Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The girls basketball season officially came to a close on Saturday with state championship games in Classes 1A, 2A and 4A putting a bow on what was an incredible 2023-2024 season in the Your Prep Sports area.

Four teams from the Your Prep Sports area played in a regional final with Solon and Clear Creek Amana each advancing to the state tournament and winning state titles.

Clear Creek Amana capped an unbeaten season with a 4A title while Solon won the 3A crown for its first title since 1998.

With the season officially in the books Your Prep Sports takes a look back at some of the best performances, players, coaches and moments from a memorable year.

Best individual performance: Ava Locklear against Gilbert. The 5-foot-11 Locklear is among the most uniquely skilled players in the state and the Clear Creek Amana put the skillset on full display on the state’s biggest stage nearly posting a triple-double in a 4A state quarterfinal finishing with 14 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists to go with five steals and three blocked shots.

Best individual performance part 2: Callie Levin against Regina. Levin has been fantastic for four straight seasons and was impressive throughout a stellar senior season (more on this later) but the Solon senior was never better than she was in an 84-42 win over a top-10 Regina team. Levin scored a career-high 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four assists and three steals.

Coach of the year: PJ Sweeney at Clear Creek Amana. Sweeney directed the Clippers to a perfect 26-0 season that ended with a Class 4A state title. It was a season for firsts for Clear Creek Amana which won its first state title four days after earning its first ever state tournament win.

Biggest upset: Liberty High over Cedar Rapids Prairie. The Lightning’s 62-54 win over 5A No. 11 Cedar Rapids Prairie in the regular season finale was part of a late-season surge for Liberty High which won six straight and eight of its final 10 regular season games to finish with a winning record for a third consecutive season.

Best game: Clear Creek Amana against North Polk. The Class 4A semifinal between fifth-ranked North Polk and the top-ranked Clippers had nine lead changes and seven ties and wasn’t decided until the final seconds as Clear Creek Amana held on for a 50-48 win.
Best comeback: Regina against Maquoketa Valley. Forget the best in the area the late rally by the Regals in a 61-53 overtime win in the regional semifinals was among the best comebacks in the state this season. Regina trailed by seven with 51 seconds to play and was down five with under 10 seconds to play but forced overtime on a Morgan Miller 3-pointer and a Caitlin Martin buzzer beater. The Regals ruled overtime outscoring Maquoketa Valley 11-3 in the extra four minutes.

Breakthrough performer: Liberty High sophomore Natalie Ramsey. In her first season as a varsity player the 5-foot-11 Ramsey flashed her sky-high potential and a diverse skillset leading the Lightning in scoring (14.2 points) and rebounding (7.2) while shooting 50 percent from the field including 37 percent from 3-point range.

Emerging star: West High sophomore Grace Fincham. After showing star potential during a solid freshman season last year Fincham blossomed into one of the best young players in the state during a stellar sophomore campaign. The 5-foot-11 Fincham averaged a team-high 15.1 points on 53 percent shooting while leading the Trojans with 6.4 rebounds per game to go with 2 assists and 1.7 steals per game while earning third-team all-state honors.

Unheralded star: Solon senior Hailey Miller. Playing alongside one of the best in the state in senior Callie Levin took some of the spotlight off Miller but make no mistake the 5-foot-7 guard emerged was a bona-fide star over the past two seasons. Miller earned first-team 3A all-state honors, was a 3A all-tournament team and all-WAMAC West division pick for the second year in a row after averaging a career-high 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Player that wasn’t talked about enough: Regina senior Alli Clark. All-state teammate Morgan Miller rightfully received much of the attention this season for Regina but Clark was consistently brilliant in her final prep season. Clark scored at least eight points in 22 of 24 games, including 17 games with double figures while averaging 13 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Best clutch performance: Averie Lower against Waverly-Shell Rock. In a breakthrough sophomore season in which she established herself as one of the best in the state Lower saved her best for last on the state’s biggest stage. The 5-foot-11 sharpshooter buried four 3-pointers, hit 6-of-11 shots and scored a game-high 17 points to go with four rebounds and four steals to lift Clear Creek Amana to a 43-25 win over Waverly-Shell Rock in the 4A title game.

Most fitting performance: Anna Quillin against Estherville-Lincoln Central. Has a player ever failed to score a point in the state championship and landed on the all-tournament team? That’s what Quillin did when she went scoreless with one shot attempt but grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked two shots while helping Solon to a 54-47 win over Estherville-Lincoln Central in 3A title game. It was a perfect embodiment of what the 5-foot-8 Quillin provided to the Spartans as she averaged 4.7 points and a team-high 9.4 rebounds on the season and grabbed a 3A tournament record 40 rebounds during the Spartans title run.

