High School Girls’ Postseason Basketball

Class 2A tipped-off the third day of the state tournament with #2 Regina Catholic fending off #7 Maquoketa Valley to advance to the semifinals with a 53-47 final. Morgan Miller finished the contest with 17 points. 

The second game of the day saw #3 Hinton overcome a 12-point halftime deficit to down #6 Rock Valley 53-47. The Blackhawks tallied 11 steals to the Rockets’ one. Regina Catholic and Hinton will face off in the semifinals tomorrow, March 7th, at 11:45 am.

#5 Central Lyon will compete against #1 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the semifinals tomorrow at 10 am.

It was either feast or famine in Class 1A as #1 St. Albert downed #8 Dunkerton 42-31 after a strong first half. Avah Underwood tabbed a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds in the winning effort. 

#4 Bishop Garrigan smacked #5 Montezuma 69-31 as they look to avenge their loss against St. Albert last year in their semifinal matchup tomorrow at 1:30 pm. Four of the Golden Bears’ five starters finished in double figures.

On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 North Linn, the defending champions, won a brawl against #7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck 33-29 as both offenses struggled. Molly Boge put up 15 points in the win. In a blowout, #3 Newell-Fonda skipped past Springville 60-32. Newell-Fonda and North Linn will meet in the semifinals tomorrow at 3:15 pm.

For Class 5A, #4 Ankeny Centennial and #1 Johnston will collide in the semifinals today at 10 am. On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Dowling Catholic and #3 Waukee Northwest will be pinned against one another today in the semifinals.

In Class 3A, #1 Mt. Vernon will face off against #5 Estherville Lincoln Central today at 1:30 pm. #3 Williamsburg will compete against #2 Wahlert Catholic in the semifinals today at 3:15 pm. 

For Class 4A, #4 Norwalk will take on #8 Xavier in the semifinals tonight at 5 pm. On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 North Polk will run into #6 Dallas Center-Grimes for the third straight year tonight at 6:45 pm.

High School Boys’ Postseason Basketball

Joining North Linn in the Class 1A state tournament set to start on March 10th will be Boyden-Hull, St. Edmond, Marquette Catholic, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Madrid, Woodbine, and Remsen St. Mary’s.

Also punching their ticket to the Class 2A state tournament with Grand View Christian were Unity Christian, West Lyon, Jesup, Grundy Center, Union Community, Treynor, and Western Christian.

Knoxville is making their first trip to the state tournament since 2000 and joining them will be MOC-Floyd Valley, Storm Lake, Clear Lake, Xavier, Central DeWitt, ADM, and Ballard.

Attending state for Class 4A will be Waukee, Ames, Cedar Falls, Linn-Mar, Dubuque Senior, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Waukee Northwest, and Valley.

SEC All-Conference Basketball

The Southeast Conference (SEC) released the All-Conference basketball teams for both the boys and girls and two new players were crowned SEC Player of the Year.

On the girls’ side, Mylee Stiefel of Burlington earned SEC Player of the Year after leading her team with 18.5 points and 4.3 assists per game to their first SEC title. She was also a unanimous pick for All-SEC 1st Team. 

Also earning a spot on the 1st Team were Fort Madison’s junior duo of Dayonna Davis, unanimous, and Hadley Wolfe, Keokuk’s Camryn Atterberg and Kendra Boatman, unanimous, along with Washington’s unanimous choice of Adalyn Long.

Fairfield’s Faith Jones was named All-SEC 2nd Team, while Mt. Pleasant had Alexa Fuller and Kynlee White make the All-Conference Honorable Mentions.

On the boys’ side, Keokuk’s big man Jaxon Clark boasted the 7th best double-double numbers in the state with 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game on his way to being named SEC Player of the Year along with unanimous All-SEC 1st Team. 

The other unanimous selection went to Fort Madison’s Julian Dear as Nolan Guzman joined him on the All-Conference first team as the Bloodhounds claimed the conference title. Burlington’s Nehemiah Lewis, Fairfield’s Riley Perkins, and Logan McDole of Washington earned All-SEC 1st Team. 

Mt. Pleasant’s Noah Lange claimed All-SEC 2nd Team honors. Lange ranked 2nd in conference with 7.7 rebounds per game and 4th in blocks per game with 1.1. He was extremely efficient, nailing 59.1% of his shots as he averaged nearly 10 points per game.

For a full list of the All-Conference teams, follow the links:

Girls: All-SEC Honors

Boys: All-SEC Honors

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Last night’s episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook featured the trio of state qualifying wrestlers from WACO in freshman Ian Maize and seniors Gage Samo and Louden Huisenga. 

