Girls’ State Basketball

Day two of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s State Tournament featured three of the classes whittling the bracket down to their semifinal matchups. 

Class 3A held their final quarterfinal matchup to tip-off the day and #3 Des Moines Christian took down #6 Forest City, 52-46. Reese DeVooght led the effort with 23 points. The Lions will tangle with #2 Maquoketa tomorrow, March 5th, at 3:15 pm.

For Class 4A, #2 Dallas Center-Grimes set the tone with a one-sided victory over #7 Waverly-Shell Rock, 59-39. Macy Meyer cashed in for 17 points on 7 for 11 shooting. 

#3 Norwalk bookended their matchup with #6 Central DeWitt, outscoring the Sabers 30 to 20 in the first and fourth quarters to walk away with a 50-37 victory. The Warriors were an impressive 16 of 17 from the free throw line, including a 10 for 10 performance from Braylyn Birmingham as she finished with 26 points. 

Norwalk and Dallas Center-Grimes will play tomorrow at 5 pm.

In the bottom half of the bracket, #1 Bishop Heelan crushed #8 North Polk 81-56. Melina Snoozy broke the Class 4A state single game scoring record with 39 points as she also grabbed 12 rebounds. 

Lastly, #4 Clear Creek-Amana was upset by #5 Carlisle, 58-44. Four of the five starters for the Wildcats finished the game in double figures, as Mallie Stoner collected 10 rebounds for a double-double. 

Carlisle will look for another upset tomorrow at 6:45 pm against Bishop Heelan. 

Class 2A got two of their quarterfinals games in last night, as #1 Hinton fended off a 2nd half rally to escape with a 46-45 victory over #8 West Lyon. The Blackhawks, one of the best three-point shooting teams this season, went 0 for 11 from beyond the arc.

In another tight matchup, #4 Denver’s ferocious 21-point 3rd quarter lifted the Cyclones past Emmetsburg, 45-42. Channing Johnson did the heavy lifting, going off for a 22 point/11 rebound double-double. 

Hinton, who is looking to defend their state title, will take on Denver in the semifinals on Friday, March 6th, at 10 am.

Class 2A and Class 1A will finish their quarterfinal round today.

In Class 5A, #1 Johnson and #5 Ankeny will square off in the semifinals tomorrow at 10 am. In the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Dowling Catholic will take on #3 Waukee Northwest tomorrow at 11:45 am.

For the Class 3A state tournament, #1 Mt. Vernon and #4 Wahlert Catholic will square off tomorrow at 1:30 pm.

Boys’ Postseason Basketball

For the Class 1A State Tournament, #4 Burlington Notre Dame will face off against #5 Bellevue on Tuesday, March 10th, with tip-off at 3:45 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 3:30 pm.

Other Class 1A matchups include: #1 St. Edmond facing off against #8 Woodbine, #2 MMCRU taking on #7 Boyden-Hull, and #6 Marquette Catholic looking to upset #3 Bishop Garrigan.

Boys’ Substate Basketball

Mt. Pleasant’s Isaiah Lange was named to the Class 3A All-Substate Team for Region 4. The sophomore put together a stat line of 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in their first round matchup against Assumption. Lange averaged 14 points and nearly eight rebounds per game for the season.

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team will take on Marshalltown Community College in the first round of the Region 11 tournament tonight at home at 7 pm.

The baseball team will compete on Friday, March 6th, with another matchup against Southwest Mississippi Community College. 

The softball team will take on Black Hawk College on Friday in a doubleheader. 

College Basketball

The Iowa State women’s team nabbed a bye and will get back to action in the Big 12 tournament tomorrow, March 5th, at 5:30 pm. The Cyclones will be led by Jada Williams and Audi Crooks (unanimous), who were both placed on the Big 12 All-Conference 1st Team yesterday. 

The #9 Iowa women’s team earned the double bye and will get ready for action in the Big Ten tournament on Friday, March 6th, at 5:30 pm. The Hawkeyes will lean on Ava Heiden, who was placed on the All-Big Ten 1st Team, as Hannah Stuelke earned 2nd Team honors. 

The Iowa men’s team will square off against #3 Michigan tomorrow at 7 pm.

The #6 Iowa State men’s team will look to bounce back on Saturday, March 7th, at 1 pm at home.

This Day in Sports History

1927 – Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in MLB history when he signs a 3-year, $70,000 per season contract with the New York Yankees.

1970 – Jacksonville is the first college basketball team to average 100-plus points per game.

1993 – First ESPY Awards: Michael Jordan and Monica Seles win.

Prep Boys’ Basketball- The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) released their All-Conference lists for the boys’ teams of the North and South divisions and #4 Burlington Notre Dame swept the Player and Coach of the Year honors, as the Nikes punched their ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2009.

North Division

Pekin’s Cole Millikin was on the top of everyone’s scouting report as the senior finished the season 3^rd in the North in points per game with 19.4 and led the conference in three pointers made per game.

Taking home Coach of the Year was Hillcrest Academy’s Stephen Bender. The Ravens finished the season with an 18-4 record and three points away from winning the Class 1A Substate 5 District 10 championship, falling 48-46 to Calamus-Wheatland. The Ravens are now back-to-back North champions.

All-SEISC North First Team

Joining Millikin on the First team was his teammate Henry Adam along with Rowan Miller and Kale Bailey for Hillcrest Academy and Oscar Cline of Louisa-Muscatine, who led the division in points and rebounds per game as the only member to average a double-double.

Winfield-Mt. Union, who finished 3^rd in the division, put Cody Milks on the First Team. Milks nearly averaged a double-double, securing eight rebounds to go along with his 11.5 points per game. He also notched three steals per game.

