Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The state tournament field is nearly complete.

State qualifiers are set in Classes 3A, 4A and 5A meaning 24 of the 40 state qualifiers have been determined.

By the end of Wednesday evening the final 16 spots at next week’s state tournament scheduled run from February 26 – March 2 at Wells Fargo Arena will be set.

Regional finals for Classes 1A and 2A will take place on Wednesday with Regina taking on Cascade in the 2A, Region 4 title game.

Before the action gets rolling on Wednesday we take a look at the matchup between River Valley Conference rivals Regina and Cascade.

Class 2A, Region 4 

No. 11 Cascade (16-6) vs. No. 6 Regina (19-4)

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School

Statistical leaders: Regina – Morgan Miller, 5-6, Jr., 19.7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 3.9 assists; Alli Clark, 5-6, Sr., 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals. Cascade – Molly Roling, Jr., 13.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals; Addison Frake, Soph., 11.2 points, 9 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 2.2 assists.

About the Regals: Regina is seeking a third consecutive state tournament appearance after rallying for a 61-53 overtime win over Maquoketa Valley in the regional semifinals.

The Regals bring a five-game winning streak into the regional final and are holding opponents to 36.4 points per game during that stretch.

Regina is unbeaten against Class 2A competition and RVC opponents this season.

The Regals have a six-point win over Maquoketa and a 16-point win over Monticello, each teams that defeated Cascade twice this season.

The four losses for Regina have come to ranked Class 3A state qualifiers Solon, Mount Vernon and Benton Community and 1A top-ranked North Linn.

Morgan Miller and Alli Clark headline a Regina team that has four players averaging at least 9.4 points per game.

Junior Ella McLaughlin is averaging 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and junior Caitlin Martin is averaging 9.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

About the Cougars: One of the most consistent small school programs in the state for the past 20 seasons Cascade is seeking a second state tournament appearance in the past three seasons after qualifying in 2022 but falling in the regional semifinals last season.

Cascade has qualified for state eight of the past 11 seasons missing only in 2016, 2021 and last season and has won 20 games or more 10 times in the last 16 seasons and hasn’t won less than 13 games during that stretch.

This season Cascade is unbeaten against in-class competition with five of its six losses coming to Class 3A and 4A teams.

The Cougars lost twice to 3A ninth-ranked Monticello and 4A No. 11 Maquoketa and also has losses to 4A Decorah and 1A top-ranked North Linn in February.

Cascade defeated Dyersville Beckman 32-30 in the regional quarterfinals and downed Alburnett 49-38 in the regional semis.

The Cougars are led by Frake and Roling while junior Josie Manternach is averaging 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Who to watch: Regina – Junior point guard Morgan Miller is one of the top players in Class 2A and is the focal point for the Regals on both ends of the court. The RVC South Division player of the year, Miller leads Regina in scoring (19.7), steals (4) and assists (3.9) and ranks third on the team with 5 rebounds per game.

Morgan isn’t just productive she is efficient, shooting 50 percent from the floor including 33 percent from 3-point range while leading Regina with 60 made 3-pointers.

Cascade – On a balanced Cascade roster it is junior Molly Roling that makes it all go for the Cougars. Roling leads the Cougars in scoring (13.3) for the second straight season and also leads the team in assists (4) and ranks second in rebounds (6.5) and steals (2).

A unanimous RVC North Division pick, Roling is shooting 38 percent from the floor and leads the Cougars in free throws made (59) and attempted (77) while shooting 77 percent from the free throw line.

What to watch: Keep an eye on the tempo in this matchup as both teams will attempt to play at their preferred pace.

Regina wants to run. The Regals average 61.5 points per game and have scored 66 or more points 11 times this season.

Morgan is exceptional with the ball in her hands and wants to get out and go looking especially for senior guard Alli Clark for transition opportunities.

Cascade wants to keep this a half court game.

The Cougars are excellent in their halfcourt defensive sets evidence by their holding opponents to 37.7 points per game.

Points should be at premium in this season meaning easy any easy basket in transition is a bonus.

Look for Regina to attempt to get some baskets off its secondary break before the Cougars can get set defensively.

The breakdown: This has all the makings of one of the best regional finals of the evening with a pair of conference rivals and two of the best small school programs in the state meeting for a trip to state.

Cascade won the last meeting defeating Regina 52-49 at Cornell College at the RVC cross-over last season while Regina won 31-28 in 2022.

In the last seven meetings between the two teams the winning team has gone over 49 points just three times.

Expect another game in the 40s on Wednesday between a pair of strong defensive teams that are both allowing less than 40 points per game this season.

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