Region Preview: Class 1A, Region 6
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Last Thursday afternoon, the IGHSAU announced the region brackets for the upcoming race to the Well. The 1A portion of the tournament gets underway on February 11th. Whether you were 18-0 or 0-18 this season, it does not matter. Each…
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Continue ReadingLast Thursday afternoon, the IGHSAU announced the region brackets for the upcoming race to the Well. The 1A portion of the tournament gets underway on February 11th. Whether you were 18-0 or 0-18 this season, it does not matter. Each team is now 0-0 and are looking to end their season with a win. Below you can view the best first round match-up, the best potential match-up, our pick to win the region, a sleeper to win the region, an “X-Factor” player, and players to watch.
Take a look at the Region 1 bracket here: Class 1A, Region 6
Best First Round Match-up: English Valleys vs. HLV
There have been two prior match-ups between these two teams this season but I don’t think that you can actually take much substance by looking at those scores. The first meeting between the two HLV won by 17 points and the second English Valleys won by 34 points. Now, depending on health, this should be a pretty close game but English Valleys does have the evident upper hand in the contest because they have a positive point differential and are actually likely a bit better than their record shows.
Best Potential Match-up: Montezuma vs. Collins-Maxwell
This game would come in the region finals and it would be the best game of the entire bracket. Montezuma likes to press and force the opponents hand and Collins-Maxwell has guards that can formidably handle that pressure. Collins-Maxwell also has a post player who will be able to really put pressure on Montezuma on the inside. This will be a fun match-up just to see how each coach will try and respond to the other team. If this game does happen then it’s a toss-up for who wins.
Our Pick to Win Region 5: Montezuma
Montezuma isn’t the easy pick to make but they have the experience of playing in big games moreso than anyone else in this region. I think that they have the ability to get hot from beyond the arc more than anyone else in this region and if a team lets them the game can get out of hand quickly. I also think that their pressure will become a problem for some of these teams. It’s not a lock but I think they have the best shot of anyone.
Our Sleeper Pick to Win Region 5: North Mahaska
North Mahaska is 13-3 on the year but all of their losses have come to very good teams. They have lost to Montezuma this year by 15 but they also beat their potential second round match-up in Lynnville-Sully. I think that if they are able to get by Montezuma this time around then they’ll have a very good match-up with whomever comes from the bottom half of the bracket. This is a very good regional with 4-5 teams able to win it.
X-Factor Player:
Reagan Franzen
Reagan
Franzen
5'11" | PF
Collins-Maxwell | 2021
State
IA
– Collins-Maxwell – 2021 – 5’11 PF
Franzen is going to be a huge reason that Collins-Maxwell gets to the state tournament if they do. She’s a very solid post player who is averaging 19.8 points a game and 10.1 rebounds a game. She is going to pose a problem to everyone that they face and actually poses a match-up problem to everyone that is a challenger to win the region. That’s why I think that Collins-Maxwell can win the region as a #3 seed and it falls mostly on the shoulders of Franzen.
Players to Watch
Elise Boulton
Elise
Boulton
5'5" | SG
Montezuma | 2021
State
IA
, 2021, Montezuma
Mia Boulton
Mia
Boulton
5'3" | SG
Montezuma | 2023
State
IA
, 2023, Montezuma
Elie Tuhn
Elie
Tuhn
5'7" | PG
Baxter | 2022
State
IA
, 2022, Baxter
Cally Gibbs, 2021, Lynnville-Sully
Emily Vaughn
Emily
Vaughn
5'4" | PG
GMG | 2021
State
IA
, 2021, GMG
Erica Houge
Erica
Houge
5'7" | PG
Collins-Maxwell | 2024
State
IA
, 2024, Collins-Maxwell
Layla Hargis, 2022, North Mahaska
Addie Schilling, 2022, North Mahaska
Deandra Navarro, 2021, Meskwaki Settlement
Cassidy Havens, 2021, Iowa Valley