Last year it was new; now it's expected

IOWA CITY -- Last year, the buzz was that the Iowa City West girls' basketball team was a year away.

They weren't.

West advanced its first state tournament, then made it all the way to the Class 4A final before bowing to Des Moines East.

All five starters return, and conventional wisdom says that West is the heir apparent.

Maybe.

"We've got to get there first," said Coach B.J. Mayer, beginning his fifth year at West. "There are some nice teams out there."

West certainly is a prime candidate to hoist the championship trophy at Wells Fargo Arena, but not a clear favorite. Like the Women of Troy, other teams like Southeast Polk, Ankeny and Mason City return virtually intact.

A lot is unknown, but this is concrete: West will be extremely fun to watch -- and difficult to defend -- this winter.

At 64.5 points per game, West was eighth in the state in scoring last year, and second in 4A.

"I think people view us as a high-tempo team that likes to run," said Ally Disterhoft, a 5-foot-11 junior who earned first-team all-state honors last year. "We're good at getting stops and turning defense into offense."

Disterhoft averaged 15 points per game last season. Mckenzie Piper, a 6-foot senior forward, added 11.3 points per game in her first season at West after transferring from Keokuk.

Seniors Brianna Sturtz (5-6, guard, 5.9 ppg), Jessica Shull (5-7, guard, 7.9 ppg) and Shelly Stumpff (6-0, forward, 6.9 ppg) round out the starting lineup, with Shanana Williams and Tatum Klein playing key roles off the bench.

"Everybody has gotten so much better," Piper said. "In practice, it looks like everybody's at a different level than they were last year."

Stumpff and reserve forward Kelley Fliehler were key players on West's state-champion volleyball team. Mayer told them to take a few days off, but they were at practice by midweek.

Piper has committed to play at the University of Illinois. Disterhoft appears to be in no rush to make her decision.

"I've gotten some offers from some good schools in the Midwest," said the lanky, athletic guard. "During the season, I'm going to put all that aside. I just want to help the team as much as I can."

Running and scoring won't be an issue for West. Rebounding might be.

"After Shelly and Piper, we're a little thin through our bigs," Mayer said. "Our guards are going to have to rebound so we can run and be athletic."

Mayer has posted a 63-33 record in four years at West, and the program has ascended sharply under his watch. Last year, the Women of Troy earned their first Mississippi Valley Conference title since 1979, and made it to state for the first time.

Now, more of the same is expected. At least.

"Our goal is to do a lot of the same things we did last year," Mayer said. "We want to get back to state, and see what happens."

Piper said, "I'm hoping we can end the season better than we did last year, and there's only one way to do that."