Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports 

The girls basketball season will come to an end next week at the state tournament in Des Moines.

A pair of area teams are among the 40 teams that will battle for state titles across five classes next week at Wells Fargo Arena as Liberty High and Regina each qualified for the state tournament.

Before the action gets rolling at the state tournament next week Your Prep Sports takes a look back at some of the best performances, players, coaches and moments from a memorable season.

Best individual performance: Natalie Ramsey against City High. Forget best performance in the area Ramsey’s regional final effort against the Little Hawks may have been the best by any player in the entire state this season. Ramsey scored 40 points, the fifth highest single-game effort in the state this season, grabbed 16 rebounds and had two steals to lead Liberty High to a 72-55 win. The 6-foot Ramsey went 14-of-24 from the floor, 5-of-5 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 at the line.

Best individual performance part 2: Averie Lower against Williamsburg. One of the top scorers in the state, Lower had one of the best performances of her career in a loss to rival Williamsburg. The Clear Creek Amana junior guard had 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range and grabbed 13 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals.

Best team performance: Regina against Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Regals certainly improved as the season went on but the Regals opened the season with an ultra-impressive performance on the road against the Class 5A Cougars. Regina shot 57 percent from the floor, made 11 3-pointers and had 21 assists on 29 made field goals in a 79-59 win.

Coach of the year: Jaimie Brandt at Liberty High. Brandt led the Lightning to the best season in program history directing Liberty High to a program-record 17 wins and its first ever state tournament appearance.

Coach of the year part 2: Jamie Smith at Solon. The record (12-11) and postseason result (loss in the 3A regional semifinals) don’t jump out but the job Smith did with a Solon squad that lost four starters from last year’s 3A title team was impressive leading the Spartans to a winning record with 10 of 11 losses coming to ranked opponents.

Best game: Liberty High at West High. What else would you expect between cross-town rivals but a down to the wire thriller. Liberty High erased a 13-point second-half deficit and closed the game on a 5-0 run to secure a 56-52 win in the first of two meeting between the two top-10 ranked teams.

Best comeback: Solon against Marion. The Spartans trailed 46-37 with less than four and a half minutes to play before mounting a furious rally for a 51-50 win over the Wolves. Solon used a 13-2 run that spanned nearly four minutes and was fueled by a pair of Laney Johnson 3-pointers to take a 50-48 lead and got the win when Jerzey Haluska converted a free throw following an offensive rebound with 1.5 seconds remaining.

Biggest shot: Madde Casey against West High. One of the best games of the season was decided by one of the biggest shots of the season as Casey hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with a minute to play in a 56-52 road win at rival West High. The all-time leading 3-point shooter at Liberty High, Casey hit her fifth triple of the game to give the Lightning a 54-52 lead it would never give up.

Best clutch performance: Grace Fincham against Cedar Rapids Kennedy. With the season on the line Fincham turned in perhaps her best performance in an impressive junior season for the West High forward. Fincham had 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting while grabbing 13 rebounds and adding six assists in a 69-49 regional semifinal win over the Cougars.

Breakthrough performer: West High junior Abby Neumiller. After playing sparingly last season as a sophomore Neumiller flourished in an expanded role this winter averaging 9.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game going from a 19 percent 3-point shooter last season to 36 percent (53-147) this season. The more Neumiller played the better she got. Neumiller averaged 8.1 points and scored in double figures three times in the first 10 games but averaged 11.1 points per game and scored in double figures nine times in the final 14 games.

Emerging star: Clear Creek Amana junior Lena Evans. An instant offense spark off the bench for the Clippers’ state title team as a sophomore Evans emerge as a big-time weapon this season as a junior. Evans averaged 17.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.6 assists per game this season while shooting 48 percent from the floor.

Emerging star part 2: City High sophomore Kaitlin Loria. A double digit scorer last season as a freshman Loria was even better this season as a sophomore and it still feels like she is just scratching the surface of her potential. Loria averaged a career-high 12.2 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor.

