EG FALLS TO COLO-NESCO 55-53 IN SEMIFINAL ROUND
A torrid, last-minute comeback fueled by 3 three-point shots came up just short for East Greene Tuesday night, as the Hawks fell 55-53 to Colo-Nesco in the district semifinal rounds.
Colo-Nesco was ahead by 9 with less than a minute left in the game but EG started hitting its three-point shots while CN was having trouble at the foul line. According to the Ames Tribune, EG almost pulled off this foul-and-three strategy and had cut the lead to just 2 when Aaron Lyons hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. But the Hawks were not able to foul again on the ensuing throw-in and CN got the win.
EG (18-5) closes out its best season in more than 25 years while Colo-Nesco (20-2) moves on to the district final in Story City tonight against Coon Rapids-Bayard, a 44-23 winner Tuesday over Van Meter.
The winner in Story City tonight will move on the substate game in Marshalltown on Monday against the winner of tonight’s game between Lynville-Sully and North Tama (Traer). The winner there advances on to the state tournament, which gets underway March 8 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
Lynville-Sully, Colo-Nesco and North Tama are all ranked in the Top 10 Class 1A Associated Press rankings while Coon Rapids-Bayard is coming off an appearance in last year’s 1A state tourney.
Against EG tonight, Brandon Eley, who has earned a basketball scholarship to play on AIB’s first basketball team, scored 31 points for the Royals, and hit some key 3-pointers in the third quarter as CN started to pull away, leading by 12 at the break, 45-33.
EG then went into rally mode, just as they had in the first half. The Hawks opened the game slowly, falling behind in the first quarter 9-2 and were behind 14-9 at the end of the period. EG got some solid inside play from senior center Nic Nicolaisen in the second quarter to take the lead at 25-21 with two minutes left on the clock. Eley came back with two three-pointers to spur the Royals and go up 29-27 at the half.
In the third, it looked like the Royals might run away with the game with a 16-6 run but the Hawks hung in there and kept their cool and whittled away at the lead in the final stages of a pressure-packed game on the opponent’s home floor. Zach Dearborn paced the Hawks with 16 points and Nicolaisen had 15.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: Chalk this up under the “almost great glory moments” of EG hoop history, marked by the heart-wrenching loss in the 1961 girls district basketball championship, where the undefeated and highly-ranked Hawkettes, led by Hall of Famer Pam Slock, lost to Cedar Valley, coming up short of the vaunted “Sweet 16” state tourney that year by just 2 points; the EG loss to Jefferson in the 1966 district boys finals in the old one-class-for all era of tournament play which ended EG’s undefeated season and sent Jefferson to the substate against Ames, an even larger school (Ames won and went to state—just 1 of 8 teams); and the shock in 1983 when the Hawks, undefeated and ranked No. 2 for most of the season and coming off a state tourney appearance the year before, were downed by conference rival Glidden-Ralston in a barn-burner sectional final.
Plus there was last year’s substate 3-2 baseball loss to Ar-We-Va, along with other “almost there” moments to note, like EG’s loss in the baseball substate the fall of 1961 and the summer tournament substate loss in the summer of 1983. Those latter two tournaments each had just a four-team field, so EG was among the best 8 teams in baseball those two years (and the tourney fields were later increased to that number). And in 1949, behind the scoring of Jerry Doran, Grand Junction had advanced to the substate final which marks yet another “almost to state” boys basketball moment, and in 1955 Rippey made it through the “B” sectional, the “B” district, and the first round of a one-class-for-all substate before falling in the semifinal round to Ames, which went on to win the substate and eventually the 1955 state championship, the first ever played at Vet’s Auditorium, which had just opened.
Talk about hard luck. After Rippey’s run through a one-class tournament in ’55, it was the next year the Iowa High School Athletic Association divided the tournament into two classes at state (A and B from 1957 to 1960), and again when the Hawks were overpowered by a much larger school in ’66, well, again, the IAHSAA apparently realized there is a big difference in enrollment between Rippey and Ames and East Greene and Ames, and Jefferson, and again went to a two-class tournament the following year.
