A pair of big games for a pair of South Dakota recruits

Christina Zaruba foresaw this.

“I told Rowan (Jacobi) before the game, (Durant) doesn’t guard the inside well,” said Zaruba, the girls basketball coach at Springville High School.

“I told her, ‘You could score 50 tonight.’”

A few more free throws, and she would have.

Jacobi erupted for 47 points in the Orioles’ 77-35 road victory Monday. That despite 7-of-15 at the line.

“We ran a lot through her, and she did it mostly inside,” Zaruba said of Jacobi, a 6-foot-2 senior signed with the University of South Dakota.

Monday’s output upped Jacobi’s season average to 24.0 points per game. She is averaging 13.8 rebounds per contest and has posted double-doubles every game this season.

This is a program that has won four state championships in the past two decades, producing stars like Katie Eiben, Rylee Menster, Mikayla Nachazel and Lauren Wilson.

Jacobi is, at the very least, their equal.

“She’s right up there,” Zaruba said.

Springville (13-1 overall, 5-0 Tri-Rivers Conference West Division) is ranked No. 4 in Class 1A. Credit a defense that allows 29.9 points per game and hasn’t allowed anybody beyond 41.

The Orioles lead the division thanks to a 51-41 home victory over Maquoketa Valley, the Wildcats’ lone setback of the season.

The rematch is Tuesday at Delhi.

“I don’t think they were quite ready for our defense the first time,” Zaruba said. “It will come down to whoever turns the ball over the fewer times.”

Speaking of South Dakota signees ...

Like Jacobi, Iowa City Liberty’s Natalie Ramsey will join the Coyotes’ program next year.

And like her future teammate, she put up a big number earlier this week.

Ramsey went for 38 points Tuesday in Liberty’s 69-65 win at Cedar Falls. She hit 11 of 24 field goals (4 of 8 from long range) and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line.

The outcome was Cedar Falls’ first loss in Mississippi Valley Conference play. The last remaining MVC unbeaten is Iowa City West (11-3, 7-0), which is scheduled to welcome Iowa City High (12-3, 6-1) Friday, weather permitting.

Double-digit win streaks

Who’s surging? Let’s examine the five teams that carry double-digit win streaks.

Three of them certainly won’t surprise you, and a fourth wasn’t necessarily unexpected:

* Class 4A top-ranked Clear Creek Amana (12-0), of course, has won 12 in a row, all by 11 points or more. That includes a 60-48 victory at Williamsburg on Dec. 19, and the rematch is Tuesday at Tiffin.

* Reigning 3A state champion Mount Vernon (14-2) has rattled off 12 consecutive victories after a 2-2 start. The Mustangs have done it against a schedule that the BC Moore computer tabs as the third-toughest in 3A.

* The No. 1 team in 3A, Maquoketa (12-2) has won 11 consecutive (the Cardinals’ two losses came against 5A top-10 teams Iowa City High and Iowa City Liberty). The streak includes a 64-60 home win over Solon on Monday.

* Tipton (14-1) figured to contend in the River Valley Conference South Division, and the Tigers have delivered. They’ve won 11 in a row following a 57-54 Rivalry Saturday loss to still-unbeaten Mediapolis. A showdown looms Tuesday at Iowa City Regina.

This one might open some eyes:

* After starting the season with a pair of losses (by a combined nine points), Meskwaki (11-2) has ripped off 11 wins in succession.

The streak includes a 46-37 victory over Baxter on Jan. 16, which avenged a Dec. 2 loss and put the Warriors in sole possession of first place in the Iowa Star Conference South Division.

Meskwaki was 9-9 last season.

There’s not a senior on the roster. Junior Dorothy Bear is averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com