Johnston blue-chipper Jenica Lewis is in no rush to announce a college choice

DES MOINES — For Jenica Lewis, everything still is on the table.

“I don’t really have a list yet,” the highly ranked recruit from Johnston High School said Monday after the top-ranked Dragons’ 73-45 win over Iowa City Liberty in a Class 5A quarterfinal at the girls’ state basketball tournament Monday morning.

“It’s going to come down to style of play; where I can see myself playing. How do the players handle the coach? How does the coach handle the players?”

A 5-foot-10 junior guard, Lewis accumulated eight points (on 3-of-9 shooting from the floor) and eight assists Monday, helping the Dragons to their 50th consecutive victory.

They are 73-2 in Lewis’ three seasons.

“People target us,” she said. “We get people’s best. It makes us better and prepares us for college.”

According to ESPN, Lewis is the 16th-ranked prospect in the Class of 2026. She is averaging 18.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game this season.

Wherever she lands, Lewis plans to major in business. The recruiting process is far from the front of her mind this week as the Dragons pursue their second straight championship (and fourth in six years).

She was one of several blue-chip recruits at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 2, when Iowa stunned USC.

“It was really cool,” Lewis said. “Caitlin (Clark’s) jersey retirement, a big upset ... it was really cool.”

Weather alert

It’s a myth that the girls’ state tournament is a magnet for March blizzards.

And mostly a myth only.

But Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union officials are on alert for potential problems later this week.

Rain is forecast at virtually 100 percent from 1 p.m. Tuesday until midnight, when it is supposed to switch to snow into Wednesday morning.

Only about 2 inches of snow are expected, but the primary problem is the wind, forecast at 30-plus miles per hour.

“We’re making sure that we have up-to-date information,” IGHSAU executive director Erin Gerlich said.

“We’re telling teams that they need to get here in advance. We’re trying to give everybody as much notice as possible. The expectation is that they get here, and we’ll go from there.”

The last measurable snowfall during tournament week was in 2013, when 9 inches fell in a two-day span. The first day of the 1998 tournament was played in front of a mostly-empty Veterans Auditorium after a Sunday snowstorm. The 1999 tournament also was hit hard.

In 1959, fans were stuck at Vets on championship night as a blizzard howled outside. That was the year of the impromptu sock hop with Frosty Mitchell spinning records.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com