Mason City’s Meyer ‘a special player’

DES MOINES - Some dates stand out in a person's life.

Makenzie Meyer recited one without delay.

'September 21st, 2013,” she said, beaming. 'That was the day I committed.”

A junior at Mason City High School, Meyer had mixed results in the Mohawks' 65-42 loss to No. 1 West Des Moines Valley in Wednesday's Class 5A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament.

A 5-foot-10 wing, she posted 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. She also committed 10 turnovers and fouled out with about 4 minutes left.

'I was pretty nervous early in the game,” she said. 'If I would have hit a few more shots, we could have gotten a little closer. The third quarter, it really dropped off.”

Meyer committed to play for Iowa on that autumn day before her sophomore season.

'If I got an offer from Iowa, that's what I really wanted,” she said. 'I always wanted to stay close.

'I think I'll fit in well there. I like their style of play. I kind of try to have a similar game to (Samantha) Logic. She has everything figured out. I need to work on shooting the 3-pointer with a hand in my face, and I need to get better at staying composed.”

Meyer averaged 20.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists this season.

'She's a special player,” said Valley Coach Josef Siegrist. 'She can shoot from NBA range. She has a lot of spin moves. There are a lot of ways for her to score.”

Mason City retired at 15-9, but will bring back four starters next season.

'I'm really excited about next year,” she said. 'This year, the goal was to get here. Next year, we'll want to get back and make some noise.”

TRI-RIVERS TWO-STEP

The North-Linn Lynx have awaited this opportunity for 364 days.

'We wanted this opportunity so bad,” said junior Morgan Boer. 'We've been waiting for this for a whole year. It's been a big motivator.”

No. 3 North-Linn takes aim at three-time defending-champion, No. 2 Western Christian in a Class 2A semifinal Thursday. Western ousted the Lynx, 69-52, in last year's semis.

'We're ready,” Boer said. 'We think it's our turn.”

It's the second of two semifinals that feature the Tri-Rivers Conference. No. 11 Springville (22-3) meets No. 2 Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton (25-0) in a 1A contest at 10 a.m. before the Lynx (24-1) and the Wolfpack (22-3) do battle at 1:30 p.m.

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