OK, at least maybe they felt our pain or something, but could they not have made those two-class tourneys the year we had those super-great teams?? Or did they do that just to rub it in our face or something (we’ll reward you small schools after taking our pleasure from watching the teams in eastern Greene County scale the mountain—and not make it, hahaha)? Makes you wonder doesn’t it?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Hawks Face Colo-Nesco in District Semifinal
EG ADVANCES WITH 68-17 THUMPING OF SWG
East Greene’s tuned up for tonight’s semifinal district game against state-ranked Colo-Nesco with a 68-17 romp over Southeast Webster-Grand on Thursday night in a district basketball opening round game in Rippey.
The Hawks dominated the game from start to finish, jumping out to a 27-6 first quarter lead. EG was up 53-10 at the half, and then held SWG scoreless in the third quarter, padding the lead to 62-10.
Zach Dearborn led the Hawk scoring brigade with 16 points. Nic Nicolaisen scored 14 points and snared 8 rebounds with Aaron Lyons also in double figures with 10 points. EG shot a blistering 56% from the field, connecting on 30 of 54 shots while holding the Eagles to just 7 of 34. The Hawks forced SWG into 31 turnovers and had a big edge in rebounding, 32-23.
EG went 3-11 from the 3-point line and hit half of their 10 free throw attempts. SWG was 0-5 on 3-point attempts and 3-12 from the free throw line for 25% accuracy.
SWG closed out the season with a 3-20 mark. EG advances to the semifinal round with an 18-4 record.
The Hawks face a big challenge tonight against in Colo against No. 9-ranked Colo-Nesco (19-2), co-champs of the Iowa Star-South Conference. Colo-Nesco beat Madrid 55-28 in a quarterfinal round game Thursday in Colo. One of CN’s two losses this season came to league co-champ North Tama, 57-51, the No. 10 team in the state. CN beat North Tama earlier in the season, 49-48. Its other loss was to Iowa Star-South conference foe Don Bosco (Gilbertville), 52-29, which was avenged later in the season with a 50-48 win.
CN has also handed Northeast Hamilton (20-2), winners of the Iowa Star-North crown, with just one of its two losses of the season.
The Royals are lead by 6-1 senior forward Brandon Eley, who averages 20 points and 11 rebounds a game. Against Madrid, Eley dropped in 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
Should the Hawks get by Colo-Nesco they would face either Van Meter (5-17), a surprise winner over Ankeny Christian Academy, 48-45, or Coon Rapids-Bayard (14-6), which advanced with a 35-27 win over Glidden-Ralston. Those two teams square off tonight in Coon Rapids. The district finals are Thursday in Story City.
CRB, which was one of the eight teams in the 1A state tourney field last year, is peaking at the right time as the Crusaders won their sixth straight game at Glidden.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: On paper, it looks like Colo-Nesco is the hands-down favorite. The Royals appear to have everything in their favor—home-court advantage, a lofty state ranking, and a conference championship under their belt. But all those positives could work in East Greene’s favor as the Royals could easily dismiss the Hawks and ignore their 19 wins as mostly against inferior teams of the Rolling Hills Conference. But when you look at the participants in the last two Class 1A state tournaments, the Rolling Hills has been represented by Ankeny Christian (2010) and Adair-Casey (2009). And who made it to state those two years among the 12 Iowa Star teams (two more than the RH’s 10)? No one.
In fact, the Iowa Star has not had a representative at state since Dunkerton made it to state and won the crown in 2004. Since then, the West Central, where EG competed, sent four teams to state: Des Moines Christian in 2007, Guthrie Center in 2008, and both CRB in 1A and DMC in 2A in last year’s field while the Iowa State sent none.
