State Tournament Preview: Day 4
We are now down to 20 teams vying to hold the trophy as we have completed all of the quarterfinal games. The first three days are complete and now we look to semi-final action. Today we are going to have…
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Continue ReadingWe are now down to 20 teams vying to hold the trophy as we have completed all of the quarterfinal games. The first three days are complete and now we look to semi-final action. Today we are going to have the 5A, 4A, and 3A semi-final games. We will look at each matchup below as well as give a few players to watch and finally give our predictions! View the complete schedule here: Girls State Tournament Schedule
5A Semi-final: #2 Iowa City High (23-1) vs. #3 Johnston (22-2) @ 10AM
In the first semi-final of the day Iowa City City meets Johnston in what will possibly be the best game all day long. These teams have only met twice before with the last meeting coming in the state tournament, a game that City High won. Both of these teams have a potent offense so this game should come down to the wire. This will be the game that has the most talent on the floor out of the entire state tournament with six D1 commits and potentially 2-3 more in the younger classes.
Players to Watch
Rose Nkumu
Rose
Nkumu
5'8" | PG
Iowa City High | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Iowa City High – Marquette commit
Aubrey Joens
Aubrey
Joens
5'9" | SG
Iowa City High | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Iowa City High – Iowa State commit
Paige Rocca
Paige
Rocca
5'8" | SG
Iowa City High | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Iowa City High – Missouri State commit
Kelsey Joens
Kelsey
Joens
5'10" | SG
West Liberty | 2023
State
IA
– 2023 – Iowa City High
Maya McDermott
Maya
McDermott
5'5" | PG
Johnston | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Johnston – Northern Iowa commit
Kendall Nead
Kendall
Nead
5'11" | SF
Johnston | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Johnston – UW-Milwaukee commit
Maddie Mock
Maddie
Mock
6' | PF
Johnston | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Johnston – Western Illinois commit
Anna Gossling
Anna
Gossling
5'5" | SG
Johnston | 2022
State
IA
– 2022 – Johnston
Prediction: Johnston 75, Iowa City High 74
5A Semi-final: #1 Waukee (22-2) vs. #5 Waterloo West (20-4) @ 11:45AM
Waukee took care of business rather easily in their opening game while Waterloo West needed a comeback victory to take down Cedar Falls. Both of these teams are very deserving of being in the position that they are in. I think if Waukee gets off to a good start then they might run away with the game but if Waterloo West is within single digits at the end of the third quarter then it will be anyone’s game to win. These two teams have never met before.
Players to Watch
Lauren Conrey
Lauren
Conrey
5'8" | SG
Waterloo West | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Waterloo West – Grand View commit
Brooklynn Smith
Brooklynn
Smith
6'3" | C
Waterloo West | 2022
State
IA
– 2022 – Waterloo West
Halli Poock
Halli
Poock
5'6" | PG
Waterloo West | 2023
State
IA
– 2023 – Waterloo West
Sahara Williams
Sahara
Williams
5'11" | SF
Waterloo West | 2023
State
IA
– 2023 – Waterloo West
Katie Dinnebier
Katie
Dinnebier
5'7" | PG
Waukee | 2021
State
IA
– 2021 – Waukee – Drake commit
Peyton Kelderman
Peyton
Kelderman
5'6" | PG
Waukee | 2021
State
IA
– 2021 – Waukee
Lindsey Kelderman
Lindsey
Kelderman
5'5" | PG
Waukee | 2021
State
IA
– 2021 – Waukee
Prediction: Waukee 71, Waterloo West 65
3A Semi-final: #1 Dike-New Hartford (23-1) vs. #5 North Polk (20-5) @ 1:30PM
Both of these teams looked very good in their opening-round win and should make for a great semi-final game. Dike-New Hartford struggled a bit offensively but was able to get the job done. North Polk easily handled a good Red Oak team in their opening game. Each team has the potential to score points in bunches and both have a very good star player with a tremendous supporting cast. Whichever team comes out the hottest will have a great chance to win the game. They have never met before this meeting.
