Girls’ basketball 2024-25 reset: Touring the area league races at midseason

Four area girls’ basketball teams emerged through the holidays unbeaten, with various levels of surprise.

Maquoketa Valley put an exclamation point on a 9-0 start with a win at North Linn, snapping a 32-game win streak by the reigning Class 1A champion Lynx.

River Valley Conference South Division rivals Iowa City Regina and Mid-Prairie are 7-0 and 6-0, respectively, and both face post-holiday challenges Saturday.

Maquoketa is 8-0, with non-conference victories over Clear Creek Amana and Central DeWitt in the bank. The Cardinals face a River Valley North test at Cascade on Friday.

Resetting all of the area league races as action resumes Thursday:

MVC Mississippi Division

Overview: Iowa City West (7-3, 3-0) is the early leader, and has a statement win (53-44 over Dubuque Wahlert, Dec. 17). Cedar Rapids Xavier (6-2, 2-1) has won four in a row. The Trojans and the Saints conclude the regular season with a Valentine’s Day showdown at Xavier, and that could be a winner-take-all encounter. Iowa City Liberty (5-2, 2-1) plays five of its first six post-holiday games on the road.

Midseason MVP: Libby Fandel, sr., Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Preseason top three: 1. Iowa City West, 2. Iowa City Liberty, 3. Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Midseason top three: 1. Cedar Rapids Xavier, 2. Iowa City West, 3. Iowa City Liberty.

MVC Valley Division

Overview: The first pages of the first chapter of the Bruce Dall era at Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-1, 3-0) have been an unqualified success. All five starters are averaging at least 9 ppg, and the Hawks have been the state’s top 5A team outside suburban Des Moines. Prairie fell just short of a division title last year (its last was in 2012-13), and key games in the Hawks’ title quest are at Cedar Falls (6-2, 2-1) on Jan. 28 and at home against Dubuque Wahlert (4-1, 1-1) on Feb. 4.

Midseason MVP: Nakia Ollivierre, jr., Waterloo West.

Preseason top three: 1. Dubuque Wahlert, 2. Cedar Falls, 3. Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Midseason top three: 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie, 2. Dubuque Wahlert, 3. Cedar Falls.

Wamac East Division

Overview: A state semifinalist in Class 3A last year, Mount Vernon (8-1, 2-0) has played the role of No. 1 quite well. A rival coach has called the Mustangs’ starting five “the best I’ve ever faced.” There’s not a chump within this six-team pool, which has a collective 23-10 non-divisional record. The Mustangs can’t get caught sleeping against the likes of Center Point-Urbana (5-2, 2-0), Marion (5-2, 2-0), West Delaware (4-4, 0-2) or defending 3A champion Solon (3-4, 0-2).

Midseason MVP: Chloe Meester, sr., Mount Vernon.

Preseason top three: 1. Mount Vernon, 2. Center Point-Urbana, 3. West Delaware.

Midseason top three: 1. Mount Vernon, 2. Center Point-Urbana, 3. Marion.

Wamac West Division

Overview: The depth here isn’t nearly what it was as recently as two years ago. Simply put, it’s a two-horse race, and Williamsburg (7-1, 2-0) holds the reins out front at the moment, thanks to a 44-40 win at Clear Creek Amana on Dec. 20. Despite its record, don’t discount the Clippers (3-4, 1-1). In addition to the Williamsburg setback, CCA’s other losses came to a pair of Iowa City schools, plus Maquoketa. The Clippers’ second shot against Williamsburg is a roadie Jan. 28.

Midseason MVP: Averie Lower, jr., Clear Creek Amana.

Preseason top three: 1. Clear Creek Amana, 2. Williamsburg, 3. Benton Community.

Midseason top three: 1. (tie) Clear Creek Amana and Williamsburg, 3. Grinnell.

River Valley North Division

Overview: First place is on the line Friday, when Maquoketa (8-0, 3-0) visits Cascade (5-2, 3-0). Credit Maquoketa for enhancing its non-divisional slate; the Cardinals already have beaten Clear Creek Amana and Central DeWitt, and face Iowa City Liberty and Iowa City High after break. Jayden Kuper is the all-time leading scorer at Monticello (5-3, 2-1), and the Panthers can’t be overlooked. Anamosa (6-2, 2-1) is vastly improved after going 3-17 last year.

Midseason MVP: Jayden Kuper, sr., Monticello.

Preseason top three: 1. Cascade, 2. Monticello, 3. Maquoketa.

Midseason top three: 1. Maquoketa, 2. Cascade, 3. Monticello.

River Valley South Division

Overview: Explosive Iowa City Regina (7-0, 3-0) is a Class 2A state-championship contender. The Regals are averaging 76.1 points per game, second best in the state regardless of class. Three of the top five scorers in the division are Regals, led by Morgan Miller (25.9 ppg). Regina still has two games to play against Mid-Prairie (6-0, 3-0), at Wellman on Jan. 14 and at home Feb. 7. The Regals play a non-conference biggie Saturday at Mount Vernon.

Midseason MVP: Morgan Miller, sr., Iowa City Regina.

Preseason top three: 1. Iowa City Regina, 2. Mid-Prairie, 3. Tipton.