But Colo-Nesco has a solid basketball tradition, having made it to the district finals five of the last seven years. The Royals won the district in 2004 and then lost to Dunkerton in the substate. CN also made it to substate in 2009 and 2008. Last year, the Royals were sidelined in Colo in the semifinal round by Grandview Park Baptist, a team that went on to the district crown but then lost to Ankeny Christian in the substate.
EG’s win over SWG was just the first time since 2003 that the Hawks have advanced past the quarterfinal round. That year, EG beat CRB in Coon Rapids, 53-46, but then fell to Hubbard-Radcliffe, 52-45, in a game also played at Coon Rapids. Hubbard-Radcliffe squeaked by Northeast Hamilton, 47-45, in the district final and then beat East Union (Afton) to win the substate and advance to the state tournament.
Look for CRB to get by Van Meter in the other semifinal round game. CRB and CN both play a hard-nosed brand of defense, much like Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, a team EG battled with twice in the Rolling Hills this year, with the Spartans winning both games and taking the league crown.
The District 12 finals are on Thursday with the winner advancing to the Substate 6 game in Marshalltown to face the winner of District 11. Semifinal games in that district tonight have North Tama hosting HLV (Victor) and Melcher-Dallas at Lynville-Sully. The winners meet on Thursday at Meskwaki Settlement School near Tama. Lynville-Sully is the No. 6 ranked team in Class 1A.
Hopefully, the Royals will be a little too confident and have their eyes on a possible showdown with North Tama in the substate, thinking they can glide by their upcoming foes from the other side of Interstate 35 on their way to substate.
East Greene’s tuned up for tonight’s semifinal district game against state-ranked Colo-Nesco with a 68-17 romp over Southeast Webster-Grand on Thursday night in a district basketball opening round game in Rippey.
The Hawks dominated the game from start to finish, jumping out to a 27-6 first quarter lead. EG was up 53-10 at the half, and then held SWG scoreless in the third quarter, padding the lead to 62-10.
Zach Dearborn led the Hawk scoring brigade with 16 points. Nic Nicolaisen scored 14 points and snared 8 rebounds with Aaron Lyons also in double figures with 10 points. EG shot a blistering 56% from the field, connecting on 30 of 54 shots while holding the Eagles to just 7 of 34. The Hawks forced SWG into 31 turnovers and had a big edge in rebounding, 32-23.
EG went 3-11 from the 3-point line and hit half of their 10 free throw attempts. SWG was 0-5 on 3-point attempts and 3-12 from the free throw line for 25% accuracy.
SWG closed out the season with a 3-20 mark. EG advances to the semifinal round with an 18-4 record.
The Hawks face a big challenge tonight against in Colo against No. 9-ranked Colo-Nesco (19-2), co-champs of the Iowa Star-South Conference. Colo-Nesco beat Madrid 55-28 in a quarterfinal round game Thursday in Colo. One of CN’s two losses this season came to league co-champ North Tama, 57-51, the No. 10 team in the state. CN beat North Tama earlier in the season, 49-48. Its other loss was to Iowa Star-South conference foe Don Bosco (Gilbertville), 52-29, which was avenged later in the season with a 50-48 win.
CN has also handed Northeast Hamilton (20-2), winners of the Iowa Star-North crown, with just one of its two losses of the season.
The Royals are lead by 6-1 senior forward Brandon Eley, who averages 20 points and 11 rebounds a game. Against Madrid, Eley dropped in 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
Should the Hawks get by Colo-Nesco they would face either Van Meter (5-17), a surprise winner over Ankeny Christian Academy, 48-45, or Coon Rapids-Bayard (14-6), which advanced with a 35-27 win over Glidden-Ralston. Those two teams square off tonight in Coon Rapids. The district finals are Thursday in Story City.
CRB, which was one of the eight teams in the 1A state tourney field last year, is peaking at the right time as the Crusaders won their sixth straight game at Glidden.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: On paper, it looks like Colo-Nesco is the hands-down favorite. The Royals appear to have everything in their favor—home-court advantage, a lofty state ranking, and a conference championship under their belt. But all those positives could work in East Greene’s favor as the Royals could easily dismiss the Hawks and ignore their 19 wins as mostly against inferior teams of the Rolling Hills Conference. But when you look at the participants in the last two Class 1A state tournaments, the Rolling Hills has been represented by Ankeny Christian (2010) and Adair-Casey (2009). And who made it to state those two years among the 12 Iowa Star teams (two more than the RH’s 10)? No one.