Samo, the first three-time podium finisher in WACO history, talked about what motivates him to keep coming back to the mat,

“Getting my hand raised is like the best feeling and then celebrating, like with your family and team after like a huge win, especially up at state when you get to see him after your one match of the day, you go and celebrate and give them all hugs and you go back and chill in the hotel room.”

Maize, the runner-up in the 106-pound weight class, is hoping to wrestle at the collegiate level as it is all about wrestling for him,

“I’ve always loved it. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite sports ever since I started. I’ve never really gotten burnt out. I always just wanted to keep grinding and getting better every single day.”

Lastly, Huisenga finished his senior season perfect and with the state title in the 190-pound weight class in a contentious showdown. He discussed what went through his mind during that championship match,

“Just grit and heart mainly, but just knowing in my head that I was going to win the whole match and just staying calm and staying collected throughout the whole match and just getting to a good set up at the end. I was down one with 30 seconds left and I wasn’t panicking at all. I knew I was going to take him down, just kind of waiting out the clock.”

If you missed last night’s episode, then follow this link: WACO Episode

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The men’s basketball team will compete against Marshalltown Community College tonight at 7 pm.

College Basketball

The #10 Iowa State men’s team will attempt to venture back into the win column on Saturday, March 8th, at 12:30 pm against Kansas State on the road. 

The Iowa men’s team looks to upset #8 Michigan State tonight at 7 pm at home for their senior night.

The Iowa women’s team slammed the door on Wisconsin immediately, running out to a 25 to 9 lead at the end of the first quarter before crushing the Badgers 81-54. Lucy Olsen scored 19 points in the win. The Hawkeyes will take on Michigan State tonight at 8 pm for the second round of the Big 10 tournament. 

The Iowa State women’s team will face off against Arizona State tonight at 5:30 pm in the second round of the Big 12 tournament. 

This Day in Sports History

1945 – George Nissen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, receives a patent for the first modern trampoline.

1954 – First ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament: NC State beats Wake Forest, 82-80 (OT).

1982 – NBA highest scoring game: San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 (3 OT).

Mount Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference (SEC) held a contested race to see who would end up with the conference crown with as many as five teams holding a conceivable chance to win the title, yet the conference crown came down to the final SEC showdown of the season with Fort Madison exiting with the honor despite the Player of the Year residing on the opposing team.

SEC Player of the Year

It is hardly surprising that the player receiving notice from notable Big Ten clubs also earned the SEC Player of the Year, but junior Jaxon Clark of Keokuk did just that with a chance to repeat next season—more on him in the Keokuk section.

Fort Madison

From the cellar two years ago to conference champions this year, the Bloodhounds and Chiefs were expected to tango for the crown, but few probably expected it to come down to a final showdown at Keokuk, yet a 20-point fourth quarter gave Fort Madison the 44-40 victory and sole possession of the SEC.

That win exhibited what Fort Madison could be as a team with an offense that had shown its ability throughout the season, but their defense at times proved to be a liability. For one night the Bloodhounds put it all together as the finished the season with a 13-10 record and an 8-2 SEC record.

Senior Julian Dear was a unanimous choice for All-SEC 1^st Team, and he was joined by junior Nolan Guzman. Dear was the leader of that squad and a facilitator with a conference leading 7.1 assists per game to go along with his 2 steals per game, which ranked 2^nd in the SEC. Dear also supplied 12.5 points per game.

Guzman was a jack-of-all-trades for Fort Madison, putting up 14.6 points and dishing out 4.1 assists per game, 3^rd most in the SEC, along with nabbing 2.3 steals per game, the best mark in the SEC.

Seniors Kenden Bowie and Dayton Lamar earned spots on the All-SEC 2^nd Team. Bowie was a highlight reel waiting to happen with enough bounce to fly for lobs from Guzman or Dear, Bowie scored 12.7 points per night and grabbed 6.4 rebounds as well. Lamar was an enforcer, taking home 12.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks—which led the conference—per game.

All-Conference Honorable Mention went to sophomore Darius Foy.

Keokuk

There’s an old saying, “always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” and for Keokuk they have to feeling that way after finishing second in conference for the second consecutive season, despite sporting a 17-8 overall record, the Chiefs finished 7-3 in SEC play with losses to Washington, Burlington, and Fort Madison.

Something must be said though about this team’s ability to overcome a rough start as the Chiefs navigated an 0-3 start to the season and managed to battle an undefeated Knoxville team in substate championship, falling 63-55 as Jaxon Clark finished with a 31 point/13 rebound double-double.

