Stokes, Mayer headline SMG girls basketball team

B.J. Mayer has awakened the sleeping giant.

"I talked to (former coach) Mark McDermott six or eight years ago, and I thought there were definitely some possibilities here," Mayer said.

Mayer eventually succeeded McDermott, and possibilities have turned into results.

Iowa City West has become a girls' basketball powerhouse. The Women of Troy won their first Mississippi Valley Conference title since 1979, reached their first state tournament ever and advanced all the way to the Class 4A title game before falling to Des Moines East.

Mayer is rewarded as the SourceMedia Group coach of the year.

"West has always had a tradition of strong athletics. They've been successful in track and football and boys' basketball, and the girls had always been good in cross country and track and volleyball," said Mayer, 39, who came to West four years ago. "I'd been a coach in 1A (at North Iowa) and 3A (at Spirit Lake), and I always wanted to see if I could get to the next level and compete."

Yes. Emphatically, yes.

Mayer has compiled a 63-33 mark at West, including 23-3 this season. The Women of Troy avenged a regular-season loss to Linn-Mar in the state semifinals, defeating the Lions, 65-58, in overtime.

Linn-Mar's Kiah Stokes is the SourceMedia Group player of the year for the second straight year.

A 6-foot-3 post headed to the University of Connecticut, Stokes averaged 25 points and 14.9 rebounds per game as the Lions went 22-3. She is the state's all-time leading shot blocker, led the Lions to state four times (they won the 4A title in 2010) and a 94-7 record in the deepest conference in the state.

"It's been a great run," Stokes said. "A lot of girls never get to go to state. I got to go four times. And to win a state championship, nobody can take that away from me."

Stokes finished her career with 1,704 points, 1,239 rebounds and 515 blocks. She was named Miss Iowa Basketball 2011 by the Iowa Newspaper Association, the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American.

She is one of five seniors -- including three Division-I basketball signees -- on the 10-girls all-SMG team.

Virginia Johnson of Iowa City High has signed with the University of Iowa. Tia Dawson of Cedar Rapids Washington will play at Dartmouth.

Taylor Dicus of 3A state runner-up Mount Vernon and Jadyn Spencer of Waterloo West are the other seniors.

Juniors Madison Baier of South Tama, Mackenzie Bigbee of Williamsburg and Kailey Kladivo of North Tama and sophomores Ally Disterhoft of Iowa City West and Madison Weekly of Benton Community round out the team.

The 2010-11 SourceMedia Group News girls' basketball team:

Name

Ht.

Yr.

School

2011 Statistics

Madison Baier

6-4

Jr.

South Tama

12.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 4.1 bpg, .563 FG%

Mackenzie Bigbee

6-1

Jr.

Williamsburg

14.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.3 bpg, .534 FG%

Tia Dawson

6-2

Sr.

C.R. Washington

12.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 4.0 bpg

Taylor Dicus

6-2

Sr.

Mount Vernon

12.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, .603 FG%, .725 FT%

Ally Disterhoft

5-11

So.

Iowa City West

15.0 ppg, .544 FG%, .451 3FG%, .835 FT%

Virginia Johnson

6-2

Sr.

Iowa City High

22.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg, .638 FG%

Kailey Kladivo

6-1

Jr.

North Tama

19.2 ppg, 13.8 rpg, .553 FG%, .745 FT%

Jadyn Spencer

5-11

Sr.

Waterloo West

17.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.4 spg

Kiah Stokes

6-3

Sr.

Linn-Mar

25.0 ppg, 14.9 rpg, 5.6 bpg, .691 FG%

Madison Weekly

5-7

So.

Benton Comm.

15.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 4.5 spg, .764 FT%

Player of the year -- Kiah Stokes, Linn-Mar

Coach of the year -- B.J. Mayer, Iowa City West