Most improved player: Liberty High senior Bella Tafolla. A three-year varsity starter Tafolla get better each season but made her biggest jump this year as she emerged as a steady leader in the Lightning backcourt. Tafolla averaged 4.7 points as a junior but upped that to 8.2 points per game this season while leading the Lightning with 3 assists per game while finishing with more assists (60) than turnovers (42) for the first time in her career.

Biggest shot: Kobi Lietz against Mount Vernon. Several Spartans hit huge shots during three state tournament wins for Solon but Lietz’s game-winning buzzer beater in a 55-54 victory at then top-ranked Mount Vernon was the sparked that started a late-season surge for Solon that ended with a 12-game winning streak and 3A title.

Most persistent player: West Branch senior Alyse Klinkkammer. For four straight seasons Klinkkammer has been a stalwart in the West Branch lineup starting 67 games in her career including 65 over the past three seasons. Klinkkammer didn’t just show up, she produced leading the Bears in assists with 4 per game this season to finish her career with 200 assists.

Best farewell performance: Bliss Beck against Keokuk. In the final game in a gymnasium where she starred in both volleyball and basketball Beck had the perfect farewell effort scoring15 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and adding three steals and three blocked shots in a 68-35 win over Keokuk in a 4A regional final.

Most versatile: Regina junior Morgan Miller. The 5-foot-6 Miller is a true point guard and is at her best as a facilitator but Miller did it all for Regina on both ends of the court. The versatility shows up in the stat line as Miller averaged 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 3.8 assists per game but it goes beyond that. Miller showed a more diverse offensive game this season with an ability to score at all three levels and was affective defensively across the court.

Unsung hero: Solon senior Mia Stahle. Stahle didn’t produce the stats or garner the attention of some of her more high-profile teammates but make no mistakes Solon likely doesn’t win a state title without the 5-foot-3 defensive spark plug who averaged 7 points, 2.9 steals and 2.3 assists per game.

Hardest worker: City High junior Emmy McComas. Stats don’t tell the story for McComas, a three-year starter who does all the little stuff for the Little Hawks. McComas had a solid stat line, 6.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game but it was her effort on both ends of the court that was most valuable for City High.

Best under the radar player: West Branch senior Kylie Pickett. Whether it was playing alongside talented players early in her career or sub-.500 records the past two seasons the spotlight has largely avoided Pickett who quickly put together three consecutive productive seasons. Pickett led the Bears in scoring for the second consecutive season averaging 8.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.1 assists per game this season while shooting 32 percent from 3-point range while burying a team-high 53 3-pointers.

Defensive player of the year: Clear Creek Amana senior Sam Schrage. No team in the area, and few in the state, defended better than the Clippers who held opponents to a 4A-best 31.6 points per game and Schrage was a huge part of every defensive game plan for the Clippers. Others had better defensive stat lines than Schrage who averaged 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game but the versatility of the 5-foot-8 Schrage made her a focal point defensively for the Clippers and often landed her on the opponent’s top offensive threat.

Newcomer of the year: Liberty High sophomore Kennedy Goodheart. Technically Goodheart isn’t new (she scored three points in four games last season as a freshman) but the sophomore guard provided a spark in her first season of full-time action. The 5-foot-9 Goodheart averaged 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and ranked second on the team with 32 made 3-pointers.

Freshman of the year: Kaitlin Loria made a major impact in her first season in the City High lineup ranking third on the team in scoring while leading the Little Hawks in rebounds and field goal percentage. The 5-foot-10 Loria averaged 11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 60 percent from the floor and 67 percent from the free throw line.

Freshman of the year part 2: Sasha Baldwin showed in her debut season at West High she is well on her way to becoming one of the best guards in the state. Baldwin averaged 11 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game in her first varsity action helping the Trojans to a 13-10 record.

Bench player of the year: Clear Creek Amana sophomore Lena Evans. A sparkplug off the bench for the 4A champs Evans brought energy and offensive production the moment she stepped on the court. Evans ranked third on the team with 8.5 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field including 38 percent from 3-point range and also averaged 1.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 assists per game in a breakthrough sophomore season.

Most valuable player: Solon senior Callie Levin. Pick a positive accolade and it probably fits for Levin who helped turn Solon from a nine-win team in the season before she arrived to a state champion. The Iowa recruit was at her absolute best as a senior averaging 22 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.8 steals and 4.5 assists per game on her way to being named Miss Iowa Basketball.

Most valuable player part 2: Clear Creek Amana senior Ava Locklear. Few players in the state had a bigger impact on the success of their team than Locklear who averaged a double-double with 12.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game and also led the Clippers in assists (4.2) and ranked second on the team with 2.1 blocked shots per game. Locklear was at her best in the biggest moments averaging 14 points, 14.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game in three state tournament wins.

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