In fact, the Iowa Star has not had a representative at state since Dunkerton made it to state and won the crown in 2004. Since then, the West Central, where EG competed, sent four teams to state: Des Moines Christian in 2007, Guthrie Center in 2008, and both CRB in 1A and DMC in 2A in last year’s field while the Iowa State sent none.
But Colo-Nesco has a solid basketball tradition, having made it to the district finals five of the last seven years. The Royals won the district in 2004 and then lost to Dunkerton in the substate. CN also made it to substate in 2009 and 2008. Last year, the Royals were sidelined in Colo in the semifinal round by Grandview Park Baptist, a team that went on to the district crown but then lost to Ankeny Christian in the substate.
EG’s win over SWG was just the first time since 2003 that the Hawks have advanced past the quarterfinal round. That year, EG beat CRB in Coon Rapids, 53-46, but then fell to Hubbard-Radcliffe, 52-45, in a game also played at Coon Rapids. Hubbard-Radcliffe squeaked by Northeast Hamilton, 47-45, in the district final and then beat East Union (Afton) to win the substate and advance to the state tournament.
Look for CRB to get by Van Meter in the other semifinal round game. CRB and CN both play a hard-nosed brand of defense, much like Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, a team EG battled with twice in the Rolling Hills this year, with the Spartans winning both games and taking the league crown.
The District 12 finals are on Thursday with the winner advancing to the Substate 6 game in Marshalltown to face the winner of District 11. Semifinal games in that district tonight have North Tama hosting HLV (Victor) and Melcher-Dallas at Lynville-Sully. The winners meet on Thursday at Meskwaki Settlement School near Tama. Lynville-Sully is the No. 6 ranked team in Class 1A.
Hopefully, the Royals will be a little too confident and have their eyes on a possible showdown with North Tama in the substate, thinking they can glide by their upcoming foes from the other side of Interstate 35 on their way to substate.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tourney Trail Begins Thursday in Rippey
HAWKS OPEN AGAINST SWG IN QUARTERFINALS
So far, the ride has been pretty sweet for the East Greene Hawk cagers. Fresh off a runner-up finish in its inaugural year in the Rolling Hills Conference, EG heads into post-season tournament action on Thursday with a 17-4 record.
The Hawks earned the No. 3 seed among nine teams assigned to District 12 and will get the home court advantage in a quarterfinal round tilt against Southeast Webster-Grand, a team EG beat 78-23 in the second game of the season back in early December.
District 12 action got underway Monday night with Madrid (5-17) beating Paton-Churdan, 52-22, in the opening round, or “play-in” game matching up the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in District 12. Madrid now moves on to face top-seeded Colo-Nesco (18-2) on Thursday in Colo. Other quarterfinal matchups in District 12 are Van Meter at Ankeny Christian Academy, the No. 2 seed, and Coon Rapids-Bayard at Glidden-Ralston.
Thursday’s quarterfinal round winners face off in the semifinals next Tuesday, Feb. 22 at sites yet to be determined.
East Greene heads into district action with its offense working in high gear. The Hawks bounced back nicely from a disappointing loss to Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, 57-46, in Elk Horn on Feb. 4 with big wins in Rippey over Iowa Christian Academy, 70-51, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, and non-conference foe Madrid, 73-60, on Friday, Feb. 11. The Hawks have scored 70 or more points in three of their last four games.
Nic Nicolaisen, 6-5 senior center, has been on fire lately, averaging 19.8 points and 10 rebounds in the last four games. EG has a solid arsenal of quality guards who are good shooters, ball handlers and defenders. The Hawks have a deep roster and regularly play as many as 8 players throughout a game.
