The girls state basketball tournaments are underway this week in both Iowa and Nebraska.
Here is a primer:
IOWA GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC UNION STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
When: March 1-6.
Who: 32 teams competing for four championships.
Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines.
History: The first IGHSAU state championship game was played in 1920. The first state tournament was held in 1926. In 1985, the first five-player state champion was crowned. A six-player and five-player champion were determined until 1994, when all teams began competing in five-player basketball and Class 4A, 3A, 2A, and 1A titles were awarded for the first time.
Class 4A
Defending champion: Sioux City North (not in this year’s field).
Team to beat: Linn-Mar (Marion) (23-0).
Next-best contender: Des Moines East (Des Moines) (23-0).
Top player: Linn-Mar’s Kiah Stokes might become the most touted girls basketball recruit in state history. Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and Oklahoma’s Sherri Coale were in the bleachers to watch the Lions beat Bettendorf in the regional finals last Tuesday. The 6-foot-3 junior is averaging 19.3 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.
The skinny: After losing in the semifinals the last two years, Linn-Mar is battle-tested and hungry. The Lions were 15-point winners in January over tournament qualifier Kennedy (Cedar Rapids (20-2), which features Iowa signee Jade Rogers. They also beat top 3A contenders Ballard (Huxley) and Bishop Heelan Catholic (Sioux City). Des Moines East, which won its only state title in 1979, is one of five Central Iowa Metro League squads in the eight-team field.
Class 3A
Defending champion: Ballard.
Team to beat: Ballard (22-1).
Next-best contender: Bishop Heelan (23-1).
Top player: Ballard’s Taylor Greenfield scored 24 points in the Bombers’ 52-46 loss to 4A favorite Linn-Mar. The 6-1 junior averages 19 points per game and is a national recruit.
The skinny: There is a deep pool of contenders, including the top five teams in the final state poll of the season. Heelan, which lost by 25 to Ballard in last year’s title game, features a pair of Division I signees with Carli Tritz(Creighton) and Millie Niggeling (Vermont). They could meet Ballard in Thursday’s semifinals. Waukon (23-1), led by the state’s all-time winningest coach Gene Klinge, is also in the field.
Class 2A
Defending champion: IKM-Manning (not in this year’s field).
Team to beat: Manson Northwest Webster (22-1).
Next-best contender: Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove (20-3).
Top player: Maddie Oliver of Roland-Story (24-1) is another member of the state’s highly talented junior class. The 6-2 center averages 16 points and 12 rebounds per game. She scored 17 in the Norsemen’s 55-53 first-round loss to Manson Northwest Webster in last year’s tournament.
The skinny: Manson Northwest Webster and O-A/BC-IG won their opening round games and will meet in Wednesday’s semifinals. The winner could end up facing Mount Vernon (22-3), which is on a roll after rolling state-No. 1 Cascade, 52-33, in the regional championships.
Class 1A
Defending champion: AGWSR (not in this year’s field).
Team to beat: Martensdale-St. Mary's (25-1).
Next-best contender: Newell-Fonda (23-2).
Top player: Exira’s Hallie Christofferson, who has eclipsed 2,000 career points, has signed with Iowa State. The 6-3 senior entered the tournament averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds per game. She had 32 in the Vikings’ first-round win against Queen of Peace.
The skinny: Monday’s first round games came and went without any surprises. Wednesday’s first semifinal between Newell-Fonda and Exira (24-0) will feature contrasting styles. Newell-Fonda employs an up-tempo strategy and attempted more field goals than any team in the state. Exira likes the work the ball inside to Christofferson.
NEBRASKA SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
When: March 4-6.
Who: 48 teams competing for six championships.
Where: All finals will be played at Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Some Class B, C1, C2, D1, and D2 early round and consolation games will be played at Pershing Center, Lincoln High, and Lincoln North Star.
History: The NSAA held its first girls state tournament in 1977, with champions crowned in Classes A, B, C, and D. The current divisions with Classes C1-C2 and D1-D2 started in 1984.
