Girls hoops: Off and running, again

The girls basketball season resumes with seven remaining area unbeatens, and far fewer surprises.

For the most part, the season has gone as planned. The teams we figured could contend for conference championships, they've put themselves in a position to do so.

Of the seven teams still sporting unblemished records, five of them are in Class 2A. Two of them -- Tri-Rivers Conference West Division heavyweights North Linn and Maquoketa Valley -- collide Jan. 7 at Troy Mills, then again Feb. 4 at Delhi.

Two of the others -- Cascade and Iowa City Regina, which reside in opposite divisions of the newly formed River Valley Conference -- meet Feb. 4 at Cascade. Both have a challenging schedule before that encounter.

The game of the rest of the regular season is Jan. 24, when Class 5A No. 1 Iowa City High (currently 10-0) comes to town to face No. 8 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (7-1) in a showdown that will go a long way toward deciding the MVC Mississippi Division race.

Here's a primer for the area conferences as action kicks off in full force again Friday: 

MVC MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

Three teams in the MVC have risen to the top tier -- City High (10-0, 6-0) and Kennedy (7-1, 3-1) in the Mississippi Division, and Waterloo West (7-1, 3-1) in the Valley (we'll get to the Wahawks in a moment). Consider all of them 5A state-championship contenders. If the Little Hawks can survive their test at Kennedy on Jan. 24, they're a legitimate bet to head to the postseason at 21-0. City possesses the league's top player in University of Florida signee Haley Lorenzen. City High has three superb players, but Kennedy has unmatched balance with all five starters capable of scoring big on a given night. The Cougars are at their best when they get 8-15 points from all five.

Midseason player of the year -- Haley Lorenzen, Iowa City High

Preseason pick -- Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Midseason pick -- Cedar Rapids Kennedy & Iowa City High (co-champions). 

MVC VALLEY DIVISION

Linn-Mar (5-2, 3-0) has made noticeable progress with the addition of the Sommer twins (who moved in from Dubuque Senior this summer) and is one of just two teams in the league still unbeaten in league play. But Waterloo West remains the team to beat. The Wahawks have three players booked to play at the Division-I level, and nearly took down City High on the Little Hawks' home court before bowing, 53-51, Dec. 17. West does have two toughies in early January -- at Cedar Rapids Xavier (6-2, 3-2) and at home against Cedar Rapids Washington (5-2, 4-1), both of which are capable of big things in the second half of the season. Add defending champion Cedar Rapids Prairie (4-3, 3-2) to the mix, and this division goes five deep with little dropoff.

Midseason player of the year -- Kate Letkewicz, Waterloo West

Preseason pick -- Waterloo West.

Midseason pick -- Waterloo West. 

WAMAC

This is a league full of balance and depth, literally, from 1 to 15. Most of the preseason attention went to Mount Vernon (4-3, 4-2) and Center Point-Urbana (4-3, 3-2), and while those teams have been somewhat slow out of the gate, Williamsburg (8-0, 6-0) has sprinted to the front of the race. The Raiders haven't been pounding the competition, but they've been good enough to win, every night out. That includes wins over fellow contenders Western Dubuque (6-1, 5-1) and West Delaware (5-2, 4-1), but the Raiders still have plenty of potential landmines ahead, starting Jan. 7, at DeWitt Central (4-4, 3-2). The Wamac structure is a one-year deal in which a conference champion will be determined by a 14-game schedule, plus three, five-team divisional races. For example, it's very possible that Williamsburg could win the conference title and not win the West Division crown.

Midseason player of the year -- Paige Greiner, Williamsburg

Preseason pick -- Mount Vernon.

Midseason pick -- Williamsburg. 

RIVER VALLEY NORTH

With the exception of Iowa City Regina, the power of this new conference resides in the North Division. All six teams are quality outfits, capable of beating one another under the right circumstances. Cascade (6-0, 2-0) has risen to the front of the class, but faces a stern test Friday at Northeast (6-1, 1-1). A win would put the Cougars in firm control of things. Also Friday, preseason favorite Camanche (3-2, 1-2) faces a must-win at Bellevue (5-2, 2-1). Despite having no seniors on its roster, Monticello (3-3, 2-1) has more than held its own, and the quality of North Cedar (3-3, 0-3) can be reflected in its win earlier this season against Mount Vernon. In a 10-game schedule, eight wins might be enough to win the title.

Midseason player of the year -- Addie Oberman, Northeast

Preseason pick -- Camanche.

Midseason pick -- Cascade. 