The Chiefs had some excellent role players, but this team followed wherever Clark went. The junior boasted the 7^th best double-double numbers in the state of Iowa with 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.

Off his past two seasons, he has scored over 1,000 points in his career as he currently sits at 1,078. Clark also blocked 2.1 shots per game, while shooting 66.7% from the field, led the conference, and 32% from three-point land.

On the All-SEC 2^nd Team were seniors Brenton Hoard and Tramell Smith. Hoard was the second leading scorer on the team with 11 points per game. The guard was vital in passing with 3.4 assists per game and on defense with 1.9 steals per game, which both ranked 4^th in the conference.

Smith added 9.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1 steal per game to help the Chiefs from the #3 spot.

Seniors Drake Anderson and Chevy Barnes were named All-Conference Honorable Mentions.

Washington

After a fast 3-0 start to conference, the Demons came crashing down back to earth going 2-5 over their next seven SEC games to finish the year 5-5 in conference play and 9-14 overall. One of those last wins came against Burlington, which gave them the tiebreaker for 3^rd place.

Logan McDole, a senior, was the lone All-SEC 1^st Team selection for Washington. McDole averaged 13.1 points per game and supplied 3.4 assists per game, which both ranked 5^th in the conference. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Rajan Roth took home All-Conference 2^nd Team honors. Roth scored eight points per game and nabbed five rebounds per game. He also ranked 3^rd in the conference in free throw percentage at 76.3%.

Junior Drew Conrad and sophomore Nic Stone earned All-SEC Honorable Mention.

Burlington

The Grayhounds bounced back from a three-win conference campaign from a year ago to finish 5-5 in the SEC. Unfortunately, for the only squad in the SEC located in Class 4A that was the only success as the Grayhounds finished the year with a 5-16 record.

Their lone bright spot and contender for Comeback Player of the Year if the award existed for the conference was All-SEC 1^st Team selection Nehemiah Lewis. After missing most of last year with an injury, Lewis picked right up where he left off and that was dominating the post.

Lewis averaged the 4^th best marks in the conference in points at 14.4 and rebounds at 7.1 per contest. If Lewis was having an off night, so was the rest of the team as the big man also contributed to 1.7 assists per game along with 1 block per night.

Michael Kantzavelos, a junior, earned All-SEC Honorable Mention.

Fairfield

What a climb for the Trojans after finishing last year with only one win on the season and an 0-10 mark in conference play, Fairfield collected a 6-16 record and a 4-6 mark in the Southeast Conference behind some solid play of their senior leadership.

One of the seniors receiving his due praise is All-SEC 1^st Team honoree Riley Perkins. The guard sat 2^nd in the conference in points per game and assists per game at 15.4 and 4.2, respectively. He also added the 3^rd most steals per game in the conference at 1.9. Perkins made his money from beyond the arc with 2.6 made threes per game, the best in the conference.

Senior Lucas Konczal and junior Eli Zillman took home All-SEC Honorable Mention.

Mount Pleasant

This year was all about gaining experience for a team that returned only one starter from the squad that won the program’s second consecutive conference title last season. Aptly, the team struggled in the clutch, finishing the season with a 2-20 record overall and 1-9 record in the SEC.

Their lone win in conference play showed the greatest potential for the squad as close game in the fourth quarter usually spelled doom for the squad, but not that night as the Panthers drained 11 threes as a team and outscored Washington 21 to 12 to secure a 62-53 win.

Despite having to negotiate with pain throughout the season, junior Noah Lange was able to earn All-SEC 2^nd Team honors. Lange ranked 2^nd in conference with 7.7 rebounds per game and 4^th in blocks per game with 1.1. He was extremely efficient, nailing 59.1% of his shots as he averaged nearly 10 points per game.

The dangerous junior duo from downtown in Aiden Humble and Ian Reid nabbed All-SEC Honorable Mentions. For another season, Reid led the conference in three-point percentage, hitting 43.3% of his shots from beyond the arc. Humble shot 36.1% from deep as he led the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game.