The runner-up league finish and 17 total wins is the best showing for East Greene in boys basketball since the early 1980s when the Hawks were a state power—winning the Central Valley Conference three years in a row and advancing to the state tournament in 1982. The following year, EG was ranked as high as No. 2 in the state and was beaten by Glidden-Ralston, also highly ranked and a Central Valley rival, in the sectional finals. GR was beaten in districts that year, but came back in 1984 and advanced to state.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: East Greene will certainly be force to be reckoned with in District 12, but the competition is fierce. EG is a heavy favorite against Southeast Webster-Grand (3-19), a team that finished last in the Twin Lakes Conference at 0-10. But it should be noted that SWG’s 5 league opponents are all 2A teams: Prairie Valley (Gowrie), South Central Calhoun (Rockwell City), East Sac (Lake View) and Manson-Northwest Webster. However, two of SWG’s wins game against Twin River Valley (Bode), a team that went 1-22. And the team that TRV beat, North Sentral Kossuth (Swea City), got the measure of them in a rematch on Monday in an 8-9 seed district matchup in northern Iowa, and that was just North Kossuth’s second win of the year.
However, just past the SWG game looms a major challenge: Colo-Nesco, the co-champion of the highly competitive Iowa Star-South conference and the No. 9-ranked team in the state. Colo-Nesco tied with North Tama (Traer) for the league crown and North Tama is also ranked this week in 1A by Associated Press, getting the No. 10 spot. The Iowa Star has 12 teams—all in 1A—divided into two divisions—north and south. Northeast Hamilton (Blairsburg) won the IS-North crown with a 14-2 mark, the same league mark for both CN and North Tama, which finished just ahead of Don Bosco (Gilbertville) at 12-3. Throughout the season, each of these four teams—NEH, CN, North Tama and Don Bosco—have been ranked in the Associated Press at one time or another this season.
The opposite side of the bracket in District 12 is wide open. Quarterfinal games on Thursday have Van Meter at Ankeny Christian Academy and Coon Rapids-Bayard at Glidden-Ralston. Interestingly, Ankeny Christian and CRB were two of the eight teams that made up the 1A state tourney field last year. Teams are grouped geographically—and then seeded by their records in the fifth through 15th games (11 total)—so it was by fate and geography these two ended up on the same side of the same district when last year they were in completely different substates.
Ankeny Christian, last year’s Rolling Hills champion, finished fourth in the league this year behind EEHK, EG and Orient-Macksburg with a 12-6 mark. The Eagles (14-8) face a team in Van Meter (4-17) that finished in a tie for seventh (3-13) with Madrid in the West Central Conference. ACA is coming off a near upset of West Central champion Des Moines Christian—an 88-85 win for the Lions in Ankeny in Friday night, so look for ACA to get by Van Meter and move on to the semifinal round.
The GR-CRB matchup looks to be one of the more interesting games. GR got the No. 4 seed—and home court advantage—for an early season match up of these longtime rivals and neighboring school districts. CRB (13-6) won a close game over the Wildcats (10-10) in the season opener, 52-48, in Coon Rapids. CRB is on a five-game winning streak, including two big wins over Woodward-Granger, a non-conference victory against Boyer Valley, and a big triumph against Guthrie Center, 51-45, that vaulted the Crusaders into a third place in the tough 1A-2A West Central Conference. CRB is tournament tested team with appearances at state in 2010, but GR will be about to avenge the four-point loss from December and to move on to possibly face a team (Ankeny Christian) that it thumped 70-41 in the regular season.
Since it has the highest seed of the four teams in the lower half of the bracket, Ankeny Christian is guaranteed the home court advantage against either CRB or GR. The most likely scenario is ACA hosting CRB in the semis on Monday, Feb. 22, with CRB moving on to the championship game against EG or CN. The final is slated for Friday, Feb. 25, at the Roland-Story gym in Story City which is midway between Colo and the teams on the other side of the bracket. Should EG prevail look for that venue to be changed to a spot midway between Grand Junction and Ankeny (Ogden, Boone or Perry) or between GJ and Carroll County (Jefferson if GR advances to the final; Guthrie Center if CRB makes the title game). Both Ogden and Jefferson-Scranton boys and girls teams have been eliminated so both gyms (and school officials) will be available to host a tournament final.
