Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The postseason is here for area girls basketball teams.

Regional play officially opened for girls basketball teams last weekend with opening round games in the three smallest classes.

Solon was the first Your Prep Sports area squad to open the postseason with a 3A quarterfinal win over Tipton on Saturday.

This week is when the action really begins to heat up with all five classes getting into the postseason swing.

Before the rest of the area teams open regional play we take a look at five things to watch among Your Prep Sports area teams in the postseason.

Regina’s Rugged Road Tests

The road to a regional final and a potential state tournament berth for Regina literally has the Regals revving up for road trips.

Regina (10-7) opens postseason play on Tuesday with a trip to Mediapolis (10-7) in a Class 2A, Region 3 quarterfinal.

With a win Regina would likely face a road trip to second-seeded Van Buren (14-6) in the regional semifinals.

Regina won four of six to close the regular season and faces potential matchups with two of the most productive players in Class 2A to open regional play.

The first task for the Regals is slowing Mediapolis junior center Hallie Mohr who ranks fourth in 2A in scoring averaging 23 points to go with 10.4 rebounds per game.

A semifinal meeting with Van Buren would pit Regina against the top scorer in 2A in Van Buren senior guard Isabel Manning who is averaging 30.1 points per game and 11.7 rebounds.

West Branch Seeking a State Return

While Regina hits the road in regional play 2020 state qualifier West Branch has home court advantage on its side as it attempts to return to Wells Fargo Arena.

Third-ranked West Branch hosts Danville (7-13) in a Region 3 quarterfinal on Tuesday and with a win would host the Pella Christian/Pekin winner on Friday.

West Branch has been almost unbeatable at home the past two seasons.

The Bears are 19-1 at home over the past two seasons including a perfect 9-0 mark this year and bring an 18-game home winning streak into Tuesday’s regional opener.

It’s also worth noting that West Branch (17-1) hasn’t allowed more than 45 points in a home game this season and is allowing just 31.4 points per home game.

The Next Step For Solon

For the second season in a row Solon has taken some major steps forward as a program.

The next step for the Spartans is a big one and it comes on Wednesday and the opportunity comes at home against No. 15 Monticello.

No. 12 Solon (16-5) won its first postseason game since 2016 on Saturday with a Region 7 quarterfinal rout of Tipton.

The stakes and level of difficulty rise significantly on Wednesday when No. 15 Monticello (16-5) brings its eight-game winning streak to Solon.

Monticello hasn’t lost since January 15 and has victories over 2A No. 12 Cascade, 3A No. 9 West Liberty and 4A Benton Community during its eight-game winning streak.

The Panthers are stingy defensively, holding opponents to 33.6 points per game and have given up more than 40 points in a game just four times this season.

Solon will need to push the tempo to try to get some easy baskets in transition and that means getting stops defensively.

Clear Creek Amana vs. Marion Part 2?

You just knew this was coming.

After Clear Creek Amana pulled the biggest upset of the 2020 postseason with a win at second-ranked Marion to advance to earn its first ever state tournament appearance it seemed inevitable a postseason rematch would come sooner rather than later.

That regional rematch could come just one year later.

If Marion (12-8) takes care of business against winless Clinton (0-16) on Wednesday the Indians would earn a postseason rematch with Clear Creek Amana in the 4A, Region 5 semifinal on Saturday.

The regular season rematch already happened, as Clear Creek Amana backed up its stunning regional final win from a year ago with a 51-41 win at Marion back on February 2.

Marion had lost one home game in five seasons before the regional final loss to Clear Creek Amana last season and the Clippers have now won two in a row in Marion.

Clear Creek Amana (17-4) has proved last season was no fluke, winning a share of the WAMAC overall title while securing the second seed opposite fifth-ranked Central DeWitt in 4A, Region 5.

Before the Clippers can thinking about a regional final matchup with the Sabers it must take care of a Marion team that will be hungry to turn the postseason tide on the Clippers after last season.

City High Seeking a State Tournament Return

Well-rested or rusty?

Which of those will City High be when it opens regional play on Saturday?

The Little Hawks have the potential to be both when they face the winner of the opening-round contest between Muscatine (8-8) and Dubuque Senior (11-6) on Saturday in the Region 3 semifinals.

City High (9-4) has played just two games since January 23, posting back-to-back wins over Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Jefferson to close out the regular season.

Now the Little Hawks need to get back up to full speed quickly if they are to return to the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season.

City High faces a potential road trip to third-ranked Waterloo West (17-1) in the Region 3 title game if the WaHawks can get past Dubuque Hempstead (4-15) in the semifinals.

Waterloo West has won 16 straight games since a loss to Cedar Rapids Washington on December 15 and have a pair of wins over Cedar Falls and victory over West High during that stretch.

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