had 14 points, while Melina Oepping ended with 10.

Winfield-Mount Union stayed perfect with the win, the Lady Wolves are 6-0.

They’ll battle Central Lee on the road on Friday night.

WACO 55, Columbus 38 

Ellah Kissell poured in 27 points to lead WACO to an easy win over Columbus last night, 55-38.

WACO led by 13 at the end of the first quarter and used a 14-8 third quarter run to pull away for the win.

The win evened the Warriors’ ledger at 2-2.

They’ll get a road date with Cardinal, Friday night.

Cardinal 48, New London 39 

Cardinal outscored New London 23-13 in the second half to come from behind for a 48-39 win last night over the Tigers.

Emma Becker had 15 points while Cynthia Albert finished with 12 for the Comets.

Cardinal improved to 3-3.

New London slumped to 0-6.

They’ll look to get off the schnide on Thursday night at Lone Tree.

Other area finals:

• L-M 60, Hillcrest 31
• Mediapolis 54, Highland 37
• Wapello 46, Pekin 29
• Central Lee 61, Danville 32
• Notre Dame 61, West Burlington 38
• Holy Trinity 51, Van Buren County 28

Prep Boys’ Basketball: WACO, W-MU Roll; Other Prep Finals:

WACO 78, Columbus 29 

Vincent Jones led a balanced WACO attack with 16 points as the Warriors hit cruise control for a 78-29 win over Columbus, last night.

The Warriors scored 29 points in the second quarter to a 26-point lead into halftime.

They then limited the Wildcats to just seven second half points.

WACO improved to 2-1 with the win.

They’ll get Cardinal in Eldon on Friday night.

Winfield-Mount Union 64, Lone Tree 34

A 24-7 third quarter run was all Winfield-Mount Union needed in a 64-34 win over Lone Tree last night.

Abram Edwards ended with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Cam Buffington recorded yet another double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

Freshman Jake Edwards chipped in with 12 points, as well.

Just like the Lady Wolves, Winfield’s boys’ stayed unbeaten at 4-0.

They’ll travel to Mediapolis on Friday night, in what should be a dandy.

New London 67, Cardinal 55

Devon Swanson had a monster, 25 point and eight rebound performance to help steer New London past Cardinal last night, 67-55.

Kade Benjamin finished with 14 points and eight boards, while Tayshaun Donaldson added 10.

New London trailed 18-12 at the end of the first quarter but won the rest of the game by 18.

Still undefeated at 2-0, New London will play Trey Magnani’s Van Buren County Warriors on the road on Friday night.

Other prep finals:

• Danville 75, Central Lee 43
• Holy Trinity 44, Van Buren County 43
• Wapello 47, Pekin 43
• Hillcrest Academy 62, L-M 35
• Mediapolis 41, Highland 29

Prep Wrestling: Mediapolis Falls Twice in Double Dual:

Mediapolis was beaten twice in yesterday’s varsity double dual at Fort Madison.

The Bulldogs were bested 54-30 by Burlington and 63-17 by Fort Madison.

Quinten Aney, No. 3 in the latest IAWrestle.com rankings at 132-pounds, earned a fall and a tech fall for the Bulldogs.

113-pounder Gavin Gerber earned two falls for the Bulldogs, as well.

Burlington and Fort Madison both went to 2-0.

Outside of beating Mediapolis, Burlington took down Wapello based on tiebreaker protocol, while Fort Madison beat the Indians 50-21.

Women’s College Basketball: Iowa’s Clark Tabbed B1G Player of the Week:

University of Iowa sophomore Caitlin Clark was named Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the conference announced yesterday afternoon.

The honor is the 24^th of her career.

In two games last week, Clark averaged 23 points, 10 assists and 9.5 rebounds, and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.

She added three steals and a block to fill her stat line for the week.

Clark and the Hawkeyes return to action tonight in Ames, Iowa, against the Iowa State Cyclones in the Cy-Hawk Series game.

Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

Girls’ Prep Basketball: Mount Pleasant at Osky, Other Area Action: 

The Mount Pleasant girls’ basketball team (1-3) will aim to get back into the win column tonight when they travel to face Oskaloosa in a nonconference matchup.

The Panthers have lost two straight to Fort Madison and West Burlington after beating Ottumwa.

Andrea Lopreato is off to a great start for Curt Watson’s group, leading the team with 16.8 points per game along with nine rebounds and nearly five assists. She’s been as advertised in her junior season.

Senior Kenna Lamm has taken a leap as well. The dynamic guard scored 20 points against Fort Madison — a season high for her —- and is averaging 14 per game and shooting 43% from three-point land.

Oskaloosa is 2-1 on the season, with wins over Knoxville and Fairfield sandwiched around a tough loss to top-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes.