UPDATE ON GIRLS TOURNEY: Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton is the only Rolling Hills girls team still on the tourney trail after the first two rounds. EHKE beat league foe CAM (Anita) last night in Anita, 44-42, to advance to the semifinal round against Sidney at Red Oak.
Coon Rapids-Bayard, the team that sidelined East Greene in first-round game last Thursday, upset No. 15 Adair-Casey in Adair on Saturday night, 43-32, to advance to the quarterfinals against Guthrie Center in Adair last night. CRB prevailed again, 45-39, having beaten Guthrie twice during the regular season. The Crusaders (14-9) move on to face top-ranked Martensdale-St. Mary’s in a semifinal game on Friday at the new West Central Valley High School gym in Stuart. Game time is 7 p.m.
Martensdale-St. Mary’s (21-2) advanced with a 79-28 drubbing of Ankeny Christian, the only other Rolling Hills team to make it to the quarterfinal round. Ankeny Christian bows out with its best record in its short school history, 14-10.
The winners from the semifinal games at Red Oak and Stuart meeting in the regional final at Atlantic on Monday.
Here is a look at how the Rolling Hills played out at the end of the season:
ROLLING HILLS CONFERENCE 2011 FINAL STANDINGS
Boys Basketball
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 17-1
East Greene 15-3
Orient-Macksburg 14-4
Ankeny Christian 12-6
Glidden-Ralston 10-8
CAM 8-10
Iowa Christian 5-13
Walnut 4-14
Adair-Casey 4-14
Paton-Churdan 1-17
Girls Basketball
Adair-Casey 16-2
CAM 15-3
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 15-3
Iowa Christian 13-5
Ankeny Christian 10-8
Orient-Macksburg 8-10
East Greene 5-13
Glidden-Ralston 4-14
Walnut 4-14
Paton-Churdan 0-18
So far, the ride has been pretty sweet for the East Greene Hawk cagers. Fresh off a runner-up finish in its inaugural year in the Rolling Hills Conference, EG heads into post-season tournament action on Thursday with a 17-4 record.
The Hawks earned the No. 3 seed among nine teams assigned to District 12 and will get the home court advantage in a quarterfinal round tilt against Southeast Webster-Grand, a team EG beat 78-23 in the second game of the season back in early December.
District 12 action got underway Monday night with Madrid (5-17) beating Paton-Churdan, 52-22, in the opening round, or “play-in” game matching up the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in District 12. Madrid now moves on to face top-seeded Colo-Nesco (18-2) on Thursday in Colo. Other quarterfinal matchups in District 12 are Van Meter at Ankeny Christian Academy, the No. 2 seed, and Coon Rapids-Bayard at Glidden-Ralston.
Thursday’s quarterfinal round winners face off in the semifinals next Tuesday, Feb. 22 at sites yet to be determined.
East Greene heads into district action with its offense working in high gear. The Hawks bounced back nicely from a disappointing loss to Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, 57-46, in Elk Horn on Feb. 4 with big wins in Rippey over Iowa Christian Academy, 70-51, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, and non-conference foe Madrid, 73-60, on Friday, Feb. 11. The Hawks have scored 70 or more points in three of their last four games.
Nic Nicolaisen, 6-5 senior center, has been on fire lately, averaging 19.8 points and 10 rebounds in the last four games. EG has a solid arsenal of quality guards who are good shooters, ball handlers and defenders. The Hawks have a deep roster and regularly play as many as 8 players throughout a game.
