Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Basketball season is back.

Following a two-week holiday break area basketball teams return to action this week with games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Before the action really gets rolling in 2025 Your Prep Sports takes a moment to reset the season, look back and also take a peek ahead for all seven area teams.

West High

Record: 7-3

Ranking: Class 5A, No. 12

How’d it get here: It’s been a busy start to the season for West High which has played one more game than any other 5A team with 10 games in 2024. The Trojans went 1-1 against Minnesota teams in November and are 6-2 against in-state competition with road losses at third-ranked Waukee Northwest and No. 10 Cedar Falls. The Trojans have wins over ranked teams Clear Creek Amana, Dubuque Wahlert and City High.

Who is standing out: Junior Grace Fincham has continued to improve and round out her all-around game. Fincham is leading the Trojans in scoring (15), rebounding (6.9) and steals (2.2) and ranks second on the team with 3.1 assists per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor.

Who’s stepped up: Sophomore Sasha Baldwin has upper her production from a year ago but it has been the emergence of junior Abby Neumiller as a scoring option that has been critical for the Trojans early this season. Neumiller ranks third on the team in scoring at 8.1 points per game to go with 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Stat that stands out: Junior guard Ava Frese is shooting 46 percent (15-of-33) from 3-point range. With the defensive attention that teammates Grace Fincham and Sasha Baldwin receive Frese knocking down 3-pointers at a better than 45 percent clip makes West High an incredibly difficult team to defend.

Best win: With three wins over ranked teams and a victory over a quality out-of-state opponent there are options here but the 63-46 win over cross-town rival and ninth-ranked City High on December 20 was a potential catalyst for the rest of the season.

Next game: West High travels to Cedar Rapids Washington (2-5) on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

Toughest remaining game: The Trojans have six games remaining with ranked teams including road trips to cross-town rivals City High and Liberty High and 4A No. 9 Cedar Rapids Xavier, a rematch with No. 10 Cedar Falls and a home game with Liberty High. The toughest test is likely a trip to Cedar Rapids Prairie on January 17.

What’s next?: After traveling to Cedar Rapids Washington to open 2025 the Trojans get back-to-back home games against Liberty High and Dubuque Senior. The stretch to end January will be key as West High faces Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-1), Waterloo West (3-3), City High (6-2), Linn-Mar (2-7) and Liberty High (5-2) in a two-week span.

City High

Record: 6-2

Ranking: Class 5A, No. 9

How’d it get here: City High has six wins, including a pair of victories over ranked teams in Liberty High and Marion, wrapped around losses to Class 4A, No. 4 Central DeWitt and 5A No. 13 Liberty High.

Who is standing out: Senior guard August Palmer is averaging 12.9 points per game but leads the Little Hawks in rebounds (6.8) and steals (2.4) and ranks second on the team in assists (2.8).

Who’s stepped up: Junior guard Tessa Driscoll has been a double digit scorer each of her first two seasons but is averaging a career-best 14.4 points per game this season to go with 2.8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Stat that stands out: City High has seven players averaging better than 3.4 points per game and eight players scoring at least 2.9 points per game. Last season no non-starter averaged more than 3 points per game.

Best win: A 52-43 win over No. 13 Liberty High on December 13 was the first win over a ranked team for City High this season and snapped a four-game losing streak to its cross-town rival.

Next game: City High hosts Class 4A ninth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier (6-2) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Toughest remaining game: There is a long list of post-holiday matchups with ranked teams for the Little Hawks but perhaps the toughest of those is a February 3 road trip to 5A fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-1), the second meeting in a little more than a month with the Hawks.

What’s next?: It’s a busy and important opening two weeks of 2025 for City High which begins with a home game against Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday.

City High goes to Cedar Rapids Kennedy in a rescheduled game on Saturday and then faces a trio of ranked teams in the next seven days hosting No. 5 Prairie and No. 10 Cedar Falls (6-2) and traveling to 3A third-ranked Dubuque Wahlert (4-1).

Liberty High

Record: 5-2

Ranking: Class 5A, No. 13

How’d it get here: Liberty High won three straight games over Southeast Polk, Cedar Rapids Washington and Clear Creek Amana to open the season before dropping back-to-back road games at No. 9 City High and 3A No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert. The Lightning closed out 2024 with wins over Dubuque Hempstead and Linn-Mar.

