Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

A year ago Addie McLaughlin posted one of the best debut seasons in the state.

The Regina guard averaged 17 points per game, the second highest scoring average for a freshman in the state, while helping the Regals to a 24-2 record and a spot in the Class 2A state semifinals.

Eight games into her sophomore season McLaughlin has elevated her game to another level.

McLaughlin is averaging 24 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.8 steals and 5.5 rebounds per game during a 7-1 start to the season for No. 12 Regina.

“I feel like I’ve improved in being able to score but it’s really just about what I have to do to help our team win,” McLaughlin said. “Whatever I’m asked to do that’s what I’m going to do.”

The 5-foot-5 McLaughlin has done it all during the strong start for Regina which includes a 2-0 mark in River Valley Conference South Division play.

McLaughlin is the only player in the state averaging at least 20 points and seven assists per game this season.

She is shooting 52 percent from the floor including 33 percent (18-of-55) from 3-point range.

“She just works hard at it,” Regina coach Mary Rogers said. “She works hard at the game, she sees the floor really well, she is communication a lot more than she has in the past.”

The impressive statistics only tell part of the story for McLaughlin’s strong start.

Last season the Regals relied on McLaughlin and graduated senior Morgan Miller.

With Miller now a starter at Truman State, McLaughlin has taken on a leadership role for Regina as a sophomore.

“A big thing is my leadership,” McLaughlin said. “I feel like I needed to be more vocal on the court and lead my teammates.”

McLaughlin has flourished in her new, expanded role this season.

Her 24 points per game rank 11^th in the state and her 7.1 assists per contest are the second most in Iowa this season.

She leads Regina in steals and ranks third on the team in rebounding.

“I think she just lets the game come to her and she still makes an impact no matter what,” Rogers said. “She is an workhorse on defense, she’s getting boards, she is getting double-doubles in multiple categories.”

McLaughlin has put together an incredible season to date but has been at her best over the last week.

She scored 21 points with nine assists, six steals and five rebounds in a win over Northeast last Tuesday.

In a home win over Wilton on Friday McLaughlin had a triple-double with 26 points, 11 assists and 10 steals and added eight rebounds.

“I’ve never had a game quite like that,” McLaughlin said. “One of my assistants told me I almost had a quadruple-double and I asked, ‘what is that?’. I’d never even thought of something like that.”

A night later McLaughlin scored a season-high 31 points and had seven rebounds, four assists in three steals in an eight-point road loss at 4A No. 10 Solon.

She had a 19-point, 12 assist double-double with eight steals in a win at West Branch on Tuesday.

“I tried to work on my mid-range game, just getting there more efficiently but the biggest thing I wanted to work on was just my leadership,” McLaughlin said. “I think that’s where I’ve grown the most.”

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating