Girls basketball: Conference picks

A primer on the area conference races for girls' basketball in 2013-14, by Jeff Linder of The Gazette/KCRG:

MVC MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

There appear to be three championship-level teams in the MVC, and two of them reside here. Iowa City High took a Class 5A No. 1 ranking into the postseason last year, but suffered a regional-final upset to archrival Iowa City West. The Little Hawks will be led by University of Florida signee Haley Lorenzen, a returning first-team all-stater, and certainly are a threat for both a divisional title and a deep postseason run. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is in the same boat. The Cougars return 88 percent of their scoring from a team that went 15-8, including third-team all-stater Paige Hendrickson and Madi Meier. Morgan Martin returns after missing the majority of last season with a knee injury. West is the most viable threat for the top two despite losing Miss Iowa Basketball 2013 Ally Disterhoft to graduation. Juniors Dani Craig and Mikaela Morgan are the top returners for the Women of Troy.

Preseason player of the year -- Haley Lorenzen, sr., Iowa City High

Projected finish -- 1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 2. Iowa City High, 3. Iowa City West, 4. Dubuque Hempstead, 5. Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 6. Dubuque Senior, 7. Waterloo East.

MVC VALLEY DIVISION

This is the deeper of the two MVC divisions. Waterloo West came within a game of the state tournament last year, falling to Des Moines East in the regional finals. No team in the league returns more; the Wahawks bring back 93 percent of their scoring, led by Iowa State recruit Blaire Thomas. West is a fairly clear-cut favorite, but there is strength and balance throughout the division. Cedar Rapids Washington has as good a 1-2 punch as anyone with Valparaiso signee Dani Franklin (5A first-team all-state) and Aleena Hobbs back from a state-qualifying team, while Cedar Rapids Prairie returns Bradley recruit Madison Dellamuth. Defending 4A state champion Cedar Rapids Xavier will be defensive-minded as ever. Linn-Mar was hit hard by graduation after a sub-.500 season, but the Lions got instantly interesting with the move-in of twins Kristie and Katie Sommer from Dubuque Senior, and the addition of alum Jaime Printy as assistant coach.

Preseason co-players of the year -- Dani Franklin, sr., Cedar Rapids Washington; Blaire Thomas, sr., Waterloo West

Projected finish -- 1. Waterloo West, 2. Cedar Rapids Washington, 3. Cedar Rapids Prairie, 4. Cedar Rapids Xavier, 5. Linn-Mar, 6. Cedar Falls, 7. Dubuque Wahlert.

WAMAC NORTHEAST DIVISION

The Wamac is a 15-team league for one season (Waterloo Columbus left after last year, and South Tama joins in 2014-15). The league will crown an overall champion, as well as three divisional champs. Western Dubuque was an East Division co-champion last year, but lost a lot of its firepower. The favorite in the Northeast Division is Independence, though the Mustangs have not contended for a Wamac title in many years. But judging by its volleyball progress (and the fact that 75 percent of its scoring returns, including Kelsey Ratchford), Indee is ready to make a run to the top. Western Dubuque will remain a factor, as will West Delaware. The Hawks lost their top scorer from last year to graduation, but bring back everybody else for veteran coach Harold Shepherd, who needs six wins to become the fourth coach in Iowa to reach 750 for a career.

Preseason player of the year -- Kelsey Ratchford, sr., Independence

Projected finish (overall conference projection in parentheses) -- 1. Independence (4), 2. West Delaware (8), 3. Western Dubuque (9), 4. Dyersville Beckman (10), 5. Anamosa (13).

WAMAC SOUTHEAST DIVISION

After sharing the East Division championship last year, Mount Vernon can stake claim as the best team in the Wamac, period. Miranda Chapman is one of the league's top players, and once Ali Platte returns (it should be sometime around Christmas, from an ACL tear), the Mustangs will be among the top teams in Class 3A. All in all, things have worked out well for Coach Dennis Roloff, who begins his second year at Mount Vernon after a long, successful run at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Marion will be the Mustangs' chief threat in the division behind all-stater Michalyn Mohr. DeWitt Central was just 6-16 last year, but could be a dark horse. The Sabers lost nobody to graduation.

