Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Regina was up against a red-hot girls’ basketball team.

The Danville Bears entered Friday night’s Class 2A regional semifinal with an 11-game winning streak but the eighth-ranked Regals offered no hope of that streak reaching a dozen thanks to an uber-dominant opening quarter.

“Came out with pressure and a little bit of our extended defense,” Regina coach Mary Rogers said after the Regals overwhelmed Danville, 56-35, at Regina High School. “Lots of tip deflections. Kind of felt similar to last game, so we got off to a good start.”

A good start indeed.

The Regals opened the game by scoring the first 18 points as five different Regina players got on the scoreboard before Danville could muster a single point.

“We’re very good in the first quarter,” Regina junior Adalee Klein said. “We get started really well and play hard right off the bat.”

The win was the 11th in 13 games for Regina (18-5), which advances to a regional final for the 13th season in a row.

The Regals will play No. 7 Grundy Center (21-2) Wednesday at 7 at Benton Community High School in Van Horne.

The winner earns a berth to the state tournament.

“It’s a great team culture,” Regina sophomore Addie McLaughlin said. “I feel like our coaches instill a lot of belief in us and then that helps us to have a lot of confidence in ourselves. It’s just great. We’ve been working really hard this season.”

McLaughlin was terrific again for Regina.

With crafty dribbling and an impressive array of shots that included jump shots and driving runners, McLaughlin led all scorers with 20 points and ranks fourth in all of 2A with 22.3 per contest.

“I have a lot of people who support me and believe in me,” said McLaughlin, who has played club ball with All-Iowa Attack since the fifth grade. “It makes it a whole lot easier, and just getting to play with great players around me is a lot of fun.”

McLaughlin also recorded eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.

When McLaughlin was not burning Danville from the outside, the Regals were feeding the ball to Klein around the basket.

The 6-foot-2 post player registered 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

“My teammates just always look for me,” Klein said. “Our coach does a really good job preaching, just, ‘Look inside, get the ball inside.’ I just go from there.”

Junior Nora Wade chipped in eight points off the bench for Regina, which led by as many as 23 points.

Alaina Gourley had 11 points for Danville, which ends its season at 17-7.

Regina will try to reach the state tournament for the fourth time in the last five years, which would be the 11th berth in program history.

“It’s going to take a solid three days of practice starting on Sunday,” Rogers said. “Getting a good scout in. Us coaches, we will do that. I know the girls are ready to fight for another state appearance. It’s going to take everybody and everyone to buy into their role and just keep believing in each other and staying tough.”

Danville            4  10  13   8   –  35

Regina            20 13  13  10  –  56

Danville (35) – Violette Sowell 2 3-4 8, Macie Wagner 1 0-0 3, Amy Stuecker 1 1-2 3, Alaina Gourley 4 3-6 11, Brynley Wenig 1 0-0 2, Alivia Bauer 2 2-4 6, Claire Montgomery 0 2-2 2, Bailey Haubrich 0 0-0 0, Totals 11 11-18 35.

Regina (56) – Jada Wiltz 2 0-2 5, Ella Keune 2 0-0 4, Maggie Sueppel 1 1-4 3, Addie McLaughlin 9 0-1 20, Adalee Klein 5 4-5 14, Nora Wade 3 2-2 8, Sophie Wiltgen 1 0-0 2, Mel Kirk 0 0-0 0, Anna Trenkamp 0 0-0 0, Maddie Squiers 0 0-0 0, Keegan Kleppe 0 0-0 0, Totals 23 7-14 56.

Three-point goals – Danville 2 (Sowell, Wagner), Regina 3 (McLaughlin 2, Wiltz 1). Fouled out – ICR (Wiltz).

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