Pre-season Conference Predictions: WaMaC West
The WaMaC West will remain the same except for one big exit – Marion. Marion was moved to the East Division of WaMaC after Anamosa and Western Dubuque left the WaMaC. That will open the door for these teams in…
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Continue ReadingThe WaMaC West will remain the same except for one big exit – Marion. Marion was moved to the East Division of WaMaC after Anamosa and Western Dubuque left the WaMaC. That will open the door for these teams in the West to be the West Champions. With three of CPU’s four losses coming from Marion last season, we look for CPU to make it’s mark on the West Division this year.
Benton (2017 – 2018 record 5 – 17)
This year Benton will have added experience. If they can adjust to first year coach Jeff Zittergruen and his style it could be different year for the Bobcats. They will lose key senior Laura Maschino from last year’s group, but will return their top player Kasi McWhorter. McWhorter led the team in scoring and rebounding a year ago averaging 11.4 ppg and 5.5 rpg. They will need to rely on her as well as fellow senior Dianna Handley-McCain for leadership.
The Bobcats will also return sophomore Alyse Harvey, who was second in scoring last season. Other key contributors will be juniors Mallory Thys, and Rachel Maschino. All five of these returners saw significant minutes on the floor last year, and should bring a core of experience to the team. Look for added depth with more minutes from juniors Lauren Woeste, Chloe Meeks, Aubrie Milling, and Karsyn Semelroth, along with sophomore Peyton Pfiffner. Benton will still be young, so with all the experience from young players look for the Bobcats to start making an impact on the floor!
Center Point-Urbana (2017 – 2018 record 22 – 4)
Center Point Urbana has gone to the state semi final game the last two years. Last year they lost to eventual State Champion Marion, who was also their arch rival in the WaMaC West. With the exit of Anamosa and Western Dubuque from the conference, Marion moved to the East. This opens the door for the Stormin’ Pointers to take control of the division this year. They lost 3/5 of their starters with graduation of Allie Wooldridge, Olivia Brecht, and LaMia Sisk, but CPU has been deep the past couple years. They will re-load and fill the vacancies with experienced players.
Top returners for CPU this year are the other two starters from a year ago, junior Adrianna Katcher and senior Callyn Fox. These two were number 2 and 3 in scoring and rebounding behind Wooldridge. Katcher averaged 10.3 ppg and 4.2 rpg, with Fox bringing in 9.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Adrianna continued her success over the Summer playing on Team Iowa’s 16u Navy team. She caught the eye of a few D1 schools, before making an early commitment to Southern Illinois. She is a long guard who uses her length to get to the hole, but also has great outside shot. Fox is work horse, who is scrappy on defense and the boards.
CPU has plenty of depth from a year ago that they will be able to replace the 4 year starter Wooldridge. Seniors Karly Millikin and William Penn commit Madie Willson will be the other two main contributors from a year ago. Millikin is a true point guard who is a coach on the floor. She takes care of the ball and shows leadership on the floor. Willson is a scrappy defender who will not hesitate to throw her body on the floor for the ball. Look for both of these players to step up and fill the loss in scoring from graduation.
Depth and versatility will be two things that will make CPU strong again this year. Some of this depth will be filled by new comers. We should see more minutes from senior class players Rylee Clark, Hannah Kress and Chloe Neighbor. Juniors Bryn Hadsall, Peyton Kriegel, and Lauren Dufoe will add to the depth. CPU will also have a freshman in the lineup who should be able to contribute right away. Freshman Ryley Goebel is a long guard who uses her size defensively as well as offensively. She has already caught the eye of a few D1 schools this past Summer.
Clear Creek Amana (2017 – 2018 record 11 – 11)
Clear Creek Amana only graduated one senior from their top 7 players. Andrea Roller was a tough defensive minded player, but Coach Sweeney feels he has plenty of talent to fill that role. He does return for CCA is their top scorer junior Karsyn Stratton. She averaged 21.9 ppg and 7.5 rpg to lead the Clippers in both categories and received FIrst Team All Conference. Other returning players who will help CCA this season will be senior Jordan Neely, and juniors Meagan Harvey and Ainsley Schrock. Harvey was second on the team in scoring and rebounding last season, and also received Second Team All Conference. The Clippers have added a pair of freshman in Calia Clubb and Morgan Etscheidt that could make an immediate impact.
