Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Eight teams have locked up spots at the girls state tournament with Class 3A regional finals taking place on Saturday.

By the end of Tuesday night 16 more state qualifiers will be set with regional finals in Classes 4A and 5A taking place around the state.

The Your Prep Sports area will have three teams playing for a spot at the state tournament that runs from February 28 to March 5 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Tuesday.

Here is a quick look at the regional finals for West High, City High and Clear Creek Amana.

Class 5A, Region 6

No. 11 Linn-Mar (15-7) at No. 5 City High (18-4)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: City High

Top players: City High – Kelsey Joens, 5-10, Jr., 21.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists. Eviyon Richardson, 5-11, Sr., 16 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists.

About the Lions: Since a three-game losing skid in late January in which the Lions were outscored by a total of just eight points Linn-Mar has been one of the hottest teams in all of Class 5A.

Linn-Mar has won three in a row and six of its last seven with three victories over ranked teams during that stretch and its only loss a four-point setback to fourth-ranked Pleasant Valley.

The most impressive win of the season for the Lions was a 49-40 victory over City High in its regular season finale on February 11.

Linn-Mar overcame a two-point halftime deficit in a 54-52 win over Dubuque Senior in the regional semifinals on Saturday.

Junior Taylor Brunson leads Linn-Mar with 13.5 points per game but it has been junior Zoe Kennedy that has been the key for the Lions down the stretch.

Kennedy has scored in double figures in eight straight games, averaging 15.6 points per game during that stretch, and is averaging 12.1 points, 7 rebounds and 4.2 assists on the season.

About the Little Hawks: City High stumbled a bit down the stretch with consecutive losses to top-15 teams Cedar Rapids Washington and Linn-Mar but righted the ship with a win over No. 15 Waukee Northwest in the regular season finale before downing Muscatine 71-33 in the Region 6 semifinals.

City High has proven it belongs in the conversation of the best teams in the state with a pair of wins over sixth-ranked Waterloo West and victories against top 10 foes West Des Moines Valley and West High.

The key for the Little Hawks is consistency on both ends of the floor.

City High is seeking a fifth trip to the state tournament in six seasons after having a string of four consecutive state appearances snapped last season with a regional final loss at Waterloo West.

The Little Hawks have one of the top scoring duos in the state in senior Eviyon Richardson and junior Kelsey Joens.

Joens ranks third in 5A in scoring with 21.2 points per game while Richardson is 11^th in 5A with 16 points per game and leads the Little Hawks with 7.7 rebounds per game.

What to watch: The closer this game stays for longer the better for Linn-Mar.

Even after a nine-point win in the first meeting between these two teams 11 days ago the Lions are the underdogs here so keeping the game within striking distance early is an obvious objective.
However, it goes beyond that.

City High wants to play fast. The Little Hawks rank third in Class 5A in scoring at 63.5 points per game and are comfortable pushing the pace.

Linn-Mar wants a much more controlled tempo, ranking 23^rd among 5A teams with 53.2 points per game.

The Lions are accustomed to close games with 11 of their 11 games this season being decided by single digits.

Nine of those games have been decided by five points or less with the Lions going 4-5 in those games.

City High is 2-3 this season in games decided by less than 10 points this season.

Class 5A, Region 8

No. 8 West High (19-3) at No. 7 West Des Moines Valley (17-5)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: West Des Moines Valley High School

Top players: West High – Meena Tate 5-10, Jr., 15.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists. Anna Prouty, 5-10, Jr., 10.7 points, 9 rebounds. West Des Moines Valley – Meredith Rieker, 5-10, Sr., 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists. Elise Jaeger, 6-1, Soph., 12 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists.

About the Tigers: West Des Moines Valley is seeking its first trip to the state tournament since winning its second 5A title in three seasons in 2019.

The Tigers enter riding a four-game winning streak in which they have held opponents to 27 points per game.

Defense has been the key for West Des Moines Valley all season.

The Tigers are allowing just 41 points per game and have allowed more than 45 points just 10 times this season going 5-5 in those games.

West Des Moines Valley is 12-0 when holding opponents under 45 points.

Senior Meredith Rieker and sophomore Elise Jaeger lead a balanced Tiger offensive attack averaging 12.8 and 12 points respectively.