RIVER VALLEY SOUTH

It might get nicked a couple times in interdivisional play, but Iowa City Regina (5-0, 3-0) is the class of the South Division. The Regals are probably the most dead-boltish lock of any team in any area league to be crowned. The most upwardly mobile outfit in the South is Wilton (3-2, 3-1), which did not win a league game last year in the Cedar Valley Conference. The Beavers figure to push West Branch (5-3, 3-1) in the race for second place. As for first ... that's Regina's perch for this year.

Midseason player of the year -- Jenna Lehman, Iowa City Regina

Preseason pick -- Iowa City Regina.

Midseason pick -- Iowa City Regina. 

TRI-RIVERS EAST

We knew Midland was going to be improved, but not to this extent. The Eagles (5-2, 2-0) have been the top team of the East Division so far, and their only two losses have come against a 3A team (Monticello) by four points and a 2A power (Maquoketa Valley) by three. Midland's next divisional challenge should come Jan. 17, when it hosts Bellevue Marquette (3-2, 1-1). Easton Valley (2-4, 2-0) and Clinton Prince of Peace (1-6, 1-1) figure to be the other challengers. Cedar Valley Christian (0-7, 0-2) is having a rough go in its first year as a conference competitor, but the Huskies do sport the state's leading scorer in Shelby Hembera (33.0 ppg).

Midseason player of the year -- Shelby Hembera, Cedar Valley Christian

Preseason pick -- Clinton Prince of Peace.

Midseason pick -- Midland. 

TRI-RIVERS WEST

Tuesday at Troy Mills. Feb. 4 at Delhi. Those are the two key dates -- and probably the only key dates -- in this race. As expected, North Linn (7-0, 3-0) and Maquoketa Valley (8-0, 3-0) have moved to the front of the class. The Lynx were the 2013 champions in the old-look Tri-Rivers and have the bulk of that team back, led by junior Nicole Miller. The Wildcats were 2A state semifinalists last season. Who can play role of spoiler? Alburnett (4-3, 3-1) is quite a bit better than last year, and Springville (4-3, 2-2) has a team that will be a handful come postseason time in Class 1A.

Midseason player of the year -- Nicole Miller, North Linn

Preseason pick -- North Linn.

Midseason pick -- North Linn. 

NORTHEAST IOWA

For the past three years, Waverly-Shell Rock has controlled this league. The Go-Hawks (5-2, 4-0) are on track to extend their title run to four. They've won three of their four league games by 20-plus points, including a 58-38 triumph over Crestwood (5-1, 2-1) -- our preseason pick to dethrone WSR -- on Dec. 5. Other than that defeat, Crestwood has been dominant this far. A four-win outfit last year, Oelwein (5-2, 1-1) has made significant strides ... but the Huskies did drop their final two games before Christmas.

Midseason player of the year -- Morgan Neuendorf, Waverly-Shell Rock

Preseason pick -- Crestwood.

Midseason pick -- Waverly-Shell Rock. 

SOUTH IOWA CEDAR

This has developed into a deep, balanced conference, so it's fitting that a deep, balanced team has grabbed the steering wheel. Iowa Valley (7-0, 7-0) took undisputed possession of first place when it defeated Lynnville-Sully (8-1, 7-1), 64-47, Dec. 16 at Sully. The Tigers don't have a scorer averaging more than 12 points per game, but do have four scoring at least 8 points per contest. And it helps that the defense is solid, allowing more than 40 points on just one occasion. Lynnville-Sully leads the chase pack, which also features BGM (6-2, 5-2), English Valleys (6-3, 6-3) and Keota (5-4, 5-3). English Valleys' three league losses have come by a combined 13 points.

Midseason player of the year -- Rylee Voss, English Valleys

Preseason pick -- Lynnville-Sully.

Midseason pick -- Iowa Valley. 

UPPER IOWA

With the UIC playing an 11-game, single round robin, every game matters greatly. No game matters more than the Jan. 21 battle, when three-time defending champion Sumner-Fredericksburg (6-1, 5-0) visits league newcomer Edgewood-Colesburg (3-3, 3-0). Sumner-Fredericksburg carries a 42-game UIC winning streak and would love to leave on a high note before leaving at the conclusion of the school year for the North Iowa Cedar League. A couple of the Cougars' pre-holiday games were reasonably close. Ed-Co, meanwhile, has won its three league games by double-digit margins after starting 0-3 against non-conference foes. South Winneshiek (4-3, 4-1) plays both of the UIC unbeaten in the next two weeks.

Midseason player of the year -- Kari Fitzpatrick, Edgewood-Colesburg

Preseason pick -- Sumner-Fredericksburg.

Midseason pick -- Sumner-Fredericksburg.