Showdown series begins in MVC

The upper crust of the Mississippi Valley Conference has been established.Now, in the next week, the pecking order of the elite will begin to be determined. And Stephanie Botkin, for one, can't wait."(Waterloo West) is a team we've been wanting to get, ever since (regionals) last year," said Botkin, a junior at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.Class 5A third-ranked West (5-0, 2-0) hosts No. 7 Kennedy (5-0, 1-0) on Friday, then the Wahawks travel to No. 2 City High (6-0, 3-0) next Tuesday. Those three teams were the preseason favorites, and all have held up their end of the bargain through the season's first three weeks.West ousted Kennedy in postseason play last year, and Kennedy Coach Tony Vis is trying to keep the past in the past."We haven't even mentioned it," Vis said after the Cougars whipped Linn-Mar, 74-41, Tuesday. "The way I'll bring it up to the girls is this: We play one game on Friday. If we win, it's one win. If we lose, it's one loss."But, yes, we do want to put our best foot forward. We'll see what happens."Few teams can match Kennedy's balance. The Cougars placed all five starters in double-figures Tuesday, and four of them -- Morgan Martin, Botkin, Paige Hendrickson and Jordan Holmes -- are averaging at least 10 points per game this season. Madi Meier is close.With the MVC playing a 13-game girls schedule these days instead of the old 16-game method (which the boys still implement), each game is magnified a little more in the league race. In the other game involving the MVC's elite, City High visits Kennedy on Jan. 24.

UNBEATENS: 11 AND DWINDLINGWestern Dubuque has taken down two of the Wamac Conference heavyweights in convincing succession, dropping Mount Vernon and Center Point-Urbana by tallies of 63-41 and 55-34.Friday, the Class 4A seventh-rated Bobcats (4-0 overall, 4-0 Wamac) host 3A No. 4 Williamsburg (6-0, 4-0), with the winner alone atop the Wamac standings.Eleven area unbeatens remain, and two of them are vastly improved from a year ago.Oelwein (4-0) was 4-18 in an injury-hampered 2012-13, failing to win a game in the Northeast Iowa Conference. Nicole Burgin is averaging 18.3 points per game, Ashley Rosenstiel 14.8.Midland (4-0) was 5-17 last season, but many of the Eagles' losses were competitive. The Eagles host fellow Tri-Rivers Conference East Division co-leader Easton Valley on Dec. 20.Both of those teams entered the state rankings Thursday. Oelwein is No. 14 in 3A; Midland is 15th in 1A.

UNBALANCED ATTACK AT CEDAR VALLEYCedar Valley Christian is battling the numbers game again this season, with only seven girls on its roster.Junior Shelby Hembera has been the workhorse, and then some. Through five games, the 6-footer has scored 152 of the Huskies' 167 points. She needs 52 points to reach 1,000 for her career.Hembera's scoring average of 30.4 points per game leads the state. So does her rebounding rate -- 15.4 boards per game.The Huskies are 0-5, but have a talented group of eighth-graders waiting to help in 2014-15.

GREINER, LEHMAN CRACK 1,000Williamsburg's Paige Greiner and Iowa City Regina's Jenna Lehman have crossed the 1,000-point bridge.Greiner, a Drake University signee, did it Dec. 2 at Mount Pleasant. She is the third player in Williamsburg history to reach 1,000.Lehman got there in the Regals' win over Clear Creek Amana on Saturday.