Finale nears for Doser at Prairie

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The announcement came a month ago, and Steve Doser has no second thoughts, no regrets.

"It's all good. I'm at peace with it," said Doser, who will step down as girls' basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie upon the Hawks' exit from postseason play, whenever that comes, and it could be as early as Saturday."I'm enjoyed working with a lot of great players and coaches, and I'm really going to miss that. But it's time."

The Hawks (6-15) hope to extend Doser's tenure past Saturday, but it's going to take an upset to do so. They face Cedar Rapids Kennedy (14-7) in a Class 5A regional semifinal at 7 p.m.

"It's going to be tough when the time comes," he said. "I'm hoping it lasts more than just one more game."

The final teams to step into the postseason waters -- the "bye" teams in classes 4A and 5A -- get their feet wet Saturday. That includes 5A No. 1 Iowa City High (21-0), a heavy favorite at home against Clinton (6-16).

And it includes 4A No. 11 Cedar Rapids Xavier (10-11), a defending state champion. The Saints host DeWitt Central (12-10).

"I am hoping the Mississippi Valley Conference did its job for us, as it always does," said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly. "What the conference gave us in the regular season was multiple defenses, multiple styles, different looks and great athletes."We won't see anything in the postseason we haven't seen before."

State berths will be determined Saturday in Class 3A, which contests its regional finals. Three teams from the Wamac Conference are aiming for state in 3A.Fifth-ranked Williamsburg (21-2) tangles with No. 7 North Polk (19-4) at Pleasant Hill, No. 12 Center Point-Urbana (17-6) faces No. 10 Hampton-Dumont (19-5) at Cedar Falls, and Mount Vernon (15-8) takes aim at No. 2 Crestwood (20-2) at Independence. Also, Oelwein (14-8) meets No. 3 Clear Lake (20-2) at Charles City.Doser turned around a losing program at Marion, then brought relevance to Prairie. In his first year there (2001), he led the Hawks to their first state appearance. Prairie reached the state semifinals in 2005 and 2006.

"I guess I didn't really start thinking about (the end) until the last regular-season game," he said. "I'm gotten a lot of nice notes, nice e-mails from former players. That's really gratifying."

Prairie has lost 11 straight games and faces a Kennedy outfit that is talented and dangerous despite its three-game end-of-season slide.

"They've got everything -- a point guard, an outside game and an inside presence," Doser said.

In other 5A games involving Metro teams, No. 8 Cedar Rapids Washington (17-4) hosts Dubuque Hempstead (14-8), and Linn-Mar (14-8) entertains Iowa City West (12-10).

West advanced with a 50-30 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Wednesday. Everybody else had a first-round bye. 

SATURDAY'S CLASS 3A REGIONAL FINALS

OELWEIN (14-8) vs. No. 3 CLEAR LAKE (21-2), Region 3

When & where -- 7 p.m., at Charles City

Notable -- It has been a season of remarkable progress for Oelwein, which suffered through an injury-riddled, 4-18 campaign a year ago. The Huskies handled Waterloo Columbus and Independence in the first two rounds, pulling away in the fourth quarter both times. In the first round, Ashley Rosenstiel scored 25 points (on 20-of-22 free throw shooting). Nicole Burgin leads the Huskies at 16.9 ppg. Clear Lake is the North Central Conference champion and carries a seven-game winning streak. The Lions average a healthy 63.3 points per game, led by senior Logan Anderson (15.1 ppg). Three others score at least 9.7 per game

.MOUNT VERNON (15-8) vs. No. 2 CRESTWOOD (20-2), Region 4

When & where -- 7 p.m., at Independence

Notable -- After being slowed by injuries throughout the season, Mount Vernon has posted back-to-back defensive gems in the postseason and is an upset from its first trip to Des Moines under Dennis Roloff. The Mustangs surrendered just 24 points to Anamosa in the quarterfinals, then yielded 34 to Monticello in Round 2. Allison Platte has come back with a vengeance since returning from a knee injury; she leads the team at 11.3 points per game, including a 22-point performance against Monticello. Both of Crestwood's losses have come at the hands of 4A power Waverly-Shell Rock, and nobody else has been closer than 20 points in more than a month. Tessa Anderson leads the Cadets at 12.8 ppg.

No. 12 CENTER POINT-URBANA (17-6) vs. No. 10 HAMPTON-DUMONT (19-5), Region 5

When & where -- 7 p.m., at Cedar Falls

Notable -- Center Point-Urbana hasn't been back to state since winning the Class 2A title in 1995, but the Stormin' Pointers have a good opportunity to break through Saturday. The Wamac West Division co-champions posted an impressive 51-36 win over South Tama in the regional semifinals, their ninth win in the last 10 games, and possess one of the best inside tandems in 3A with sophomore Arika Wooldridge (17.7 points, 7.2 rebounds per game) and senior Kennedy Salow (16.3 and 6.8). The Bulldogs are led by a pair of sophomores -- Jessica Speake (15.0 ppg) and Jordan Prantner (14.0). Junior Kennedy Wohlford adds 10.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per contest.

No. 5 WILLIAMSBURG (21-2) vs. No. 7 NORTH POLK (19-4), Region 6

When & where -- 7 p.m., at Pleasant Hill

Notable -- A team that has thrived in close games (13-1 in outcomes decided by 10 points or less), Williamsburg has needed no late-game dramatics once the postseason came around. The co-champions of the Wamac Conference handled Davis County 57-44, then walloped Albia 64-29 in the regional semis. It was 40-13 at halftime and never in doubt. Drake recruit Paige Greiner leads the way with 15.3 points and 4 assists per game, shooting 38 percent from distance and 84 percent from the free throw line. Senior twins Miranda Murphy and Megan Murphy fuel North Polk, averaging 19.1 and 17.3 points per game, respectively. The Comets were down a point at halftime before beating Interstate 35, 53-45, in the regional semis.