Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The holiday season always provides a bit of a break for prep basketball teams.

This year, in a season unlike any other due to the coronavirus pandemic the two-week stretch without competition offers an opportunity for area teams to pause, evaluate and reset.

To get an idea of the uniqueness of this COVID-19 altered season look no further than area records.

West Branch (7-1) and Solon (6-2) each played eight games in 2020 while Regina (6-1) and Clear Creek Amana each got in seven games before break.

Meanwhile, West High (2-0) and Liberty High (0-2) played just twice while City High (2-1) played three games in a span of five days concluding on December 22.

While teams use the break to either fine tune or get up to speed Your Prep Sports looks at what we have learned about each team so far this season.

West Branch is A Title Contender in 2A

Truthfully, we probably didn’t need eight games to come to this conclusion.

West Branch returned a roster loaded with talent and experience from a team that reached the Class 2A state tournament last season.

The top-ranked team in Class 2A to open the season, West Branch back up that early title talk by going 7-1 to start the season.

West Branch had a hiccup in the form of a 54-51 overtime loss at Cascade but all seven of its wins have come by double digits and the Bears are winning games by an average of better than 26 points per game.

The Bears have everything you look for in a state title contender.

• State tournament experience with three starters back from last year’s quarterfinal team
• Size in the form of 6-1 junior center Delaynie Luneckas
• Balance with five players average more than 7 points per game
• A bona fide star in senior Sasha Koenig who is averaging 23 points and 4.5 assists per game

Keep in mind West Branch is unbeaten with Luneckas in the lineup. The 6-foot-1 center is averaging 13.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game in a breakthrough season.

West High Looks Like Vintage West High

West High had an uncharacteristic 14-10 season a year ago which was the second double-digit loss season over the past 15 years and first since 2013-2014.

It’s early of course with the Trojans playing just twice before the break but this year’s team has the same look as some of the great West High teams of the past.

What stands out this season? West High appears to have the balance, depth and unselfishness that has been a staple in the best BJ Mayer-led West High teams.

Consider this – last season West High had four players average 6.7 or more points and two players averaging more than 7.4 points.

During a 17-win 2018-2019 season five West High players averaged better than 7.3 points per game

In the Trojans’ state championship season in 2018 five players scored between 9.7 and 13.8 per game.

Two games in six Trojans are scoring more than 5 points per game including four West High players (Audrey Koch 17.5, Matayia Tellis 11.5, Emma Ingersoll-Weng 11.5, Meena Tate 10) scoring in double figures.

CCA Is No Flash in the Pan

If you were among the people that thought Clear Creek Amana was due for a big drop off after its breakthrough season a year ago you were way off.

The Clippers have followed up the best season in program history by starting the season 6-1 with a road-win over 3A fifth-ranked Center Point-Urbana.

Despite losing its top two scorers from last year’s state tournament team head coach PJ Sweeney has Clear Creek Amana entering 2021 unbeaten in WAMAC play, alone atop the West Division standings and riding a four-game winning streak.

Solon is Among the Most Improved Teams in the State

Solon has improved each of the past two seasons under head coach Jamie Smith and the Spartans were expected to take another step forward this season.

That expected step has been more like a giant leap so far.

A Solon squad with 18 combined wins over the previous three seasons is off to a 6-2 start and is ranked No. 14 in Class 3A.

The Spartans are 6-1 and atop the WAMAC East Division standings, have won five in a row and have wins over WAMAC powers Marion and Center Point-Urbana.

Solon isn’t just winning at a rate the program hasn’t recently seen it is doing so impressively – averaging 57.8 points per game during its strong start.

You have to go back more than a decade to find the last time Solon scored more than 50 points per game for a season.

The addition of talented freshman point guard Callie Levin (18.5 points, 3.9 assists per game) has certain helped but juniors Makinley Levin, Kaia Holtkamp and Elly Holubar have all made major strides.

Makinley Levin is averaging 10.5 points, Holtkamp 6.9 points, 4 rebounds and 2.4 assists and Holubar a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game.

City High Looks Like a State Tournament Team (Again)

City High has reached the state tournament four consecutive seasons, advancing to the semifinals each of the past three seasons.

The Little Hawks graduated a ton of talent from last year’s semifinal squad in the from of Division I recruits Aubrey Joens, Paige Rocca and Rose Nkumu.

Despite the loss City High once again has the look of a team capable of ending its season at Wells Fargo Arena.

Class 5A No. 8 City High (2-1) followed up a season-opening loss to West High with consecutive wins over Muscatine and Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The trio of Kelsey Joens, Eviyon Richardson and Ella Cook have all taken their games to another level this season.

Joens is averaging a team-high 22.3 points and six rebounds per game, Richardson is putting up 15 points, 3.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds while Cook is averaging a career-high 14 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Regina Ready to Challenge in RVC South (Again)

Remember last season when Mary Halvorson had a young Regina team off to a strong start and contending for a top-two spot in the rugged River Valley Conference South Division late into the season?

Well, we are seeing the same thing again from Halvorson and the Regals.

Last year Regina started 5-1 with a reworked lineup and finished 16-8 and third behind West Branch and West Liberty in the RVC South.

This season Regina has been impressive during a 6-1 start with the lone loss coming to No. 13 Bellevue in its 2020 finale.

Regina faces a rugged 2021 slate with four games remaining with South Division favorites West Branch and West Liberty as well as non-conference contests against Solon and Cedar Rapids Xavier.

However, senior Annie Gahan has been stellar averaging 16 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 steals per game and sophomore point guard Grace Gaarde (9.9 points, 3.3 assists) gets better every game out as Regina looks to once again push the RVC powers to the finish.

Liberty High is Improved

It’s been a small sample size but Liberty High appears to be much improved from the consecutive three-win seasons of the past two years.

The Lightning opened with a 61-45 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie before a four-point loss to Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

For a team with eight freshmen and sophomores in its nine-player rotation practice time is paramount to success and Liberty High didn’t have much before its two-games to open the season.

Head coach Jamie Brandt gets that practice time over the break and the Lightning should continue to grow in 2021.

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