Preseason player of the year -- Miranda Chapman, sr., Mount Vernon

Projected finish (overall conference projection in parentheses) -- 1. Mount Vernon (1), 2. Marion (5), 3. DeWitt Central (7), 4. Solon (11), 5. Maquoketa (14).

WAMAC WEST DIVISION

In terms of divisional races, this figures to be the most hotly contested. After chasing Benton Community in recent years, the torch of frontrunner will be passed to Center Point-Urbana and Williamsburg, who enter as West Division co-favorites and threats to Mount Vernon in the overall conference race. Williamsburg's Paige Greiner is a returning first-team all-stater and has signed with Drake. All told, the Raiders bring back five of their top six scorers. CPU counters with a squad that features good, mobile size. Sophomore Arika Wooldridge surely will be a Division-I player someday; she's joined by Kennedy Salow to provide an excellent front line. Clear Creek Amana is the best bet to challenge the top two.

Preseason player of the year -- Paige Greiner, sr., Williamsburg

Projected finish (overall conference projection in parentheses) -- 1. Center Point-Urbana (2), 2. Williamsburg (3), 3. Clear Creek Amana (6), 4. Benton Community (12), 5. Vinton-Shellsburg (15).

RIVER VALLEY NORTH DIVISION

The North Division consists of three teams that were in the Big East Conference last year, as well as two from the Tri-Rivers and one from the Cedar Valley. They're together now, making up undoubtedly the deeper and stronger of the two RVC divisions. Cascade reached the Class 3A semifinals last year while Bellevue won the Big East title. Both will be extremely competitive again, but the favorite (slightly) is Camanche. Six of the Indians' top seven scorers are back, led by senior Kylie Vogel. Cascade will frustrate the socks off its new foes; the Cougars allowed 29 points per game last season. Northeast, meanwhile, takes the offensive approach behind Addie Oberman (20.1 ppg last season).

Preseason player of the year -- Addie Oberman, sr., Northeast

Projected finish -- 1. Camanche, 2. Cascade, 3. Northeast, 4. Bellevue, 5. North Cedar, 6. Monticello.

RIVER VALLEY SOUTH DIVISION

While the RVC North Division has the better depth, the South Division has the best team -- Iowa City Regina. The Regals are hands-down the team to beat among the seven-team South field. Jenna Lehman is a returning all-stater who averaged 16.2 points per game last year. There's plenty of periphery around the Regals' nucleus, including Katie Wick, from a team that reached the state tournament last year. West Branch shared the Cedar Valley Conference title with the Regals last year, and if anybody is going to push Regina for the divisional title, it's probably the Bears.

Preseason player of the year -- Jenna Lehman, sr., Iowa City Regina

Projected finish -- 1. Iowa City Regina, 2. West Branch, 3. Durant, 4. Tipton, 5. Mid-Prairie, 6. Wilton, 7. West Liberty.

TRI-RIVERS EAST DIVISION

Most of the small schools of the now-defunct Big East Conference regroup, along with Cedar Valley Christian, to form the Tri-Rivers East. Half of the six East teams posted winning records (and Bellevue Marquette reached the Class 1A state semifinals), but only one of them -- Clinton Prince of Peace -- avoided major destruction from graduation. Thus, the Irish are the favorite. Despite a 5-17 record last year, keep a close eye on Midland. The Eagles were competitive in a lot of games last year, and return every piece from that team. There was concern whether Cedar Valley Christian would have enough players for a team. The Huskies do, and their roster features the high-scoring Shelby Hembera, who averaged 22 points per game.

Preseason player of the year -- Shelby Hembera, jr., Cedar Valley Christian

Projected finish -- 1. Clinton Prince of Peace, 2. Bellevue Marquette, 3. Midland, 4. Easton Valley, 5. Cedar Valley Christian, 6. Calamus-Wheatland.