WACO’s Holden Hughes was the focal point of the Warriors this season, resulting in a First Team nomination. Hughes ranked 5^th in points per game with 15.1 and 8^th in rebounds per game with 7.9

Also finding a spot on the First Team was Wapello’s Justyn Faulker. The senior ranked second in the division with four steals per game and led the team in points (13.9) and rebounds per game (7.3), which were both top ten marks.

Ellis Hills-Carrier, a junior for Columbus, finished second in the division with 19.8 points per game and seventh in assists per game with three per outing. He was the lone Wildcat put on the First Team.

All-SEISC North Second Team

Winfield-Mt. Union’s Isaac Egli was a unanimous choice for the Second Team as he led the team in points per game and finished 4^th in the division with assists per game. Another Wolve joining Egli was Max Edwards. The senior collected the 4^th most rebounds per game in the division.

WACO’s Hayden Shelman earned Second Team honors after averaging 10 points per game on 32.7% shooting from three-point land.

Additionally, Drake Marin of Columbus and Kinnick Richenberger were placed on the Second Team. Both finished in the top 15 for the division in points per game.

Hillcrest Academy’s Gibson Scott, Landon Roling of Highland, Reece Holbrook of Lone Tree, and Pekin’s Alijah Brock also found a spot on the Second Team.

All-SEISC North Honorable Mention

Columbus: Drew Totemeier and Gabe Zuniga

Highland: Bryce Hazelett and Kyler Fink

Hillcrest Academy: Lincoln Miller and Kayden Estell

Lone Tree: Dom Garcia and Cade Willoz

Louisa-Muscatine: Dawson Wheeler and Owen Klockseim

Pekin: Nolan Glick and Riley Smith

WACO: Kellen Shelman and Nick West

Wapello: Wyatt Marlette and Cam Brewer

Winfield-Mt. Union: Nick Sparrow and Grant Anderson

Standings: Hillcrest Academy (15-1), Pekin (13-3), W-MU (13-3), WACO (11-5), Columbus (7-9), Wapello (5-11), Lone Tree (3-13), Highland (3-13), Louisa-Muscatine (2-14)

South Division

Burlington Notre Dame’s Shay Stephens has had quite the senior campaign, leading the Nikes back to the state tournament for the first time in 15 years, crossing the 1,000^th point plateau and inching closer to 1,500 points, and committing to Western Illinois University to play basketball. For his effort, he earned All-SEISC South Player of the Year.

His 24.5 points per game ranked 10^th in the state, while also leading the south division in assists and steals per game.

Along with taking the Nikes to their fourth state appearance in program history, Notre Dame head coach Dan Kies picked up his 200^th career victory in the substate championship. Leading his team to a SEISC South championship and a 23-2 record earned him the Coach of the Year award.

All-SEISC South First Team

Joining Stephens from the Nikes on the First Team was L.J. Harris. The junior is a force on the low block with the 7^th most rebounds per game and more importantly the 4^th most offensive rebounds per game in the South. Additionally, he chips in 9.5 points per game and three assists per game.

Mediapolis placed three on the First Team in Max Griffin, Will Luttenegger, and William Worrall. Griffin and Luttenegger both finished in the top five for points per game in the south division, while Worrall scored 10.2 points per game, which ranked 17^th in the dvision.

Silas Lotzow and Ayden Figuereo claimed a spot on the First Team for West Burlington. Figuereo led the team in scoring, while Lotzow nearly averaged a double-double with 13 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

Lastly, Will Hayes of Central Lee and Holy Trinity Catholic’s Layne Rung rounded out the First Team. Hayes averaged the 8^th most points per game in the division, while nabbing 6.9 rebounds per game. Passing the 1,000^th point plateau was Rung earlier this season as he finished second in the division in points per game with 19.5 and top 10 in steals per game.

All-SEISC South Second Team

New London’s senior tandem of London Franklin and Brigham Porter were placed on the Second Team. After Franklin’s slow start, the Tigers rattled off seven wins in their final 14 games, including a four-game winning streak at the tail end of the season. Porter led the team with 12.5 points per game, while Franklin added 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game to his 11.8 points.

Holy Trinity Catholic’s Jack Ragar is going to be someone to keep an eye on for the rest of his career. The freshman commanded the Crusader offense, scoring 14.6 points per game and grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game, both top 10 measures in the south division. Crusader head coach John Hellige had this to say about the freshman,

“Yeah, we knew we were gonna have a good player in Jack, but he’s kind of blown away, even my expectations for a freshman year player. He plays like an upperclassman already…”

Joining them on the Second Team was Carson Morrison and Owen Swan of Central Lee, Leighton Rice of Danville, Notre Dame’s Eli Oleson and Griffin Kies, and Van Buren County’s Kinnick Millard.

Morrison finished with the 13^th most points per game, while Swan tabbed the 9^th most assists per game for the division. Rice finished with 5.2 assists per game to go along with his 10.3 points per contest. Oleson and Kies claimed 10.7 points per game apiece and each have had huge games on the Nikes path toward the state tournament. Lastly, Millard averaged 10.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game.

All-SEISC South Honorable Mentions

Central Lee: Kaden Swan and Brett Cook

Danville: Connor Hulett and Dillan Mason

HTC: Nathan Box and Corbin Van Niewaal

Mediapolis: Gannon Gunn and Henry Luttenegger

New London: Kye Reighard and Israel Lemley

Notre Dame: Payne Prottsman and Kellan Porter

VBC: Will Cocherell and Jace Duncan

West Burlington: Cayson Brown and Ari Jannings

Standings: Notre Dame (14-0), Mediapolis (11-3), Central Lee (9-5), West Burlington (8-6), Holy Trinity Catholic (7-7), Danville (5-9), Van Buren County (1-13), New London (1-13)