Class A
Defending champion: Bellevue West.
Team to beat: Millard West (Omaha) (22-1).
Next-best contender: Bellevue West (21-3).
Top player: Senior Sarah Nelson has Omaha Westside (19-4) in the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The 6-1 forward has signed with Creighton.
The skinny: Top-ranked Millard West reeled off 14 consecutive wins after losing to co-favorite Bellevue West on December 31. The Wildcats have never won a state girls basketball title and would be the first of the three Millard schools to do so since 1996.
Class B
Defending champion: Seward.
Team to beat: Seward (22-0).
Next-best contender: South Sioux City (18-4).
Top player: Seward forward Emily Cady (6-2) gets the nod by a slim margin over her 6-4 teammate Alyssa Kamphause (a Creighton signee) and Alliance senior Jordan Hooper (Nebraska). Cady is a spectacular athlete and was rated among the top 60 juniors in the nation by ESPNU.
The skinny: It would be a shocker if Seward does not take home its second consecutive title. The Bluejays have won 47 consecutive games and are rated the No. 2 team in the state regardless of classification by the Omaha World-Herald.
Class C1
Defending champion: Bishop Neumann (Wahoo).
Team to beat: Bishop Neumann (20-2).
Next-best contender: Wahoo (19-4).
Top player: Creighton-bound guard McKenzie Fujan led Bishop Neumann to the championship game the last two seasons. She is also a three-time state titlist as a hurdler.
The skinny: Lutheran Northeast (23-0) is the top seed in this bracket but it’s easy to picture another meeting between Bishop Neumann and Wahoo in the championship game. It would be a rubber match for the season; the crosstown rivals split a pair of game last month.
Class C-2
Defending champion: Ravenna (not in this year’s field).
Team to beat: West Point Central Catholic (22-2).
Next-best contender: Elmwood-Murdock (Murdock) (23-0).
Top player: Stacia Gebers, a 6-foot senior for sixth-seeded Superior (19-4). She is very athletic and will play at Nebraska-Omaha next season.
The skinny: Both of West Point Central Catholic’s losses this season were to teams in the state tournament. The Bluejays have a terrific history at state, making the field every year since 1998 and winning four consecutive titles from 2002-05. Elmwood-Murdock is the lone unbeaten team in the field but failed to win a state tournament game in four prior trips to Lincoln.
Class D-1
Defending champion: Bancroft-Rosalie (not in this year’s field).
Team to beat: Silver Lake (Roseland) (23-0).
Next-best contender: East Butler (Brainard) (20-3).
Top player: East Butler’s Marissa Bongers has averaged over 23 points per game the last two seasons and is also a state champion runner in track. She had 29 points, 14 rebounds, and seven steals in the district championship game.
The skinny: On paper, this looks like Silver Lake’s tournament to lose. The Mustangs are not only undefeated, they have yet to win a game by fewer than 10 points. Fifth-seed Elkhorn Valley (15-7) is the only team in the field ever to win a state championship. The Falcons were Class C champs in 1982.
Class D-2
Defending champion: Ewing (not in this year’s field).
Team to beat: Chambers (23-1).
Next-best contender: Sacred Heart (Falls City) (22-2).
Top player: Trisha Kurdna, a 6-2 senior for third-seeded Hay Springs (20-3). She averages 15 points per game and is a multi-year all-state selection in both basketball and volleyball.
The skinny: Wynot (23-0) is the only undefeated team left in Class D2 but drew the fourth seed, probably in part because the Blue Devils’ tallest starter stands only 5-9. That might make it tough to go against the likes of Falls City Sacred Heart, which does not start a player shorter than 5-10. Top seed Chambers also features a small lineup but the Coyotes are tournament-tested, having reached Lincoln for the ninth time since 1999.
Des Moines-based Jamie DeMoney has covered high school sports and recruiting for more than 15 years. He is editor and founder of PrepNation.com. You can reach him at PrepNation@aol.com.
