Prep Basketball- Postseason girls’ basketball is just around the corner with class 1A ready to tip-off on Thursday, February 13th, at 7 pm for the first round of Regional play. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released the brackets for classes 1A, 2A, and 3A and here’s the matchups for our local teams.
Class 1A
Most of our local teams were fenced in to region 7, which included a couple Southeast Iowa Super Conference rivalries to start the postseason.
The top two teams that received byes were #7 Springville at the top of the bracket and #12 Sigourney on the bottom half of the bracket.
On Thursday, Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Keota attempting to pull off the upset. These squads have met twice before with the Wolves winning both games, but you would have to go back to 2014 for the full picture.
The slight advantage on offense leans in Winfield-Mt. Union’s direction; however, Keota’s defense could prove tough with nearly 13 steals per game. Both teams turn the ball over 20-plus times per game, so expect the winner to reign in their turnover numbers to escape with the win.
The winner will compete against #7 Springville on Tuesday, February 18th, at 7 pm.
W-MU Player to Watch: Kynlee Buffington (13.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game)
Keota Player to Watch: Cameron Haifley (10.4 points and 2.3 steals per game)
Highland, who has seen time in the top 15 of Class 1A, will host Wapello on Thursday as the Huskies are looking for the rare three game sweep. Highland is currently on an 8-game winning streak over the Arrows and won the past two games by 22 and 16 points, respectively.
Highland will look to utilize their size and defensive prowess with 16 offensive rebounds, 15.7 steals, and four blocks per game. Wapello will have to pick on Highland’s tendency to turn the ball over 22 times per game and their lack of three-point shooting.
The winner of this matchup will compete against either New London or Hillcrest Academy on February 18th.
Highland Player to Watch: Kamryn Fink (16.4 points and 15.3 rebounds per game)
Wapello Player to Watch: Macey Kuntz (11.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game)
New London will take on Hillcrest Academy on the road on Thursday. The Ravens picked up their first win over New London last year in dominating fashion, 60-39, after four consecutive losses since 2009.
The Tigers snuck past Cardinal 37-33 for their first win of the season, collecting 14 steals in the process. They will have to bring that defensive ferocity if they want to come out with the victory. Another aspect that New London could look to exploit is free throws, their 52% for the season, which is two points up compared to Hillcrest Academy.
New London Player to Watch: Mylee Miller (10.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game)
Hillcrest Academy Player to Watch: Malia Yoder (15 points and 7.6 rebounds per game)
In the bottom half of the bracket, WACO will get to host Burlington Notre Dame. The Warriors have lost the past 14 games against the Nikes, their last win coming in 2018 in a 47-44 thriller.
WACO touts a team that can change their strength depending on their opponent, but the bottom line is this team knows how to win, the evidence is in their nine-game win streak through the middle of their season.
Notre Dame is a young, inexperienced team this year led mostly by sophomores. Despite that fact, they have played some tough teams well: Holy Trinity Catholic with both losses by nine points or less and Fort Madison, holding the Bloodhounds to just 44 points.
Nevertheless, WACO holds the statistical advantage over the Nikes in just about every category and with the Warriors getting their groove back after a five-game losing streak WACO should be able to walk away with the win.
The winner will travel to Sigourney on February 18th.
WACO Player to Watch: Brenna Graber (13 points and 2.2 assists per game)
Burlington Notre Dame Player to Watch: Daisy Hazell (8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game)
Lastly for region 7, Holy Trinity Catholic will take on Moulton-Udell at home to start their playoff journey. This is the first game pitting the two against one another on the hard court.
Holy Trinity Catholic appeared destined to carry on the legacy of last year’s squad that racked up 20 wins after starting the year 8-0. But the return from winter break proved to not be kind as the Crusaders dropped five of their next six games, reaching only as high as 42 points in a game during that six-game stretch.
Their mojo seems to have returned after winning four in a row, including two games of scoring over 50 points, but a loss to Mediapolis 67-48 has knocked them back down a peg. They will be tested in the SEISC Shootout against Highland tomorrow, February 6th.
Moulton-Udell struggles to put up points, averaging just 23.6 per night but their defense typically can keep the Eagles in the contest. The Crusaders cannot allow that to happen.
The winner will face off against the victor of Lone Tree versus Cedar Valley Christian.
Holy Trinity Catholic Player to Watch: Teagan Snaadt (11.3 points and 3.2 steals per game)
Moulton-Udell Player to Watch: Rachel Ogden (6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game)
Class 2A
Starting in region 1, Van Buren County will travel to play Pleasantville on February 18th with the winner moving on to face off against #1 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont most likely (the Rockets would have to beat either Pekin or Cardinal).