TRI-RIVERS WEST DIVISION

After cashing in last year with its first Tri-Rivers title in 14 years, North Linn seeks to repeat and take another postseason step. The Lynx were stopped in the regional finals in 2012 and 2013, and have enough firepower back to make another serious run. They return one of the area's best backcourts in juniors Nicole Miller and Maddie Boer. North Linn will be challenged by Maquoketa Valley, which reached the 2A semifinals last year, and by Springville, which was a modest 9-13 last year but graduated nobody. Maquoketa Valley lost its top two scorers to graduation, but returns quality pieces in Nicole Kudrna and Brooke Wooten. East Buchanan and Alburnett are another step or two back, but return much of their respective cores from last year.

Preseason player of the year -- Nicole Miller, jr., North Linn

Projected finish -- 1. North Linn, 2. Maquoketa Valley, 3. Springville, 4. East Buchanan, 5. Alburnett, 6. Lisbon, 7. Central City.

NORTHEAST IOWA

A Class 4A state semifinalist last season, Waverly-Shell Rock has had its way with its NEIC rivals lately, winning three straight outright championships. It might not come quite so easy this winter, though the Go-Hawks certainly will have another quality outfit. Crestwood returns its top four scorers from last year, led by senior Tessa Anderson. If the Cadets return the most of their roster, Charles City ranks second in that regard. Waukon can never be counted out, not with post Alyssa Collins back, and not with Gene Klinge on the bench. The pursuit of Klinge's 1,000th career win is behind, and so is the distraction that accompanied it.

Preseason player of the year -- Alyssa Collins, sr., Waukon

Projected finish -- 1. Crestwood, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock, 3. Charles City, 4. Waukon, 5. New Hampton, 6. Oelwein, 7. Decorah.

SOUTH IOWA CEDAR LEAGUE

With the exception of four-time defending champion North Mahaska, everybody returns most of their roster from last year. That should make for a league that will be at its best in quite some time. As competitive as it has been since its arrival in the SICL, it has been 14 years since Lynnville-Sully has crafted a league championship. The Hawkettes return every single player from last year and will be carried by depth, since its leading scorer last year (Cassie Cullen) averaged 9.6 points per game. The SICL should be strong six-deep. Class 2A schools BGM and Iowa Valley figure to be Lynnville-Sully's top challengers, while Keota, English Valleys and Belle Plaine all are capable of making big noise in 1A. Belle Plaine has the league's best player in Kameo Pope, a senior who averaged a double-double last year.

Preseason player of the year -- Kameo Pope, sr., Belle Plaine

Projected finish -- 1. Lynnville-Sully, 2. BGM, 3. Iowa Valley, 4. Keota, 5. English Valleys, 6. Belle Plaine, 7. Montezuma, 8. North Mahaska, 9. Sigourney, 10. HLV, 11. Tri-County.

UPPER IOWA

The rest of the Upper Iowa Conference likely is celebrating the looming departure of Sumner-Fredericksburg, which heads to the North Iowa Cedar League after the current school year. The Cougars have won the last three UIC titles and carry a 37-game league win streak. With three of its top four scorers back, Sumner-Fredericksburg is the team to beat again, but not overwhelmingly so. The arrival of Edgewood-Colesburg has the league's notice. Ed-Co's Kari Fitzpatrick can fill a stat sheet like none other in this league. Clayton Ridge has one of northeast Iowa's top all-around athletes in Jasmine Staebler, and MFL MarMac has a lot returning (85 percent of its scoring) after an uncommonly mediocre season in 2013.

Preseason player of the year -- Kari Fitzpatrick, jr., Edgewood-Colesburg

Projected finish -- 1. Sumner-Fredericksburg, 2. Edgewood-Colesburg, 3. Clayton Ridge, 4. MFL MarMac, 5. South Winneshiek, 6. Elkader Central, 7. North Fayette Valley, 8. Lansing Kee, 9. Starmont, 10. Turkey Valley, 11. West Central, 12. Postville.