Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Entering its postseason opener Regina had two major areas of focus.

The Regals wanted to lock in defensively and operate efficiently on offense in its Region 8 quarterfinal against Van Buren.

Regina did both to near perfection on Tuesday.

Class 2A eighth-ranked Regina had three players in double figures and shot 52 percent from the floor on offense and forced 28 turnovers and limited Van Buren to 17 percent shooting on defense in a 73-22 win over Warriors in Iowa City.

“We really wanted to be locked in and disciplined on offense,” Regina senior Ella Keune said. “We want to make sure our offense is running at a high level and it’s great to make sure we are set in that so that was a big focal point of ours.”

Addie McLaughlin scored 20 of her game-high 27 points in the first half as Regina (17-5) shot 54 percent from the floor while racing to a 53-15 halftime lead.

Regina will host Danville (16-5) in the Region 8 semifinal on Friday at 7 p.m.

Danville defeated West Burlington 45-39 on Tuesday in a Region 8 quarterfinal.

“Our coaches told us to be aggressive from the beginning and not take anything for granted because we are only guaranteed one game,” McLaughlin said. “We wanted to be aggressive from the start, be up on defense and know the scout and I feel like we executed that well.”

Nora Wade had 12 points and Jada Wiltz added 11 points as nine different Regals scored on Tuesday.

Regina went 7-of-16 from 3-point range and scored 68 points in the first three quarters.

Those were the offensive highlights for Regina which scored its most points since scoring 77 in a road win at Durant on January 9.

“We shot the ball from outside maybe better than we have in the past few weeks but the first quarter really sparked everything and I think it flustered them a bit,” Regina coach Mary Rogers said. “We used that momentum throughout the rest of the game.”

There were just as many high points on defense.

Regina limited Van Buren (15-8) to just six field goals and 4-of-21 shooting from 3-point range.

The Regals forced 28 turnovers, including 19 in the opening half and didn’t allow more than eight points in a quarter.

“With the amount of turnovers we force its really, really important that we focus on defense so we can get our transition offense going,” Keune said. “It’s a big part of Regina basketball that we have a really quick transition offense and our defense is really important for that.”

Regina ripped off a 12-0 run in less than two minutes midway through the opening quarter to take a 17-3 lead.

The Regals closed the quarter on a 10-0 burst that spanned the final 96 seconds of the quarter and gave Regina a 29-8 lead.

Regina opened the second quarter with a 17-1 run to push the lead to 46-9.

McLaughlin had eight steals, Keune had six and Wiltz had five as Regina came up with 23 steals in the game.

“I think defensively we got tons of tips and deflections and hands on the ball which helps our transition offense,” Rogers said. “Our defense I think has been solid in creating turnovers and helping us push the ball down the floor.”

Regina will host Danville in the Regional semifinal on Friday in its next step to reaching the state tournament for the second consecutive season.

“I think there is more in the tank, there is more to look forward to and there are things that we need to shore up,” Rogers said. “But obviously I am very happy for the girls, playing at home is an opportunity that they earned and moving forward we know it’s going to get harder and we know we only get one guaranteed game each time so we have to keep going.”

Van Buren      8    7    3   4   –  22

Regina            29  24  15  5   –  73

Van Buren (22) – Sophia Jirak 1-6 0-0 3, Marlee Mertens 1-8 1-3 4, Kayley Snowgren 0-1 1-2 1, Aubrey Loeffler 1-2 0-0 3, Daphny Wells 0-2 0-0 0, Ava Loeffler 0-1 0-0 0, Ali Pedretti 0-1 0-0 0, Elli Daugherty 0-1 0-0 0, Adalyn Snowgren 3-13 4-8 11, Totals 6-35 6-13 22.

Regina (73) – Jada Wiltz 3-9 3-4 11, Nora Wade 5-8 1-2 12, Ella Keune 2-5 0-0 4, Mel Kirk 1-2 0-0 3, Sophie Wiltgen 1-3 0-0 2, Keegan Kleppe 1-2 0-0 2, Maggie Sueppel 2-3 0-0 4, Addie McLaughlin 10-17 4-5 27, Adalee Klein 4-7 0-0 8, Totals 29-56 8-11 73.

3-point field goal – VB 4-21 (Jirak 16, Mertens 1-5, K. Snowgren 0-1, Aub. Loeffler 1-1, Wells 0-1, Av. Loeffler 0-1, Pedretti 0-1, A. Snowgren 1-5), ICR 7-16 (Wiltz 2-3, Wade 1-2, Keune 0-1, Kirk 1-2, Kleppe 0-1, McLaughlin 3-7). Rebounds – VB 26 (A. Snowgren 8), ICR 36 (Wiltgen 5, Wiltz 5). Turnovers – VB 28, ICR 10. Total fouls – VB 12, ICR 13. Fouled out – VB (K. Snowgren). Technical fouls – None.

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