Stokes & Greenfield: Stars collide at Rivalry Saturday

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Linn-Mar and Ballard. Stokes and Greenfield. UConn and Stanford."I think it's going to be fun," said Linn-Mar girls' basketball coach Mike Brandt. "It will be fun to watch those two go at it."Rivalry Saturday makes its seventh appearance at the U.S. Cellular Center, with two of the most highly recruited players in state history facing off when defending Class 4A state champion Linn-Mar (13-1) squares off with 3A top-ranked Ballard (14-0) at 2:45 p.m.Kiah Stokes, a 6-foot-3 post who has signed with the University of Connecticut, leads the state in scoring at 25.2 points per game, and averages 14.4 rebounds and 4.9 blocks per contest for Linn-Mar. Ballard's Taylor Greenfield -- a 6-2 guard and a Stanford signee -- averages 21.0 points per game.They're the top two candidates -- maybe the only two candidates -- for Miss Iowa Basketball 2011.The Linn-Mar/Ballard gem is the brightest in a drawerful of them."We have good matchups again," said Scot Moenck, coach at Maquoketa Valley and organizer of the six-game event. "How many Division-I athletes do we have? We have a lot of athletic talent."It tips off at 11:15 a.m., when Benton Community (11-4) faces Vinton-Shellsburg (7-7). Iowa City Regina (12-2) meets Solon (11-2) at 1 p.m.After Linn-Mar and Ballard take the court, it's Cedar Rapids Washington (11-2) and DeWitt Central (12-2) at 4:30 and Maquoketa Valley (14-2) and Edgewood-Colesburg (8-7) at 6:15.The finale pits Wamac divisional leaders Mount Vernon (12-1) and Williamsburg (13-1) at 8. Mount Vernon, the 2010 2A state champion, is rated second in 3A.Washington must contend with Central's guard-post tandem of Lindsay Smith and Jen Keitel, who have signed with Wisconsin and Northern Iowa, respectively."It will be a challenge for us," said Washington Coach Frank Howell. "I always try to shore up our non-conference schedule."Tickets are $6, with $1 from each ticket donated to cancer research at Mercy Medical Center.

And now there is oneMonticello is the final area unbeaten.The Panthers moved to 14-0 (11-0 in the Tri-Rivers Conference) with a 47-37 win at Cascade on Tuesday. They have sidestepped three relatively close games since the holiday break, including a 54-51, double-overtime triumph over Maquoketa Valley on Jan. 7.Brooke Stahlberg leads the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game, and the team is shooting a robust 37.3 percent from 3-point range.But the Panthers' identity is defense. They are allowing 31.8 points per game.Monticello, seeking the first conference championship in school history, continues pursuit Friday at home against Edgewood-Colesburg.

Here come the bracketsThe Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union announced that it may release postseason pairings as early as Friday, or possibly Monday.Regionals begin Feb. 10, with regional finals Feb. 21 (1A and 2A) and Feb. 22 (3A and 4A).The state tournament is Feb. 28-March 5 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.Jeff Linder's mock brackets appear

here.