Academic All-Conference

Player Team

Michael Kantzavelos Burlington

Nehemiah Lewis Burlington

Tomas Rascon Burlington

Drew Myers Fairfield

Riley Perkins Fairfield

Luke Konczal Fairfield

Xavier Kessel Fairfield

Ryan Giberson Fairfield

Spencer McCready Fairfield

Brock Atwood Fairfield

Nolan Smith Fairfield

Jolie Crile (mgr) Fairfield

Julian Dear Fort Madison

Nolan Guzman Fort Madison

Chevy Barnes Keokuk

Drew Campbell Keokuk

Blake Chase Keokuk

Jaxon Clark Keokuk

Mason Claus Keokuk

Brenton Hoard Keokuk

Gracie Thompson (mgr) Keokuk

Kellen Kohorst Mount Pleasant

Noah Lange Mount Pleasant

Ian Reid Mount Pleasant

Jaymisen Rich Mount Pleasant

Colton Syfert Mount Pleasant

Carson Brown Washington

Drew Conrad Washington

Rajan Roth Washington

Carson Ryan Washington

Kael Williams Washington

Oliver Hobscheidt Washington

Conner Leyden Washington

Logan McDole Washington

Colby Mullens Washington

Luke Schiebel Washington

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference (SEC) has met and discussed the All-Conference teams for the past girls’ basketball season and after a competitive conference showdown throughout the season there is a new SEC Player of the Year.

SEC Player of the Year

It was a battle between Keokuk’s Kendra Boatman, last year’s winner, and Burlington’s Mylee Stiefel on who would take home the award and team success certainly helped as Stiefel was crowned this year’s Player of the Year—more on her in the Burlington section.

Burlington

It’s hard to believe that the Grayhounds ended their 40-game losing streak a mere three years ago and now sit atop the SEC with a 9-1 record in conference play and a 16-6 mark for the season. What pushed this squad over the edge was two hard fought victories over Keokuk, their first time getting swept by an SEC foe since the 2020-2021 season.

The maestro of the team along with SEC Player of the Year was unanimous SEC 1^st Team selection Mylee Stiefel. The junior scored a combined 46 points and dished out 10 assists in their two wins over the Chiefs. Beyond the single game heroics, she was unstoppable for the entire season.

She averaged 18.5 points and 4.3 assists per game (ranked 2^nd in the conference), had the fourth highest field goal percentage, and had the top percentages from three-point land and at the free throw line. Additionally, she tabbed her 1,000^th point of her career this season.

Selected onto the All-SEC 2^nd Team were junior Daphne Brown and sophomore Kylee Hill. Brown continued her production from a year prior, collecting the second most points on the team at 10.2 along with grabbing a team leading 2.7 steals per game.

Hill, who occasionally had to split time between the hardcourt and the pool, continued her domination on the boards, ranking 3^rd in the SEC with 8.1 rebounds per game, as she nabbed double-doubles in each of their wins over Keokuk.

Seniors Sophie Brown and Keirah Wiseman were named All-SEC Honorable Mentions.

Keokuk

For the first time in three years, the Chiefs are not the ones holding on to the title of conference champions. Yet, their 8-2 conference record and 18-5 season record has extended their overall season winning streak and made their SEC record the past four years 37-3.

Still, the team was expected to do more with a roster that returned nearly their entire starting lineup. But a loss in the semifinals to Clear Creek Amana, the team that knocked them out at the regional championship, ended the year with a bitter taste.

Nevertheless, the Chiefs still played their game in their eight conference wins this season with each victory bringing about at least a 12-point difference.

Earning a spot on the SEC 1^st Team, a unanimous selection, was junior Kendra Boatman. Another phenomenal season for the point guard as she also tabbed her 1,000^th career point (sitting at 1,174) in a season where she nearly finished with 500 total points.

Her 20.5 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.3 steals per game all led the conference as she also knocked down 32% of her shot from downtown. Next year’s matchup between Stiefel and Boatman will no doubt be another thriller.

The other All-SEC 1^st Team honoree for the Chiefs was senior Camryn Atterberg. The anchor of the defense, she was opportunistic on the boards and in the passing lanes, ranking 1^st in the SEC with 8.7 rebounds per game and 2^nd in steals per game at 4.0. She was also the conference’s best shot blocker with 1.4 blocks per game.

Along with her defense, you could also count on her scoring 9.4 points per game.

Seniors Irelynn Seay and Ada Wood earned All-SEC 2^nd Team spots. The two played their roles exceptionally as they both averaged 8 points per game, while Wood generated 2.8 steals per game and knocked down 51% of her shots and Seay nabbed 5.8 rebounds per game.

Senior Allison Ames and sophomore Nevaeh Logan were named All-SEC Honorable Mentions.

Fort Madison

The only team to knock off Burlington and they were six total points from a possible sweep of Burlington; nonetheless, the Bloodhounds turned in another successful season with a 13-7 record and a 7-3 record in SEC play, marking their fifth consecutive winning season.