Player that wasn’t talked about enough: Regina senior Caitlin Martin. The attention this season has been on fellow seniors Morgan Miller and Ella McLaughlin and freshman standout Addie McLaughlin but Martin played a critical role in helping Regina to a River Valley Conference South Division title and state tournament appearance. Martin averaged 9.5 points, a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game to go with 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals.

Most improved player: West High junior Ava Frese. West High went from 13-10 a year ago to 15-9 and a top-10 ranking this season and the growth of Frese at the point guard spot was a big reason for the Trojans’ improvement. Frese raised her shooting percentages from the field (46%) and the 3-point range (42%) from a year ago and increased her scoring (7.3), rebounding (1.6) and assist (3.3) numbers from her sophomore season.

Most improved player part 2: West Branch junior Kennedy Simpson. After coming off the bench last season as a sophomore Simpson transitioned well into her role as a primary option on a young West Branch squad this season. Simpson improved her shooting percentage from the field, the 3-point line and free throw line while leading the Bears in scoring with 10.7 points per game and averaged a career-best 5.4 rebounds, .9 assists and .9 steals per game.

Most versatile: City High senior August Palmer. The stat line for Palmer shows the versatility as she averaged 14.2 points, 6.1 rebounds 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game but the versatility for Palmer goes beyond the numbers. The 5-foot-10 point guard could score from all three levels on offense and had the ability to guard nearly any position defensively.

Unsung hero: City High senior Emmy McComas. Between the backcourt duo of Palmer and junior Tessa Driscoll and rising sophomore standout Kaitlin Loria it was easy to overlook McComas but the senior did all the things that make a team success. A four-year starter, McComas averaged 7 points, 5.2 rebounds and a team-high 3.4 assists per game but was vital with her energy and leadership.

Hardest worker: Solon sophomore Jerzey Haluska. If you are an undersized post, which Haluska is at 5-foot-8, you better not be outworked down low, which Haluska rarely was. In the first extended action of her career Haluska averaged 6.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

Best under the radar player: Liberty High sophomore Ava Casey. Ramsey and older sister Maddie Casey did most of the scoring and garnered much of the attention for the Lightning this season but Ava Casey played a pivotal role in the best season in Liberty High history. Casey averaged 6.2 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game and was an important piece for the Lightning on both ends of the court.

Defensive player of the year: Solon senior Kobi Lietz. One of the best on-ball defenders in Class 3A, Lietz was the catalyst for the hard-nosed man-to-man defense Solon employs. The 5-foot-6 Lietz averaged 11.9 points and 3.3 assists per game but it was her 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game that were just as important in helping the Spartans to a 12-11 record.

Newcomer of the year: West Branch sophomore Ava Burnett. In her first season of extended action Burnett provided a boost on both ends of the court for the Bears ranking second on the team in points (6.6), rebounds (6.9), assists (1.2) and steals (1.6).

Freshman of the year: Addie McLaughlin sparkled in her season in the Regina lineup emerging as one of the top players in 2A with a freshman season as good as any in the state. McLaughlin averaged 17.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, including 38 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the free throw line.

Bench player of the year: Liberty High freshman Natalie Schechinger. Sure Schechinger started five games but the freshman guard was at her best bringing energy on both ends of the court as a sparkplug off the bench. Schechinger averaged 3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and ranked second on the team with 2.8 assists per contest.

Most valuable player: Liberty High junior Natalie Ramsey. If Ramsey wasn’t already considered one of the best players in the state coming into this season she certainly is now. One of only two 5A players to average a double-double, Ramsey ranked second in 5A in scoring and third in rebounding averaging 22.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 1.4 assists per game. Ramsey wasn’t just productive she was efficient shooting 51 percent from the floor and 84 percent from the free throw line while leading Liberty High to a program-record 17 wins and the first state tournament appearance in program history.

Most valuable player part 2: Regina senior Morgan Miller. Miller became the all-time leading scorer at Regina this season but the points are just a small part of what the senior guard so valuable. Miller owns one of the most well-rounded stat lines in the state averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.5 steals for a Regina team that went 23-1 and reached the state tournament for the third time in four seasons.

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