Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Only 16 spots at the state tournament remain and by Wednesday night the field of 40 will be set.

On Tuesday 16 more teams secured spots at the state tournament as Class 5A and 4A regional finals were played across the state.

Wednesday it’s the small schools turn as Class 1A and 2A teams attempt to secure spots at state.

Before the final night of regional finals gets rolling we take a look at a pair of Class 2A regional championship games that feature area teams.

Class 2A, Region 5

Regina (16-7) vs. No. 1 Cascade (24-0)

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Linn-Mar High School

Top players: Regina – Sam Greving, 5-11, Sr., 12.5 points, 5.7 rebounds; Annie Gahan, 5-7, Jr., 11.5 points, 4.9 rebounds. Cascade – Nicole McDermott, 5-6, Sr., 16.6 points, 4.3 assists; Abby Welter 5-8, Sr., 10.1 points, 4.4 rebounds.

Regals: After falling in the semifinals last season Regina returned to the regional final with a 46-30 win over Bellevue last week.

Standing in the way of the Regals first state tournament berth since 2018 is a rematch with unbeaten Cascade.

The Cougars won the regular season meeting 49-19 on January 7, breaking open a six-point halftime game with a 17-1 third quarter.

Regina has benefitted of late from the return of senior Elly Gahan who missed most of the regular season with an injury.

Gahan is averaging 7.3 points per game over the last three while providing another scoring option for the Regals.

About the Cougars: Cascade has been among the most successful and consistent programs in Class 2A over the past decade reaching the state tournament six times in the past seven seasons.

Those six state tournament trips have resulted in five semifinal appearances and a state title in 2018.

The lone remaining unbeaten team in Class 2A, Cascade remains among the favorites to add another state title this season but first must get past Regina in the regional title game.

Cascade has been dominant throughout the season, winning games by an average of 32 points while limiting opponents to just 30.2 points per game.

The Cougars haven’t had a game decided by less than 11 points this season and own double-digits wins over sixth-ranked West Branch and No. 3 North Linn.

Senior point guard Nicole McDermott is among the best overall players in 2A and makes everything go for the Cougars.

The 5-foot-6 McDermott leads Cascade in scoring (16.5), assists (4.3) and steals (3.5) and averages 6.1 rebounds per game.

Senior Skylar Dolphin averages 12.5 points, senior Abby Welter adds 10.1 points per game and Ally Hoffman is averaging 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

What to Watch: Regina has hung its hat on defense all season under first-year head coach Mary Halvorson and has been solid on that end of the court holding opponents to 36.8 points per game.

Facing off against one of the top defensive teams in the state on Wednesday the key for Regina will be putting the ball in the basket.

Regina was just 7-of-29 from the field and 1-of-16 from 3-point range while scoring a season-low 19 points in a regular season loss at Cascade.

Needless to say a similar shooting performance in the regional final would not be ideal.

Regina shot 40 percent from the field in regional wins over Durant and Bellevue and will look to improve on that against Cascade.

The key for Regina against the Cascade zone will be getting shots in the paint.

That means getting leading scorer Sam Greving involved in the offense after Greving was limited to nine points in the regular season meeting.

Class 2A, Region 6

No. 6 West Branch (20-3) vs. No. 9 Van Buren (21-3)

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Washington High School  

Top players: West Branch – Sasha Koenig, 5-5, Jr., 15.5 points, 5.6 assists; Rylan Druecker, 5-7, Jr., 9 points, 3.3 rebounds. Van Buren – Taryn Scheuermann, 6-3, Sr., 20 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.9 blocks; Isabel Manning, 5-7, Jr., 17.4 points, 7.5 rebounds

About the Bears: West Branch is seeking its third state tournament trip of all time and first since 2016.

The Bears have been impressive while reaching the regional championship winning a pair of postseason games by a combined score of 124-40 after a 40-point semifinal win over Wapello.

West Branch brings a seven-game winning streak into the regional final and has won 16 of its last 17 games following a loss to top-ranked Cascade in its final game of 2019.

Koenig is the lone Bear averaging double figures at 15.5 points per game but four other West Branch players score between 5.4 and 9 points per game.

As always West Branch has relied heavily on its defense this season and has been especially stingy in the postseason.

Two postseason opponents have combined for 11 field goals on 16 percent shooting against West Branch.

About the Warriors: Van Buren moved one win away from the first state tournament berth in program history with an impressive 43-23 win over seventh-ranked Mediapolis in the Region 6 semifinals.

Two of the three losses for the Warriors have come by four points each to ranked opponents, a 51-47 loss to 2A No. 3 North Linn in December and a 43-39 loss to 1A No. 11 Burlington Notre Dame in January.

The other loss for Van Buren was a 47-40 setback at Wapello on January 31.

Everything, on both ends of the court, for Van Buren revolves around 6-foot-3 senior Taryn Scheuermann.

A Northern Iowa recruit, Scheuermann is the state’s career leader in blocked shots and leads Van Buren with 20 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Scheuermann leads the state with 142 blocked shots this season, averaging 5.9 per game.

Junior Isabel Manning has provided help for Scheuermann this season averaging 17.4 points per game while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range.

Manning also averages 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

What to Watch: If you like high-scoring, offensive-oriented basketball this isn’t the regional final for you.

Two of the top defensive teams in Class 2A hookup in a game where points, and open looks should both be at a premium.

Van Buren ranks second in 2A allowing 30.5 points per game while West Branch is right behind, ranking fourth in opponents offensive average at 32.1 points per game.

West Branch has relied on its pressure defense, both full court and half court this season to force turnovers and is averaging better than 15 steals per game, seventh in 2A.

Meanwhile Van Buren has a rim protector in Scheuermann who has the ability to erase defensive mistakes.

The first team to 40 may win this one.

Van Buren has allowed more than 40 points eight times this season, the same number of times it has held teams to 21 or fewer points.

West Branch has given up more than 40 points just six times and has allowed more than 40 points once during its current seven-game win streak.

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