Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Eight spots at the state tournament are set.

There are 16 more spots in the 40-team state tournament field up for grabs on Tuesday.

The Class 3A field is set after regional finals were held on Saturday and Class 5A and 4A will be set by Tuesday night with eight regional finals in each class set around the state.

Before things get going on Tuesday here is a look at the a Class 4A top-10 showdown between Clear Creek Aman and North Scott in the 4A, Region 7 final in Tiffin.

Class 4A, Region 7

No. 10 North Scott (13-9) at No. 7 Clear Creek Amana (17-4)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Clear Creek Amana High School

Statistical leaders: Clear Creek Amana – Ava Locklear, 5-11, Jr., 13.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 blocks. Bliss Beck, 6-2, Jr., 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks.

North Scott – Lauren Golinghorst, 5-11, Sr., 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals. Makayla Farnum, 5-11, Jr., 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana is still seeking its second trip to state after making the first appearance in program history in 2020.

Since the breakthrough season in 2020 the Clippers have remained a state tournament contender, winning at least 16 games in four straight seasons and reaching a 4A regional final last season.

Clear Creek Amana is unbeaten against 4A competition this season with two its losses coming to 3A state qualifier Benton Community and another to 5A No. 12 West High.

The Clippers have won five in a row since back-to-back losses to Benton and Center Point-Urbana to close January including a 62-28 regional semifinal win over Fort Madison.

Locklear leads the Clippers in scoring while freshman Averie Lower is averaging 11.2 points per game.

Senior Olivia Miller is averaging 6.8 points per game and junior Kaylee Stratton is adding 5 points per game.

About the Lancers: North Scott is seeking a fourth state tournament appearance in the past four seasons after having a string of three consecutive state tournament trips end with a regional semifinal loss at Clear Creek Amana last season.

The Lancers are playing their best basketball of the season down the stretch, having won four in a row and six of their last seven with the only loss in that stretch coming to 5A top-ranked Pleasant Valley.

As always North Scott has faced a challenging schedule with five of its nine losses coming to Class 5A top-10 ranked opponents with four of those losses against top-five ranked teams Pleasant Valley and Davenport North.

The Lancers had 38 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds and went 18-of-22 at the free throw line in a 63-34 regional semifinal win over Keokuk.

Golinghorst and Farnum lead the way for North Scott offensively while senior Cora O’Neill averages 8 points per game and junior Sydney Skarich averages a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game.

Who to watch: Clear Creek Amana – Junior Ava Locklear has established herself as one of the top players in all of 4A this season.

The 5-foot-11 Locklear is one of six players in Class 4A averaging a double-double with 13.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

A versatile post player, Locklear leads the Clippers with 3.4 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.8 steals per game.

North Scott – Senior post Lauren Golinghorst the Lancers in scoring at 16.5 points per game but has been on a tear down the stretch averaging 20.9 points and 7.4 rebounds over the last seven games.

The 5-foot-11 Golinghorst has scored 20 or more points six times in the last eight games and has at grabbed eight or more rebounds six times in that stretch.

Golinghorst is at her best in the post but can step up and hit a jump shot, knocked down 11 3-pointers on the season.

What to watch: This sets up as an interesting chess match with both teams sharing several strengths most notable strong post play.

On paper, the teams appear relatively even as well with the statistics across the board matching up.

A notable discrepancy comes at the free throw line where North Scott has attempted more than 100 more free throws than Clear Creek Amana.

North Scott ranks seventh in 4A in free throw attempts (358) and is fourth in made free throws with 239 while Clear Creek Amana has attempted just 252 free throws on the season.

Golinghorst and fellow post Makayla Farnum have combined for nearly half of the Lancers free throw attempts this season going to the line 165 times and converting at a combined 70 percent clip.

Keep those two off the foul line will be a key for Clear Creek Amana which outscored North Scott 13-8 at the charity stripe in a seven-point regional semifinal win last season.

The Breakdown: Two of the most successful 4A programs over the past several seasons continue a growing postseason rivalry on Tuesday with their third meeting in four seasons.

North Scott won the North Scott defeated Clear Cree Amana 63-43 in a 2020 state quarterfinal  on its way to the 4A title.

Clear Creek Amana returned the favor last season with a 46-39 win over the Lancers in a regional semifinal contest in Tiffin.

This season the two teams meet again in the same gym with most of the same personnel as last season.

There wasn’t a senior starter in the lineup for either team in the regional semifinal between the two squads a year ago though there has been some roster turnover on both sides, most notable the loss of North Scott point guard Hattie Hagedorn to injury early this season.

Clear Creek Amana limited North Scott to 25 percent shooting (14-of-57) in the regional semifinal last season and has been excellent defensively throughout this season holding opponents to 39.7 points per game.

This game has all the makings of a slugfest and Clear Creek Amana playing at home where it is 18-4 over the past two seasons could be a deciding factor.

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