West Des Moines Valley has five players averaging at least 6.5 points per game and four players averaging more than 3.7 rebounds per game.

About the Trojans: West High brings a seven-game winning streak into the regional final and is playing as well as nearly any team in Class 5A over the past six weeks.

The Trojans have outscored opponents by an average of 14 points per game during their current winning streak and have won 12 of their last 13 games dating back to January 11 with four wins over ranked opponents in that stretch.

West High outscored No. 14 Cedar Falls 32-10 in the second half of a 49-32 victory in the regional semifinals and will be seeking its second straight trip to the state tournament on Tuesday.

Juniors Meena Tate and Anna Prouty have emerged as the top offensive options for a balanced West High squad.

Tate is averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game to go with 3.2 assists while Prouty is averaging 10.7 points and 9 rebounds per game.

What to watch: All the stats, signs and trends point toward Tuesday’s top-10 matchup coming down to the wire.

Four of the last regional finals for West High have been decided by 10 points or less and four of the past two meetings between West High and West Des Moines Valley have been single digit games.

In close games every possession matters and that is where the importance of closing out defensive possessions with rebounds becomes magnified.

West High has been a strong rebounding team all season and will need to continue that against a West Des Moines Valley team that is active on the offensive glass.

West Des Moines Valley is tied for the 5A lead averaging 13 offensive rebounds per game.

West High is second in 5A with 22 def rebounds per game and fifth with 31.4 total rebounds per game.

The Trojans have been outrebounded just six times this season and are outrebounding opponents on average this season by nearly five boards per game.

Class 4A, Region 3

No. 10 Clear Creek Amana (16-6) at No. 7 Central DeWitt (18-4) 

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Central DeWitt High School

Top players: Clear Creek Amana – Ava Locklear, 5-10, Soph., 14.1 points, 6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks. Bliss Beck, 6-2, Soph., 9.5 points, 6.8 rebounds. Central DeWitt – Allison Meadows, x-x, Sr., 16.4 points, 4.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds. Taylor Veach, x-x, Sr., 15 points, 6.7 rebounds.

About the Sabers: Central DeWitt is seeking a second consecutive state tournament appearance after falling to North Scott in the 4A quarterfinals last season.
The Sabers enter the regional final on an eight-game winning streak in which they have avenged early season losses to both Davenport Assumption and North Scott.

The other two losses this season for Central DeWitt have come to 5A fourth-ranked Pleasant Valley.

Central DeWitt features perhaps the best backcourt in Class 4A led by division I recruits Allison Meadows and Taylor Veach.

A Western Illinois recruit, Meadows leads the Sabers with 16.4 points per game while Veach, an Illinois state signee, is averaging 15 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

About the Clippers: Over the past several seasons the Clippers have done as good a job as any team of peaking at the end of the season.

Another impressive late-season surge has Clear Creek Amana playing for a second trip to the state tournament in the past three seasons.

Since a 1-4 start to the season Clear Creek Amana has gone 15-2 and enters Tuesday’s regional final winners of 10 of its last 11 and three straight.

Clear Creek Amana advanced to the Region 3 final with a 46-39 semifinal win over No. 12 North Scott.

For the sake of comparison, North Scott split a pair of games with Central DeWitt this season winning 55-50 over the Sabers on January 4 with Central DeWitt winning the last matchup 73-36 in February.

Clear Creek Amana has relied heavily on the sophomore post tandem of Ava Locklear and Bliss Beck.

Together Beck and Locklear are averaging 23.6 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game.

What to watch: This is one of the more interesting postseason matchups around the state as the guard-dominant Sabers face off with the post presence of Clear Creek Amana.

That should lead to an intriguing chess match with both team attempt to control the pace.

With Locklear and Bliss protecting the basket Clear Creek Amana has locked down defensively during the second half of the season.

The Clippers are allowing 40.1 points per game on the season but have clamped that down to 32.4 points per game over their last 11 contests.

Clear Creek Amana has allowed more than 40 points just once in its last 10 games.

Conversely, Central DeWitt enters ranked fifth in 4A in scoring at 58.9 points per game and has scored 57 or more in seven straight games.

How important is pace to Central DeWitt?

The Sabers are averaging 62.9 points per game in their wins this season and 41 points per game in four losses.

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