Players to Watch
Ellie Foster
Ellie
Foster
5'11" | SG
Dike-New Hartford | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Dike-New Hartford – UW-Green Bay commit
Katie Knock
Katie
Knock
5'10" | SF
Dike-New Hartford | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Dike-New Hartford – Northern State commit
Morgan Weber
Morgan
Weber
5'11" | PF
Dike-New Hartford | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Dike-New Hartford – Wichita State volleyball commit
Jaedon Murphy
Jaedon
Murphy
5'10" | PF
North Polk | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – North Polk – Wartburg commit
Maggie Phipps
Maggie
Phipps
5'10" | SG
North Polk | 2021
State
IA
– 2021 – North Polk – Drake commit
Lucy Schaffer
Lucy
Schaffer
5'7" | PG
North Polk | 2022
State
IA
– 2021 – North Polk
Makayla Boatman
Makayla
Boatman
5'6" | SG
North Polk | 2023
State
IA
– 2023 – North Polk
Prediction: North Polk 66, Dike-New Hartford 64
3A Semi-final: #2 Clear Lake (23-2) vs. #3 Bishop Heelan (20-4) @ 3:15PM
Both of these teams got off to slow starts in their quarterfinal game but were able to pull it out in the second half. Clear Lake is known for it’s shooting ability but they struggled to shoot the ball until the fourth quarter. Bishop Heelan equally struggled on the offensive end scoring the ball in their quarterfinal game. A lot of that might have been the jitters but the two teams that they faced in the first round were very good defensive teams as well. This will be a very tough game for both teams but it will be a good 3A quarterfinal game. They have never met before.
Players to Watch
Sara Faber
Sara
Faber
5'9" | SF
Clear Lake | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Clear Lake
Chelsey Holck – 2021 – Clear Lake
Darby Dodd
Darby
Dodd
5'8" | SG
Clear Lake | 2021
State
IA
– 2021 – Clear Lake
Ella Skinner
Ella
Skinner
5'11" | C
Bishop Heelan | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Bishop Heelan – Wayne State commit
Amber Aesoph
Amber
Aesoph
5'8" | SF
Bishop Heelan | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Bishop Heelan
Katelyn Stanley
Katelyn
Stanley
5'10" | SF
Bishop Heelan | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Bishop Heelan
Prediction: Clear Lake 56, Bishop Garrigan 54
4A Semi-final: #1 North Scott (24-0) vs. #4 Center Point-Urbana (22-2) @ 5:00PM
North Scott easily handled Clear Creek-Amana in the first game while Center Point-Urbana had to come from behind to win in overtime against Waverly-Shell Rock. North Scott hasn’t lost a game all season long and they are looking to continue their success against Center Point-Urbana. Center Point-Urbana are the defending champions in 3A so this is a meeting between two champions from last season since North Scott won the 4A title. These teams met once in 2017 and saw Center Point-Urbana come away with a win.
Players to Watch
Grace Boffeli
Grace
Boffeli
6'1" | PF
North Scott | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – North Scott – Northern Iowa commit
Presley Case
Presley
Case
5'3" | PG
North Scott | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – North Scott – St. Ambrose commit
Samantha Scott – 2021 – North Scott
Adrianna Katcher
Adrianna
Katcher
5'11" | SF
Center Point-Urbana | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Center Point-Urbana – Southern Illinois commit
Ryley Goebel
Ryley
Goebel
5'11" | SF
Center Point-Urbana | 2022
State
IA
– 2022 – Center Point-Urbana
Prediction: North Scott 55, Center Point-Urbana 46
4A Semi-final: #2 Glenwood vs. #6 Lewis Central @ 6:45PM
A meeting between two conference foes will determine who comes from the bottom half of the bracket. Both meetings so far this year Glenwood has come out on top by five points but it is very hard to beat a team three times in a row no matter how potent the offense is. Lewis Central looked very good against Ballard while Glenwood won an offensive shootout against Gilbert. Lewis Central holds the all-time series edge at 22-7 but Glenwood has won the last four meetings.
Players to Watch
Elle Scarborough – 2021 – Glenwood
Madison Camden
Madison
Camden
5'8" | SG
Glenwood | 2022
State
IA
– 2022 – Glenwood
Jenna Hopp
Jenna
Hopp
5'11" | SG
Glenwood | 2023
State
IA
– 2023 – Glenwood
Megan Witte
Megan
Witte
6'1" | PF
Lewis Central | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Lewis Central
Delaney Esterling
Delaney
Esterling
5'11" | PF
Lewis Central | 2020
State
IA
– 2020 – Lewis Central
McKenna Pettepier
McKenna
Pettepier
5'9" | PF
Lewis Central | 2021
State
IA
– 2021 – Lewis Central
Prediction: Glenwood 76, Lewis Central 68