Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The holiday break marks the unofficial hallway point of the high school basketball season.

Six weeks of regular season action remains before the postseason begins in February with every team seeking a spot at the 2026 state tournament scheduled for March 2-7 at Casey’s Center in Des Moines.

Before area teams return to action in the coming days Your rep Sports takes a quick look back at some of the best moments and games from the opening month of the season and hands out some mid-season awards.

Team With Best Resume

Clear Creek Amana

With four wins over top-10 ranked teams during its 7-0 start Clear Creek Amana owns one of the best pre-holiday resumes in the state.

The Clippers posted victories over 5A top-10 teams Liberty High and West High and also own wins over 4A No. 10 Solon and 3A fifth-ranked Williamsburg all by double digits.

Six of the seven wins for Clear Creek Amana have come against teams with winning records and the Clippers’ seven opponents have a combined record of 30-20.

Clear Creek Amana hasn’t just won big games they’ve been dominant along the way.

The Clippers are averaging 68.3 points per game and have an average margin of victory of 23.6 points per game.

Best Win

West High over City High

Rivalry wins are always big.

Rivalry wins over ranked teams on the road are even bigger.

All of those elements are what makes the Trojan’s 60-51 win over City High on December 19 the best win for an area team to date.

Just like last season there isn’t much separating the three Iowa City 5A teams on the court or on the rankings through the first month of the season.

West High, Liberty High and City High are ranked ninth, 10^th and 11^th respectively in the 5A rankings.

The later the season gets the more those rankings matter.

A year ago it was Liberty High that had the highest ranking late in the season and earned a home game in the regional title on its way to its first ever state tournament appearance.

With Liberty High, City High and West High all meet twice this season and the win for West High at City High is the first win of the year for a road team in a cross-town rivalry which could end up being an even bigger win in February.

Best Game

Liberty High over City High

The 58-53 win for Liberty High over City High was exactly what you would expect from a cross-town rivalry of ranked teams.

City High cut a 16-point second-half deficit to two and had a chance to tie the game in the final minute but Liberty High held on for the win.

The win for Liberty High (5-3) was one of three victories over ranked teams for the Lightning which enter 2026 riding a three-game winning streak.

Best Start

Solon

It hasn’t been a perfect start for the Spartans which dropped a pair of games to top-five ranked teams in December but it’s been the strong start that Jamie Smith was looking for as his team seeks to improve on a 12-11 season last year.

The record isn’t sparkling at 4-2 but the Spartans have passed a couple of tests early with wins over 2A No. 12 Regina and 3A No. 14 Center Point-Urbana two teams that the Spartans went 0-3 against last season.

The losses for Solon were against 4A fourth-ranked Clear Creek Amana (66-42) and 3A fourth-ranked Mount Vernon (42-34).

Best Individual Game

Kennedy Simpson against Iowa Valley

Area athletes have already turned in some stellar individual performances in early part of the season.

West High’s Grace Fincham, Solon’s Delainey Durr, Regina’s Addie McLaughlin, Clear Creek Amana’s Averie Lower and Liberty High’s Natalie Ramsey are among the players with monster early-season efforts.

However, the best individual game belongs to Simpson who had a 35-point, 10-rebound double-double in a season-opening win over Iowa Valley.

The West Branch senior made 13-of-19 field goals including a pair of three-pointers on her way to a single-game school record 35 points.

Player that Has Put Themselves On Opponents Scouting Reports

Jada Wiltz

Nine games into her prep career Wiltz has undoubtedly put herself in bold letters on the opposing scouting report of every team remaining on the Regina schedule.

The freshman guard is off to a stellar start ranking second on the team with 14.7 points per game to go with 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 steals per contest.

Wiltz already has a well-earned reputation as a sharpshooter.

The 5-foot-9 Wiltz has made a team-high 24 3-pointers during a 7-2 start for Regina shooting 41 percent from 3-point range.

Player that Has Stepped Up

Addie McLaughlin

An all-stater last season as a freshman McLaughlin played at an extremely high level during a stellar debut season a year ago.

The sophomore guard has simply elevated her game to an entirely different level in the opening nine games this season.

McLaughlin ranks in the top 20 in the state in scoring, assists and steals while helping 2A No. 12 Regina to a 7-2 start.

Last season McLaughlin averaged 17 points, 5.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game.

Through nine games this season McLaughlin has averaged a staggering 25.9 points, 6.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 5.6 steals per game.

The 26.9 points per game rank seventh statewide, the 6.4 assists per game are the fourth most in the state.

McLaughlin is shooting 52 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range, and 69 percent from the free throw line and has games with 41 points and 33 points.

Best Individual Surprise

Thisbe Lewis

Lewis hasn’t just been a nice surprise for the Little Hawks nine games into the season the senior forward has been one of the better stories in Class 5A this season.

In her first three seasons Lewis appeared in 16 games scoring nine total points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Lewis stuck with it and this season has been a huge part of an impressive 7-2 start for No. 11 City High which has three wins over ranked opponents.

The 6-foot Lewis has started all nine games, ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 5.7 points per game and third in rebounding at 6.6 per game while shooting 51 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free throw line.

Player We Aren’t Talking about Enough

Hattie Galloway

City High has had a lot of players step up during its 7-2 start to the season.

Veterans like leading scorers Tessa Driscoll and Kaitlin Loria have both elevated their level of play and players like Maybes Miller and Lewis have taken on larger roles.

Perhaps the biggest boost for the Little Hawks has been from Galloway who has emerged as an impact player on both ends of the court.

The stats for the 6-foot-1 Galloway are solid – 7.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.9 blocks per game – however it is her impact as a matchup problem on offense and her ability to defend several positions on defense that have made her invaluable for the Little Hawks.

Mid-Season Freshman of the Year

Tenley Levin

Levin has made a major impact immediately in her debut season leading Solon in scoring and rebounding while helping the Spartans to a 4-2 start.

The 6-foot Levin is averaging 15.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in her first six high school games to go with 2 assists and two steals per contest.

Levin has scored at least 11 points in all six games this season and has a pair of double-doubles including a 22-point, 11-rebound effort in a win over Regina.

Mid-Season MVP

Averie Lower

Perhaps no team in the state has had a better start to the season than Clear Creek Amana and few players statewide have been better than Clipper standout Averie Lower through the opening month.

The senior Arizona State recruit ranks sixth in the state at scoring at 26.3 points per game and has already scored 32 or more points four times this season.

Lower is shooting 57 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from 3-point range and 84 percent from the free throw line.

The 6-foot Lower averages a team-high 9.3 rebounds per game to go with 3.7 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot per contest.

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