Midseason top three: 1. Iowa City Regina, 2. Mid-Prairie, 3. Tipton.

Tri-Rivers East Division

Overview: After going 36-0 in divisional play the last three years, Calamus-Wheatland (4-4, 4-2) has company at the top of the league this time around. Bellevue Marquette (6-0, 5-0) has won its divisional games by 28.4 points per pop, and senior Gwen Schroeder is second in the state (all classes) in rebounding (17.5 per game). Cal-Wheat, Easton Valley (4-3, 4-1) and Lisbon (3-5, 3-2) represent Marquette’s chase group.

Midseason MVP: Gwen Schroeder, sr., Bellevue Marquette.

Preseason top three: 1. Calamus-Wheatland, 2. Bellevue Marquette, 3. Easton Valley.

Midseason top three: 1. Bellevue Marquette, 2. Calamus-Wheatland, 3. Easton Valley.

Tri-Rivers West Division

Overview: Maquoketa Valley (9-0, 6-0) claimed sole possession of first place with a 51-47 win at North Linn (7-1, 4-1), ending the Lynx’s 32-game win streak. The rematch is Jan. 31 at Delhi. Springville (6-2, 3-2) and East Buchanan (5-3, 2-3) both are equipped to give the leaders — and just about anybody in 1A, for that matter — a major headache, and Alburnett (5-3, 2-3) and Edgewood-Colesburg (4-4, 1-4) make it six of seven teams in the division at .500 or better.

Midseason MVP: Rowan Jacobi, jr., Springville.

Preseason top three: 1. North Linn, 2. Maquoketa Valley, 3. Springville.

Midseason top three: 1. (tie) Maquoketa Valley and North Linn, 3. Springville.

North Iowa Cedar East Division

Overview: Jesup (5-2, 3-0) and Wapsie Valley (4-4, 3-0) are two games clear of the rest of the five-team field. The J-Hawks host the first of two games against the Warriors, Jan. 14, with the rematch Feb. 4 at Fairbank. Jesup has beaten the other three teams by an average of 32.0 points, Wapsie by 18.3 per game.

Midseason MVP: Olivia Nesbit, sr., Jesup.

Preseason top three: 1. Jesup, 2. Oelwein, 3. Wapsie Valley.

Midseason top three: 1. Jesup, 2. Wapsie Valley, 3. Oelwein.

Northeast

Overview: It’s the last ride for the NEIC, which — with four varsity teams — is a skeleton of itself. Three of them (Crestwood, New Hampton and Waukon) are leaving for the Upper Iowa Conference, which will render Decorah homeless for the time being. Decorah (4-3, 3-0) is giving its soon-to-be-formal rivals a final farewell “gift,” and is on its way to claiming the final league title.

Midseason MVP: Keira McCormick, sr., Waukon.

Preseason top three: 1. Crestwood, 2. Waukon, 3. Decorah.

Midseason top three: 1. Decorah, 2. Waukon, 3. Crestwood.

South Iowa Cedar East Division

Overview: Sigourney (5-2, 4-1) swept its four East Division rivals to start the season. The Savages are in the midst of a rough stretch — they lost to Montezuma just before the break, then start 2025 with road games against Lynnville-Sully and North Mahaska — but the expectation is that they will recover after that. English Valleys (4-2, 4-1) faces that West Division gauntlet Jan. 10-17. The Bears go to Sigourney on Jan. 31 in a game that might determine the title.

Midseason MVP: Brynn Clarahan, fr., Sigourney.

Preseason top three: 1. Sigourney, 2. Keota, 3. Iowa Valley.

Midseason top three: 1. Sigourney, 2. English Valleys, 3. Iowa Valley.

South Iowa Cedar East Division

Overview: The SICL continues to be an unbalanced league, with the top three teams — North Mahaska (7-0, 5-0), Montezuma (5-3, 5-1) and Lynnville-Sully (6-3, 4-2) — residing in the West Division. A 20-point win over 3A Prairie City-Monroe further cemented North Mahaska as a 2A title contender. Montezuma gets its second shot at the Warhawks on Jan. 24 at home.

Midseason MVP: Breckyn Schilling, sr., North Mahaska.

Preseason top three: 1. North Mahaska, 2. Montezuma, 3. Lynnville-Sully.

Midseason top three: 1. North Mahaska, 2. Montezuma, 3. Lynnville-Sully.

Upper Iowa

Overview: Led by a defense that has yielded just 27.7 points per game in league competition, Lansing Kee (6-1, 6-0) is on track to claim its first league title since 2018. The Hawks conclude their first run through the UIC schedule Jan. 7 with a test at MFL MarMac (5-3, 5-1). Turkey Valley (5-2, 5-1) is the other contender; the Trojans’ fate will be determined when they face host the Bulldogs and the Hawks Jan. 14 and Jan. 17.

Midseason co-MVPs: Addison Winters, jr., Lansing Kee, and Rylee Mudderman, soph., Lansing Kee.

Preseason top three: 1. Lansing Kee, 2. North Fayette Valley, 3. MFL MarMac.

Midseason top three: 1. Lansing Kee, 2. Turkey Valley, 3. MFL MarMac.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com