The Warriors met the Trojans in the playoffs last year and drubbed them 52-32 behind Marlee Mertens’ 24 points as she knocked down eight three pointers in the win. Van Buren County did not have to do much more, but it helped only turning the ball over nine times.
This year the Trojans have a more experienced team with a couple seniors and a talented freshman in the starting rotation, resulting in 47 points pr game. Van Buren County will have to win the hustle stats, most notably steals and turnovers, if they want to make it 2-0 over Pleasantville.
Van Buren County Player to Watch: Sophia Jirak (8.9 points per game and 32.4% three-point percentage)
Pleasantville Player to Watch: Joelle Johnson (17.9 points and 2.3 assists per game)
In region 2 we have three local teams facing off in the bottom half of the bracket. West Burlington will have to play in the bracket with a home matchup against West Branch on Saturday, February 15th, at 7 pm.
In the first matchup between the Bears and Falcons, the advantage leans slightly in West Burlington’s favor but expect the contest to be close throughout. I predict that this game will entirely depend on who has the better night on offense.
The winner will travel to play the SEISC-North division champion Columbus on February 18th.
West Burlington Player to Watch: Lyndsey Kelley (8.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game)
West Branch Player to Watch: Kennedy Simpson (10.9 points per game)
Danville is looking to make another improbable run through the postseason like last season except their back in Class 2A. The Bears will host their first matchup against Louisa-Muscatine on February 18th.
After starting the year 0-4, Danville has responded back by winning 13 of their last 15 games, including winning streaks of five and currently seven games. Same recipe as last year, capturing steals and playing tough defense is how Danville finds their success.
Louisa-Muscatine will have to depend on their three-point shooting to upset the Bears as the Falcons knock down a respectable 28.7% of shots from beyond the arc. Also looming in the back of their minds will be their 56-9 shellacking at the hands of the Bears last season.
The winner will advance to the regional semifinal to take on either Columbus or West Burlington/West Branch.
Danville Player to Watch: Alaina Gourley (13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.3 steals per game)
Louisa-Muscatine Player to Watch: Bailey Runnells (9.7 points per game)
Class 3A
In region 1, Washington will get a chance to upset #14 Mediapolis, the SEISC-South champion, in a rematch from earlier in the season on February 15th. It was the closest game of the season for Mediapolis, with the exception of their loss to an Illinois squad, who has sprinted past their opponents for most of the season.
The Bulldogs pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Demons 18 to 6 on their way to a 48-37 victory. This Mediapolis team can score expeditiously or put the barrier down on defense, allowing just 30.8 points per game.
Washington can keep the game close but has not proven to be able to pull off the win in the clutch. This will be a perfect opportunity to prove otherwise.
The winner of this matchup will take on the winner between West Liberty and Benton on Wednesday, February 19th.
Mediapolis Player to Watch: Amelia Grier (14.4 points and 5.1 steals per game)
Washington Player to Watch: Adalyn Long (12.5 points and 3.2 assists per game)
Over in region 4, two of our local teams will have to hit the road and pull off an upset to continue their postseason journey.
For collecting their first win of the season, Fairfield has been awarded a date with #3 Williamsburg on February 15th. A rematch from January 27th that saw the Raiders escape a 61-18 win at Fairfield.
The Trojans knocked down 45.5% from beyond the arc in their 40-35 victory over Mt. Pleasant yesterday and they will need to reproduce that performance if they want to leave with the win.
The winner will compete against either Mid-Prairie or Central Lee on February 19th.
Fairfield Player to Watch: Grace Lyon (5.4 points per game and 30.6% shooting from 3-point land)
Williamsburg Player to Watch: Carly Rich (12.8 points and 2.2 assists per game)
The last game that we will cover in this article is Central Lee’s road trip to Mid-Prairie on February 15th. The Hawks have had bragging rights over this series since their 49-41 win back in 2021, but the Golden Hawks will certainly have a claim at taking it back up north.
The height and speed of Mid-Prairie allows them to run the court all night, averaging 15 steals per game to help fuel their 61.3 points per game. Central Lee will have to shore up an offense that turns the ball over 19.7 times per game.
Central Lee does gather 14 offensive rebounds per game, so the key will be executing on second chances and not spoiling those opportunities.
Central Lee Player to Watch: Kenna Sandoval (10.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game)
Mid-Prairie Player to Watch: Callie Huber (11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game)
Coverage
Stay tuned to KILJ 105.5 FM or kilj.com to see who will be covering throughout the postseason. Classes 4A and 5A will release their brackets at a later date.