Who is standing out: Junior Natalie Ramsey is off to as good of a start as any player in Class 5A. Ramsey ranks second in 5A in scoring at 23 points per game and seventh in rebounding with 9 boards per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 93 percent from the free throw line.

Who’s stepped up: Freshman guard Natalie Schechinger has stepped right into the mix as one of the Lightning’s primary ball handlers and on-ball defenders and fit right in. Schechinger is averaging 3.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-leading 3.6 assists per game.

Stat that stands out: Liberty High is shooting 26.7 percent from 3-point range through the first seven games. The Lightning shot 31 percent from 3-point range last season and haven’t shot under 28.8 percent since the 2019-2020 season. To be 5-2 without getting rolling from 3-point range is a good sign for Liberty High because that number should climb in 2025.

Best win: A 63-55 season-opening victory over No. 14 Southeast Polk (4-5) continues to look better and better but the best win now is a 64-58 victory over 4A No. 12 Clear Creek Amana that came without a pair of key players.

Next game: Liberty High travels to Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4-3) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Toughest remaining game: Liberty High has road games remaining at fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie and No. 12 West High but the toughest test yet may be a Saturday afternoon trip to No. 8 Waukee (5-4) on January 25.

What’s next?: After the game at Cedar Rapids Jefferson to tip off 2025 the Lightning have back-to-back big games on the road at West High on January 7 and at Cedar Rapids Prairie on January 10. The Lightning have a tricky six-day stretch at the end of the month in which it plays at Maquoketa, No. 10 Cedar Falls and Linn-Mar at home and at Waukee.

Clear Creek Amana

Record: 3-4

Ranking: Class 4A, No. 12

How’d it get here: All four losses for the Clippers have come to ranked teams including two to 5A teams in West High and Liberty High. The Clippers dropped their opener to 4A sixth-ranked Maquoketa and closed December with a home loss to 3A seventh-ranked Williamsburg

Who is standing out: Junior all-stater Averie Lower has been excellent to open the season ranking third in Class 4A in scoring at 22.1 points per game to go with 8 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 2.4 assists per game.

Who’s stepped up: Junior Kennedy Stratton has nearly doubled her offensive output from a year ago going from 5 points and 2 assists per game last season to 9.6 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game to start this season.

Stat that stands out: Averie Lower is shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point range. Lower shot a staggering 49.7 percent from beyond the arc last season so this number shouldn’t be surprising. However, there was a question of how Lower would handle being the unquestioned focus of opposing defenses with the departure of four starters from last year’s 4A title team. This season Lower hasn’t skipped a beat leading 4A with 4.3 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 46 percent from deep.

Best win: A 59-45 win at defending 3A champion Solon (3-4) on December 6 was the first win of the season for the Clippers after single digit losses to Maquoketa and West High and should continue to look better and better as the season goes on.

Next game: Clear Creek Amana hosts 3A No. 12 Center Point-Urbana (5-2) on January 7 at 6 p.m.

Toughest remaining game: The third and final game against a Mississippi Valley Conference opponent this season is going to be a tough one as the Clippers host 5A fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-1) on January 11.

What’s next?: The Clippers get a little bit longer of a break than most teams returning to action at home against Center Point-Urbana on January 7 in the first of three straight games against ranked opponents to open 2025. Clear Creek Amana travels to 3A No. 11 West Delaware (5-3) before hosting Cedar Rapids Prairie. After the game against Cedar Rapids Prairie the Clippers play at Vinton-Shellsburg (4-3) on January 14 then have three consecutive games against teams with two or one wins this season before travelling to 3A No. 7 Williamsburg on January 28.

Solon

Record: 3-4

Ranking: Unranked

How’d it get here: Solon has navigated an early season schedule that featured five games against ranked teams well sitting one game under .500 on the season. The losses are all to ranked teams in West High, Clear Creek Amana, Mount Vernon and Center Point-Urbana and the Spartans have handled business against Grinnell (71-26) and Benton Community (61-24).

Who is standing out: Senior guard Kobi Lietz has gone from a shooter and fifth scoring option on last year’s state tournament team to an all-around player and leader. Lietz averages 10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Who’s stepped up: Junior Delainey Durr has turned into the scoring option the Spartans needed following the departure of four of its top five scorers from last season. Durr is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range while averaging a team-high 12.6 points to go with 3.3 assists per game.

