Wildcats get even, draw even

 The Tri-Rivers Conference West Division girls' basketball race has become a dead heat down the final straightaway, with one hurdle remaining for the co-leaders.Maquoketa Valley pulled alongside North Linn at the front of the pack Tuesday, knocking off the previously unbeaten Lynx, 47-32, at Delhi."We hit some shots, and we were more aggressive then we were the first time (a 39-25 North Linn win five days earlier at Troy Mills)," said Wildcats Coach Scot Moenck. "The first time, we were passing up too many good shots. This time, we took them."North Linn all-state guard Nicole Miller fouled out with 6 minutes left with the Lynx up a point. Maquoketa Valley ruled from there, winning the fourth quarter, 18-5."It was huge," Moenck said of Miller's disqualification. "She's one of the best players in the state."The race reaches its conclusion Friday. Both teams are at home, but neither faces a gimme.Maquoketa Valley (18-2 overall, 10-1 TRC West) faces Alburnett (11-6, 7-4); the Wildcats beat the Pirates by only two points Jan. 13.North Linn (19-1, 10-1) meets Springville (9-9, 5-6).Barring an upset, the Wildcats and the Lynx will play a Class 2A regional-semifinal rubber match Feb. 21 at Troy Mills."We're not even talking about that stuff," Moenck said. "We're a team that needs to get better. We've only had a handful of practices since Christmas, and we're still really young."

MIDLAND COPS A CROWNIt's not worst-to-first, but it's pretty darn close.Midland, which had won just eight games in the previous three seasons, wrapped up the Tri-Rivers East championship Tuesday with a 49-33 victory at Calamus-Wheatland.Long a six-on-six power under Jerry Carstens, this is Midland's first league title in the five-player game.The Eagles (12-5 overall, 9-0 division) were 0-20, 3-19 and 5-17 in the previous three seasons. Last year, they were 2-14 in the Big East Conference, finishing eighth in the nine-team league.Most of last year's defeats were close, though, and with a veteran lineup, Midland figured to contend in its first season in the TRC East.Midland has no double-figure scorers, but exhibits good balance -- four players (Briana Schurbon, Alaina Martensen, Mackenzie Petersen and Morgan Petersen) are averaging between 7.6 and 9.1 points per game.

A MILESTONE FOR FITZPATRICKEdgewood-Colesburg's Kari Fitzpatrick became the area's latest player to reach 1,000 career points, hitting the milestone in the Vikings' 64-45 win over MFL MarMac on Tuesday.Fitzpatrick, a junior, scored 29 Tuesday to send her career mark to 1,002.She scored 198 points as a freshman, 412 as a sophomore. Her 392 points this season is good for 23.1 per game.

MVC HEAVY ON SENIOR STARSThe Mississippi Valley Conference is a league with veteran teams, veteran players.Consider this: 16 players are averaging 12 points or more. Only four of them -- Amanda Ollinger and Kennedy Dighton of Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Mikaela Morgan of Iowa City West and Courtney Joens of Iowa City High -- are non-seniors.Dani Franklin of Cedar Rapids Washington leads the league at 21.8 points per game. City High's Haley Lorenzen is scoring at a 21.5-point clip. Both are seniors and Division-I signees (Franklin to Valparaiso; Lorenzen to Florida).