What Has Been Learned About Area Girls Basketball Teams
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The girls basketball season has hit the halfway mark.
Depending on what specific date or statistic is used to divide the season some area teams were halfway through their regular season schedule earlier this month.
Others, like top-ranked City High (9-0), have yet to play 50 percent of their regular season games.
Officially or unofficially and however you want to slice up the season the fact remains the first day of the state basketball tournament is looming just slightly more than six weeks away.
We will call this the halfway point for area teams and take a quick look at what we’ve learned from Your Prep Sports area teams and what is still yet to be determined before the state tournament tips off on March 2.
First off we take a look at what we have learned in the first half of the season.
City High is A Title Contender
It is hardly a groundbreaking proclamation to announce the preseason top-ranked team as a championship contender.
We already knew before the season the Little Hawks should once again be in the Class 5A title hunt but City High has looked every bit like the team to beat so far.
One of only two remaining unbeaten teams in 5A, City High has won games by an average of 35 points and hasn’t had a game decided by less than nine.
City High features a deep and talented roster with four players averaging better than 12.8 points per game and all seven regulars in the Little Hawk rotation have more assists than turnovers.
There is a list of teams standing in the way of City High’s first title since 2008 with Caitlyn Clark-led West Des Moines Dowling (10-2), second-ranked Johnston (13-1) and perennial power Southeast Polk (12-1) a few of those capable of stopping the Little Hawks title hunt.
However the Little Hawks have put themselves at the top of the heap for the time being.
West Branch is a State Tournament Caliber Team
The Bears are always solid under head coach Jarod Tylee, winning 14 or more games each of the past eight season, but have reached the state tournament just once during that span.
This season the Bears look everything like a team that could book a trip to Des Moines.
Class 2A sixth-ranked West Branch is 11-2 with its losses to the top two ranked 2A teams with combined records of 27-0.
This year’s West Branch team has many of the same qualities of its 2016 state tournament team.
The Bears have a dynamic playmaker in junior point guard Sasha Koenig, offensive balance and depth with eight players averaging better than 5 points per game and frontline size with Mackenzie Heise and sisters Kaiya and Delaynie Luneckas.
Clear Creek Amana Has Best Team in a Decade
There was optimism leading into the season that Clear Creek Amana was on the verge of a breakthrough type season.
Halfway through the season optimism has turned into wins ratcheting up the expectations in the process.
Clear Creek Amana is off to a 9-3 start and is on pace to easily surpass the 13 wins from 2017 that stand as the most for a Clipper team in the past 10 seasons.
The Clippers should easily post their first back-to-back winning seasons in over a decade.
Clear Creek Amana has a bona-fide star in senior guard Karsyn Stratton (20.8 points per game), a solid sidekick in sophomore Calia Clubb (9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds) and enough balance with three others player averaging 5.9 or better to be a tough out in the Class 4A playoffs.
The three losses for Clear Creek Amana have come to 4A top-10 teams and the Clippers own a road win over No. 11 Grinnell.
Of the final nine games for Clear Creek Amana six come against teams with a sub-.500 record or that they have already defeated earlier this season.
Regina In Good Hands With Halvorson
Regina has been among the most successful small school programs in the state over the past several seasons reaching the state tournament five of the past seven season.
In its first season under head coach Mary Halvorson the Regals have picked up where they left off.
Regina is 7-3 in its first season under Halvorson, a former Waukon and Coe College standout who was an assistant for Jeff Wallace at Regina before taking over the program prior to this season.
The young Regals have just four seniors on the roster and have played the last seven games without injured second-leading scorer Elly Gahan.
What we Need to Know
Now we look at a few questions for the rest of the season that starts with a short list of makeup games in the area on Monday.
Will We See Another West High Late-Season Streak?
Under head coach BJ Mayer it has become an annual occurrence for West High to rip off a win streak shortly after the new year.
Last season the Women of Troy went 11-2 after the holiday break including an eight-game winning streak to end the regular season.
Two seasons ago West High closed the with eight consecutive wins on its way to the 5A state title.
West High is 5-4 this season with a roster that has experienced plenty of turnover following a 17-win season a year ago.
Things are looking up for West High again at the right time.
The Women of Troy lost their first game following the holiday break but have back-to-back wins entering a busy four-game week that features road trips to No. 8 Waterloo West and No. 15 West Des Moines Valley.
West High has a rising star in junior Audrey Koch (18.3 points), an experienced point guard in junior Matayia Tellis (11.1 points) and one of the best coaches in the state in BJ Mayer.
It doesn’t hurt that the Women of Troy are 15-1 in February games dating back to 2017.
How High Can Surging Solon Rise?
Solon was 3-18 last season in the first year under head coach Jamie Smith.
It hasn’t taken long for the Spartans to double up that win total in year two.
Solon went 3-5 before the holiday break but has won three straight games over the past two weeks to even its record at 6-6.
There is plenty of reason for excitement at Solon.
With nine games remaining Solon needs two wins to match its highest win total since 2017 and would do so with a roster that features eight freshmen and sophomores.
The Spartans’ top two scorers (Kaia Holtkamp 10.1 ppg and Makinley Levin 9.6 ppg) and top rebounder (Elly Holubar 7.8 rpg) are all sophomores.
With nine games remaining the Spartans have an outside shot at their first winning season since 2016.
Solon has four games remaining with teams under .500 as well as a road trip to rival Regina (7-3).
How Does City High Handle a Back-loaded Schedule?
As we have already stated City High has proven through nine games to be a legit 5A title contender.
The final 12 games will tell even more about the Little Hawks championship chances.
Seven of the final 12 games for City High come against teams currently ranked in the top eight in their respective Class.
In a span of less than four weeks City High will take road trips to the teams ranked fifth, seventh and eighth in Class 5A and host 5A No. 3 West Des Moines Dowling and No. 4 Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Does The CIML Domination Continue in Class 5A?
For the final question we step out of the Your Prep Sports area and take a wider look at Class 5A.
Dating back to 2011 the Central Iowa Metro League has dominated the largest class.
West High won a 4A title in 2012 and a 5A crown in 2018 but the other seven titles since 2011 have come from CIML team.
The 5A title game had featured two CIML teams in four of five seasons before West High defeated City High in the 2018 championship but last season seven of eight 5A state qualifiers came from the CIML including all four semifinalist.
As the rankings sit now both the Mississippi Valley Conference and the CIML have four teams in the top eight in Class 5A.
City High (1), Cedar Rapids Prairie (4), Cedar Falls (7) and Waterloo West (8) are the top MVC teams while Johnston (2), West Des Moines Dowling (3), Waukee (5) and Southeast Polk (6) headline the top of the CIML.
What matters most is what happens in March where the Mississippi Valley will look to even the score against the central part of the state.
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