With 7 of their top 8 players returning, experience will be key for their success this season. Added players to this depth will give Coach Sweeney options. The added depth will allow him to play big, or he can go with a four guard front and use speed. Having that type of versatility not only will give them an edge, but will also allow them to match up on opponents easier. Be looking for Clear Creek Amana to make a bigger impact in the conference this season.
Independence (2017 – 2018 record 1 – 22)
Playing as a young team can be tough as shown in Independence’s 1 – 22 record a year ago. The positive sign is the amount of experience those young players gain going through that season. Independence will lose key seniors Lydia Butters, Tara Dryml, and Nicole Stephens. Coach Abildtrup will be looking for which players will step up to fill their leadership. With the amount of key returners from a year ago, the Mustangs should have options.
Independence will return five juniors from a year ago that all have starting experience. One of these is their leading scorer Mary Puffett, who was also a Second Team All Conference selection. Other key juniors returning will be Jadyn Schultz, Anna Ruffcorn, Mattea Wall, and Alaina Butters. This combination of five juniors accounted for 67% of the scoring a year ago. Combine these five with returning senior Taylor Wendt who will add some athleticism and toughness to the team. Coach Abildtrup is also excited by the progress of sophomore Nikki Higgins in the off season. The team grew from last season, and continued that growth with team and individual workouts in the off season. Be looking for major improvements from the Mustangs the next two years!
South Tama (2017 – 2018 record 15-10)
South Tama had a good year last year, this year should be better. All of their main contributors will be returning, and that includes the Musgrave sisters. Leading the way is Upper Iowa commit Jessica Musgrave in her senior year. She led the team in almost every category last season. She averaged 21.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.36 apg, and 5.48 spg. Playing limited in her freshman year, she had dominated her sophomore and junior year. If her stat line looks the same her senior year, she will amass in her career close to 1700 points, 600 rebounds, 400 steals and 250 assists.
The Trojans will be returning 93% of their scoring from a year ago. Jessica’s younger sister sophomore Carissa Musgrave will be another top returner from a year ago. She was second on the team in scoring, adding 5.8 ppg last season. Other key contributors returning will be seniors Madison Rohach, Jaelin Berger, Zoee Buffalo, and Taylor Ray. Junior Makayla Backen along with sophomore Tylese Rosenberger should also be main contributors this season. Lots of experience and talent returning for South Tama this season is going to give the team depth to make it an even better season this year.
Vinton-Shellsburg (2017 – 2018 record 3 – 20)
Last season Vinton Shellsburg may have only won 3 games, but they were also suiting up mostly freshman and sophomores. Those young players were forced to learn by trial and error. They will bring that experience from a year ago to make the team even stronger this season. With no seniors on the team this year, the Vikings will be young again.
Leading the way will be sophomore Lucy Howes-Vonstein who led the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists averaging 12.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 2.23 apg. She will be joined by juniors Taryn Sutton, Olivia Erhardt, and Davia Herger. Sutton was second in scoring for the team averaging 9.0 ppg. Look for Sutton and Howes-Vonstein to partner up as the leaders of this young squad. The Vikings also have a group of sophomores that received experience a year ago. Josie Sagan, Aza Swayzer, and Kayla Griffith were three other freshman who contributed with Howes-Vonstein last year. Watch out for this team to improve even more this season, and bring an even more experienced team to the table next year.
Williamsburg (2017 – 2018 record 6 – 17)
Williamsburg will be another team that was led by younger players last season. They only graduated two of their top eight players from a year ago. The key senior they will need to replace will be Lizzy Donohue who averaged 8.1 ppg and led the team in rebounding with 7.1 rpg. The Raiders will return a lot of experience, but they willl need to find someone to fill Donohue’s leadership role.
Sophomore Charlotte Wetjen will be leading the way on offense for this young group. Wetjen is a smart point guard with a great outside shot hitting 40.6% from the 3 point line last year. She led the team last year as a freshman in scoring averaging 8.4 ppg. Another key returner especially on the defensive end will be junior Taylor Busch. Busch led the team 56 steals last year. Williamsburg will have three freshman that will contribute right away in Teagan Schaefer, Kendra Eichhorn, and Taylor Winegarden