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

The regular season peaks next week

North Linn’s Molly Boge (30) and Macy Boge (24) protect Peyton Scott on January 20 in doubles team Alburnett. The Lynx are 18-0 and face an outside-conference showdown next Thursday with Cascade (17-1). (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

The pairings are out; we have found that.

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

Although the postseason is all presented in win-or-else territory, there are a few games in the February regular season with significant intrigue and/or consequences before we get to this point.

Here are seven of them in chronological order:

LINN-MAR at CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER (Friday)

Reigning Class 4A state champion Xavier (11-7 overall, 6-5 MVC) has been shaky of late, suffering four straight 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? Linn-Mar (12-6, 7-4) is the most consistent team in Metro this season, boasting a record that includes two wins against Iowa City West, a surprise for then-No. 1 Waterloo West and one 57-45 home win over the Saints on December 9th.

IOWA CITY LIBERTY at IOWA CITY WEST (Friday)

West (13-5, 8-3 MVC) owns an 8-0 all-time record against his new ICCSD rival, including a 42-40 triumph on Dec. 9 in North Liberty that won despite 27 percent shots from the field. However, Liberty (11-6, 9-2) is the team in contention for a division title; the Bolts are a game behind Cedar Falls in the Mississippi Division with three games left. A win would take Liberty’s winning streak to three straight, which would equal the longest of the season.

MOUNT VERNON in SOLON (Friday)

Solon (17-2, 6-0 Wamac East) won the first meeting on Jan. 17 at Mount Vernon 56-50, thanks to 22 of 23 free throws. 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 division lead with a minor upset.

MID-PRAIRIE in IOWA CITY REGINA (Friday)

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

WEST LIBERTY in the BENTON COMMUNITY (Monday)

Unlike Cedar Rapids Washington’s Hannah Stuelke (now at the University of Iowa), who ran away last year, there is no clear favorite for Gazette Player of the Year. Two of the frontrunners will be exhibited at Van Horne: West Liberty’s Kelsey Joens (13-5), Iowa State signee, and Benton Community’s Jenna Twedt (17-2). Joens averages 24.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game; Twedt – a Kirkwood recruit – has 19.5 points and 3.8 assists per contest.

CASCADE in NORTH LINN (Thursday 9 February)

Two of the region’s most important programs of the past 15 years converge at Troy Mills. North Linn (18-0), the region’s only unbeaten player, will likely have ended his 13th straight 20-win season when the Cougars (17-1) arrive. With 72.7 points per game, the Lynx are the second-best offensive team in the state. Morgan Pitz will take the rest of the way as an interim head coach at Cascade; Mike Sconsa will have surgery on February 14th to have a new, healthy kidney.

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK at DECORAH (Friday, February 10th)

Led by his dynamic backcourt of Bryar Duwe and Yazmeen Whitsitt, Decorah (17-2, 8-0 Northeast Iowa) will be looking to put the finishing touches on his first undisputed NEIC title since 2006-07 (the Vikings shared the title last with WSR). Year). The duo averaged more than 38 points per game together. Decorah won the first matchup on January 6th in Waverly, 60-48. The Go-Hawks (12-5, 7-1) have won or shared the NEIC title 11 of the last 12 years.

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