Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The state tournament field is nearly set.

By the time Wednesday night ends all 40 spots at the 2022 state tournament that is schedule for February to March 5 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines will be secured.

Here is a quick look at the Class 2A regional final between sixth-ranked Regina and No. 13 Mediapolis set for Wednesday evening in Muscatine.

Class 2A, Region 6

No. 6 Regina (19-4) vs. No. 13 Mediapolis (21-2)

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Muscatine High School

Top players: Regina – Grace Gaarde, 5-3, Jr., 11.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.2 steals. Lily Simpson, 5-10, Sr., 10.8 points, 8.6 rebounds. Mediapolis – Hallie Mohr, 5-10, Sr., 20.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 steals. Payton Bush, 5-3, Jr., 9.2 points, 4.7 assists, 4.2 steals.

About the Regals: Regina has already won its first River Valley Conference crown since 2018 and now the Regals will try to pull off another first since that season with a trip to the state tournament.

The Regals returned to the regional finals a year ago and this season are seeking to take it a step, or more, further with its first trip to state since making their fourth consecutive appearance in 2018.

Regina has won three straight entering the Regina final after posting its third win of the season over West Branch 48-40 in the Region 6 semifinal.

It has been a balanced offensive effort for Regina all season with four players averaging between 9.2 and 11.2 points per game.

Junior guard Grace Gaarde makes it all go for Regina averaging 11.2 points and ranking third in 2A with 5.4 assists per game.

Lily Simpson nearly averages a double-double with 10.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while freshman guard Morgan Miller is averaging 10.6 points and four assists per game.

Sophomore Alli Clark has been a huge boost as an addition scoring threat putting up 9.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

About the Bulldogs: Among the winningest small school programs in Eastern Iowa over the past several seasons Mediapolis has already post its third 20-win season in the past four years.

Despite all the wins the Bulldogs are making their first regional final appearance since they advanced to the state tournament in 2015.

Even with a rare 10-8 season a year ago Mediapolis owns a combined 72-15 record over the past four seasons.

This season the Bulldogs have been dominant winning games by an average of 26.8 points per game, the third highest average margin of victory in Class 2A.

Mediapolis lost back-to-back games to Louisa-Muscatine and Burlington Notre Dame after an 18-0 start to the season but rebounded with three straight wins including a 51-26 victory over Louisa-Muscatine in the regional semifinals.

Senior Hallie Mohr ranks fifth in Class 2A in scoring at 20.6 points per game but the Bulldogs are more balanced than in past seasons with five players averaging at least 7.3 points per game.

What to watch: These teams haven’t played much over the years but they will be familiar with each other on Wednesday after meeting in the regional semifinals last season.

Regina built a 13-point halftime lead and held on for a 54-49 win in the semifinal meeting a year ago.

A few pieces are different this year but the core groups for both teams returned this season and will be playing in the rematch on Wednesday with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

Everything for Mediapolis runs through Mohr, a three-year starter with more than 1,000 career points.

Regina senior Lily Simpson has faced plenty of tough post matchups in the River Valley Conference this season.

Simpson had 12 points and seven rebounds in the semifinal win over the Bulldogs last season and was a key in holding Mohr to 13 points and six rebounds in that game.

Watch the Simpson/Mohr matchup on Wednesday as a key in what should be a tight game

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