The Indians are paced by junior guard Presley Blommers and her 19.3 points per game.

Aubree Blanco averages 10 points per game as does Addison Carter.

Mount Pleasant has won three consecutive against Oskaloosa, including eight of the last nine.

Tonight’s game will tip at 7:00 p.m.

You can listen on FM 105.5 and kilj.com.

Nathan Bloechl and Kent Bennett will have the call.

Other area action tonight:

• Danville at Central Lee
• WACO at Columbus
• Van Buren County at Holy Trinity
• Highland at Mediapolis
• Cardinal at New London
• West Burlington at Notre Dame
• Pekin at Wapello
• Lone Tree at Winfield-Mount Union

All Super Conference bouts are boy-girl doubleheaders with the girls’ game opening at 6:00 p.m. with the boys’ to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Boys’ Prep Basketball: Latest AP Rankings Announced:

The latest Associated Press Top 10 polls for each class have been announced and several area teams are receiving attention in this week’s edition.

CLASS 1A                              

1. North Linn (5) —  3-0

2. Montezuma (1)  — 3-0

3. Grand View Christian — 2-0

4. Janesville (2) —  3-0

5. Easton Valley — 2-0

6. Le Mars Gehlen — 3-0

7. Remsen St. Mary’s  — 2-0

8. Martensdale St. Mary’s — 3-0

9. CAM — 2-0

(tie) Keota  —  3-1

(tie) A-H-S-TW — 2-0

New London, Winfield-Mount Union, WACO and Danville are all receiving votes in the 1A poll, with New London leading the pack with nine.

CLASS 2A

1. Western Christian  (6) — 2-0

2. Aplington-Parkersburg — 2-0

3. Denver (2) —  3-0

4. Dyersville Beckman (1) — 2-0

5. Anamosa — 1-0

6. Des Moines Christian — 1-0

7. Boyden-Hull  — 1-1

8. Cardinal  —  1-0

9. Van Meter —  1-0

10. Northeast Goose Lake — 3-0

Mediapolis received 17 votes in the poll, while West Burlington received two.

CLASS 3A

1. Ballard (4)  — 2-0

2. Pella (4) — 2-0

3. Dallas Center-Grimes — 2-0

4. Carroll  —  2-0

5. Estherville Lincoln Central (1)  —  2-0

6. Denison-Schleswig  — 3-0

(tie) Clear Lake  —  2-0

8. Glenwood — 2-0

9. Clarke — 1-0

10. Cedar Rapids  Xavier  — 2-0

Fort Madison is receiving 12 votes in poll.

CLASS 4A

1. Johnston (4) —  2-0

2. Ames (5)  —  2-0

3. West Des Moines Valley —  2-0

4. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln — 2-0

5. Iowa City City High —  2-0

6. Cedar Rapids Jefferson — 1-0

7. Cedar Falls — 1-0

8. Sioux City East  — 2-0

9. Waukee Northwest — 1-0

10. Waterloo West  —  1-0

Burlington received seven votes in the 4A poll.

Men’s College Basketball: Cornell’s Magnani Named MWC Player of the Week:

Cornell senior guard and former Mount Pleasant standout Jordan Magnani has been selected Midwest Conference Men’s Basketball Performer of the Week.

Magnani was pivotal to Cornell’s 2-0 opening week in conference play as the Rams claimed home wins over Illinois College (82-75) and Lake Forest (73-68), teams projected in the top four of the MWC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

The Rams (4-3 overall), winners of three straight, are alone atop the MWC standings with a 2-0 mark.

Magnani averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and shot 56.5 percent from the field in the two wins.

The fourth-year starter sank four 3-pointers and went 7-of-10 from the foul line.

Cornell is back in action Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. road game against Grinnell (5-4 overall, 1-2 MWC).

Prep Wrestling: Area Matmen in Action Tonight:

Two area sites will host area wrestlers tonight in a bit of a quiet Tuesday night of wrestling.

Starting at English Valleys, Columbus Community/Winfield-Mount Union will take on Highland, Moravia and English Valleys in a quad.

The Wildcats are led by No. 2 ranked 120-pounder Lane Scorpil, who figures to contend for the gold this winter in his senior season.

Wrestling there will get underway at 6:00 p.m.

Elsewhere, Fort Madison will host a varsity double dual getting underway at 5:30 p.m.

The Bloodhounds will host Burlington, Mediapolis and Wapello.

Mediapolis senior Quinten Aney is the top dog for the Bulldogs. Aney has skyrocketed to No. 3 in the latest 132-pound Class 1A rankings after earning a medal a year ago.

Gavin Wiseman is the lone ranked wrestler for the Bloodhounds.

The senior checks in at No. 7 in the latest IAWrestle.com Class 3A-160 rankings.