Stat that stands out: Freshman post Beckett Kruse is averaging a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game. Solon needed someone to step up in the post this season and they found that person in Kruse who also ranks third on the team in scoring at 7.7 points per game on 41 percent shooting.

Best win: Solon’s 44-41 win over Class 2A No. 11 Cascade on November 26 is unquestionably the best win of the season for the Spartans thus far.

Next game: Solon travels to Mid-Prairie (6-0) for a non-conference game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Toughest remaining game: Solon hosts 3A top-ranked Mount Vernon (8-1) on January 24 and travels to 2A third-ranked Regina (8-0) on February 1. Which of those games is tougher? You may know after Regina travels to Mount Vernon on Saturday.

What’s next?: Solon doesn’t exactly get to ease into the new year. The Spartans travel to unbeaten Mid-Prairie for its 2025 opener and then faces back-to-back ranked teams in 3A No. 7 Williamsburg (7-1) and 3A No. 14 Monticello (5-3). The bulk of the WAMAC East Division slate remains including two games with 4A No. 14 Marion (5-2), two games with 3A No. 11 West Delaware (5-3) and two games with Independence (4-4).

Regina

Record: 8-0

Ranking: Class 2A, No. 3

How’d it get here: Regina roared out of the gates with a 79-59 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy in its opener and never slowed down, winning every game before break by at least nine points.

Who is standing out: Senior guard Morgan Miller has played as well as anyone in the state to start the season averaging 25.9 points per game on 66 percent shooting to go with 6.1 steals, 5 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Who’s stepped up: Senior guard Ella McLaughlin is playing her best basketball averaging a career-high 12.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals per contest.

Stat that stands out: Freshman guard Addie McLaughlin is averaging 16.9 points, a team-high 6.1 assists and 4.8 steals per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 44 percent from 3-point range. None of those are typical freshman numbers.

Best win: The 20-point win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy (3-4) isn’t just the best win of the year for the Regals it was probably the best Regina has played in a game this season and set a tone for the rest of the schedule.

Next game: Regina hosts Durant (3-5) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to open the new year.

Toughest remaining game: It comes quickly after break as Regina travels to 3A top-ranked Mount Vernon (8-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Regina defeated Mount Vernon 48-44 in 2022 and lost to the Mustangs 78-37 last season.

What’s next?: After games on back-to-back days to open January the Regals have consecutive River Valley Conference road games against West Liberty (4-4) and Mid-Prairie (6-0). The Regals follow that stretch with a home game against 2A No. 11 Cascade (5-2) on January 18.

West Branch

Record: 1-7

Ranking: Unranked

How’d it get here: West Branch opened the season with a 56-47 road win at Iowa Valley but lost its next seven games all to River Valley Conference opponents including losses to ranked teams Regina and Cascade.

Who is standing out: Junior Lexi Skay has stood out with her effort and is steadily putting up solid numbers for the Bears. Skay is averaging 4.5 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game.

Who’s stepped up: Sophomore Ava Burnett has been a bright spot for the Bears early as she has produced in her first extended varsity minutes. Burnett is averaging 5.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and a team-high 2.1 steals per game.

Stat that stands out: The 27 second-half points in the December 20 loss at West Liberty were more points than West Branch scored in its previous for games. That’s a great sign the Bears are finding some rhythm offensively especially with winnable games coming quickly out of the break.

Best win: The 56-47 win at Iowa Valley on November is the only victory for West Branch so it fills this spot but the best play game for the Bears may have been their last game, a 48-46 road loss at West Liberty (4-4) in which the they outscored the Comets 27-21 in the second half.

Next game: West Branch hosts Tipton (5-3) in a River Valley Conference South Division contest on January 7 at 6 p.m.

Toughest remaining game: West Branch hosts 2A third-ranked Regina (8-0) on January 31.

What’s next?: After hosting Tipton to open 2025 the Bears play four consecutive games against teams currently with three or fewer wins. West Branch plays Burlington Notre Dame (1-6), Camanche (3-5), Wilton (0-6) and Durant (3-5) with a chance to get something rolling.

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