This will be a team to watch next year with their entire starting lineup returning. This was a defense that turned in their program’s best numbers, allowing only 36.2 points per game and grabbing 13.3 steals per game.

Helping bring home numbers like that was their junior duo and 1^st Team selections Dayonna Davis, unanimous, and Hadley Wolfe. The two were nearly inseparable on the court and the stat sheet.

Davis led the team with 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, marks that ranked 4^th and 2^nd in the conference respectively. Wolfe scored 11.6 points and nabbed 3.3 steals per game, ranking her 5^th and 3^rd in the conference respectively. Davis helped out on defense as well with 3.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.

Wolfe also ranked in the top five for field goal percentage, while Davis ranked top five in free throw percentage. The Bloodhounds held eight of their opponents under 30 points this season, if they can improve their offense this team will be scary next season.

Halle Menke was the lone All-SEC 2^nd Team Selection for Fort Madison. The junior was a force in the lane with 1.1 blocks per game and 6.6 rebounds, but she was also an underrated distributor with 2.2 assists per game, which ranked 2^nd on the team.

Charley Huebner and Reilynn Turnbull, both sophomores, earned All-SEC Honorable Mentions.

Washington

The Demons finished the year with a 6-16 record and a 4-6 conference record, but Washington nearly shocked Keokuk early in the season and Fort Madison out of winter break. This was a team that just lacked a consistent offense as their defense usually held opponents to 43 points per night.

In a unanimous choice, Adalyn Long, a junior, was named All-SEC 1^st Team. Long was the main source of offense with 12.9 points per game, the 3^rd best in the SEC, and 3 assists per game. Long also led the team with 1.9 steals per game and a 62.1% from the free throw line.

Seniors Kendall and Lauren Hinrichsen earned All-SEC Honorable Mentions.

Mount Pleasant

Injuries depleted this team as the Panthers only got five games with their roster at full health. Understandably, Mount Pleasant finished the season with a 3-19 record and a 1-9 record in conference with the sole win coming in Fairfield in a 50-30 blowout.

Due to the lack of consistent health, no one grabbed a spot on the 1^st or 2^nd Teams.

Senior Alexa Fuller and junior Kynlee White did nab a spot on the All-SEC Honorable Mentions list. Fuller suffered a leg injury near the end of the season right when she was starting to hit her stride on the court, it appeared her season was over. Yet, the senior entered her final game of the year and ended up leading the Panthers in points.

Fuller finished the season averaging 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 40.2% from the field.

White was the main reason the Panthers nabbed their first win of the season against Burlington Notre Dame as she scored a team-high 18 points in the second half to steal a 45-40 win away from the Nikes. White continued her defensive ways, snatching 1.6 steals per night as she also put in 6 points per game.

Fairfield

The Trojans won only one game this season in 22 attempts, but that one win was an emotional one as they avoided back-to-back winless conference campaigns in a 40-35 slugfest against Mount Pleasant.

The guiding light of the team was All-SEC 2^nd Teamer junior Faith Jones. The guard averaged a team-high 8.1 points per game, nabbed 1.9 steals, dished out 1.3 assists, and grabbed 3.5 rebounds per game in a true all-around effort.

Senior Grace Lyon and junior Maddy Martin were named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention list.

Academic All-Conference

Player Team

Daphne Brown Burlington

Sophie Brown Burlington

Ruth Conteh Burlington

Mylee Stiefel Burlington

Keirah Wiseman Burlington

Sarra Yahyaoui Burlington

Maddy Martin Fairfield

Lauren Martin Fairfield

Faith Jones Fairfield

Haleigh Strickland Fairfield

Elyse Settersrom Fairfield

Emma Septer Fairfield

Grace Lyon Fairfield

Jakayla Nelson Fort Madison

Dayonna Davis Fort Madison

Katelyn Sissel Fort Madison

Hadley Wolfe Fort Madison

Maleena Bentley Fort Madison

Ellie Huebner Fort Madison

Halle Menke Fort Madison

Savannah Sissel Fort Madison

Megan Curtiss Fort Madison

Allison Ames Keokuk

Camryn Atterberg Keokuk

Kendra Boatman Keokuk

Irelynn Seay Keokuk

Addison Clark Mount Pleasant

Kaylen Hunold Mount Pleasant

Myah Starr Mount Pleasant

Charice Auwerda Mount Pleasant

Adalyn Long Washington

Addison Miller Washington

Oaklee Sobaski Washington

Kendall Hinrichsen Washington

Lauren Hinrichsen Washington

Rachel Sands Washington