7 area February regular-season girls’ basketball games to watch before the postseason starts

The pairings are out; we’ve established that.

On Tuesday, the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union revealed its girls’ basketball regional pairings for classes 1A, 2A and 3A. The other two classes are expected to follow later this week.

Though everything is magnified in the win-or-else realm of the postseason, there are some February regular-season games of significant intrigue and/or consequence before we get to that point.

Here are seven of them, in chronological order:

LINN-MAR at CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER (Friday)

The reigning Class 4A state champion, Xavier (11-7 overall, 6-5 MVC) has been wobbly lately, suffering four consecutive losses, including a 62-49 setback at Dubuque Senior on Friday. Can the Saints rediscover the mojo that led them to a 9-1 start? The most consistent team in the Metro this season, Linn-Mar (12-6, 7-4) boasts a resume that features two wins over Iowa City West, an upset of then-No. 1 Waterloo West and a 57-45 home victory over the Saints on Dec. 9.

IOWA CITY LIBERTY at IOWA CITY WEST (Friday)

West (13-5, 8-3 MVC) owns an 8-0 all-time record against its new ICCSD rival, including a 42-40 triumph Dec. 9 at North Liberty, winning despite 27-percent shooting from the field. However, Liberty (11-6, 9-2) is the team challenging for a divisional title; the Bolts trail Cedar Falls by one game in the Mississippi Division with three to play. A win would push Liberty’s victory string to three straight, which would match its longest of the season.

MOUNT VERNON at SOLON (Friday)

Solon (17-2, 6-0 Wamac East) captured the first meeting, 56-50, at Mount Vernon on Jan. 17, thanks to 22-of-23 free-throw shooting. This is a potential precursor to a third meeting that would take place in the Class 3A regional finals. Both of Solon’s losses have come against 4A competition (Clear Creek Amana and North Polk). Mount Vernon (12-6, 5-1) has won seven of nine since the holiday break and can climb into a tie for the divisional lead with a minor upset.

MID-PRAIRIE at IOWA CITY REGINA (Friday)

Regina (16-4, 10-0 River Valley South) has clinched a piece of the divisional title, and needs one win in its last two games to win it outright; it closes at home against West Liberty on Tuesday. The Regals picked up a 47-46 win at Wellman on Dec. 8 behind 23 points from Alli Clark. Mid-Prairie (15-5, 9-2) has one of the longest winning streaks in the area, winning 10 in a row in January.

WEST LIBERTY at BENTON COMMUNITY (Monday)

Unlike last year’s runaway by Cedar Rapids Washington’s Hannah Stuelke (now at the University of Iowa), there’s not a clear favorite for Gazette-area player of the year. Two of the top candidates will be on display at Van Horne: Iowa State signee Kelsey Joens of West Liberty (13-5) and Jenna Twedt of Benton Community (17-2). Joens averages 24.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game; Twedt — a Kirkwood recruit — is at 19.5 points and 3.8 assists per contest.

CASCADE at NORTH LINN (Thursday, Feb. 9)

Two of the area’s premier programs through the last 15 years collide at Troy Mills. The area’s lone remaining unbeaten, North Linn (18-0) likely will have wrapped up its 13th consecutive 20-win season when the Cougars (17-1) come calling. At 72.7 points per game, the Lynx are the second-most prolific offensive team in the state. Morgan Pitz will take on interim head-coaching duties at Cascade the rest of the way; Mike Sconsa will undergo surgery to receive a new, healthy kidney Feb. 14.

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK at DECORAH (Friday, Feb. 10)

Led by its dynamite backcourt of Bryar Duwe and Yazmeen Whitsitt, Decorah (17-2, 8-0 Northeast Iowa) will try to put the finishing touches on its first undisputed NEIC title since 2006-07 (the Vikings shared the title with WSR last year). The duo combined for more than 38 points per game. Decorah won the first matchup, 60-48, Jan. 6 at Waverly. The Go-Hawks (12-5, 7-1) have won or shared the NEIC title 11 of the last 12 years.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com