The runner-up league finish and 17 total wins is the best showing for East Greene in boys basketball since the early 1980s when the Hawks were a state power—winning the Central Valley Conference three years in a row and advancing to the state tournament in 1982. The following year, EG was ranked as high as No. 2 in the state and was beaten by Glidden-Ralston, also highly ranked and a Central Valley rival, in the sectional finals. GR was beaten in districts that year, but came back in 1984 and advanced to state.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: East Greene will certainly be force to be reckoned with in District 12, but the competition is fierce. EG is a heavy favorite against Southeast Webster-Grand (3-19), a team that finished last in the Twin Lakes Conference at 0-10. But it should be noted that SWG’s 5 league opponents are all 2A teams: Prairie Valley (Gowrie), South Central Calhoun (Rockwell City), East Sac (Lake View) and Manson-Northwest Webster. However, two of SWG’s wins game against Twin River Valley (Bode), a team that went 1-22. And the team that TRV beat, North Sentral Kossuth (Swea City), got the measure of them in a rematch on Monday in an 8-9 seed district matchup in northern Iowa, and that was just North Kossuth’s second win of the year.
However, just past the SWG game looms a major challenge: Colo-Nesco, the co-champion of the highly competitive Iowa Star-South conference and the No. 9-ranked team in the state. Colo-Nesco tied with North Tama (Traer) for the league crown and North Tama is also ranked this week in 1A by Associated Press, getting the No. 10 spot. The Iowa Star has 12 teams—all in 1A—divided into two divisions—north and south. Northeast Hamilton (Blairsburg) won the IS-North crown with a 14-2 mark, the same league mark for both CN and North Tama, which finished just ahead of Don Bosco (Gilbertville) at 12-3. Throughout the season, each of these four teams—NEH, CN, North Tama and Don Bosco—have been ranked in the Associated Press at one time or another this season.
The opposite side of the bracket in District 12 is wide open. Quarterfinal games on Thursday have Van Meter at Ankeny Christian Academy and Coon Rapids-Bayard at Glidden-Ralston. Interestingly, Ankeny Christian and CRB were two of the eight teams that made up the 1A state tourney field last year. Teams are grouped geographically—and then seeded by their records in the fifth through 15th games (11 total)—so it was by fate and geography these two ended up on the same side of the same district when last year they were in completely different substates.
Ankeny Christian, last year’s Rolling Hills champion, finished fourth in the league this year behind EEHK, EG and Orient-Macksburg with a 12-6 mark. The Eagles (14-8) face a team in Van Meter (4-17) that finished in a tie for seventh (3-13) with Madrid in the West Central Conference. ACA is coming off a near upset of West Central champion Des Moines Christian—an 88-85 win for the Lions in Ankeny in Friday night, so look for ACA to get by Van Meter and move on to the semifinal round.
The GR-CRB matchup looks to be one of the more interesting games. GR got the No. 4 seed—and home court advantage—for an early season match up of these longtime rivals and neighboring school districts. CRB (13-6) won a close game over the Wildcats (10-10) in the season opener, 52-48, in Coon Rapids. CRB is on a five-game winning streak, including two big wins over Woodward-Granger, a non-conference victory against Boyer Valley, and a big triumph against Guthrie Center, 51-45, that vaulted the Crusaders into a third place in the tough 1A-2A West Central Conference. CRB is tournament tested team with appearances at state in 2010, but GR will be about to avenge the four-point loss from December and to move on to possibly face a team (Ankeny Christian) that it thumped 70-41 in the regular season.
Since it has the highest seed of the four teams in the lower half of the bracket, Ankeny Christian is guaranteed the home court advantage against either CRB or GR. The most likely scenario is ACA hosting CRB in the semis on Monday, Feb. 22, with CRB moving on to the championship game against EG or CN. The final is slated for Friday, Feb. 25, at the Roland-Story gym in Story City which is midway between Colo and the teams on the other side of the bracket. Should EG prevail look for that venue to be changed to a spot midway between Grand Junction and Ankeny (Ogden, Boone or Perry) or between GJ and Carroll County (Jefferson if GR advances to the final; Guthrie Center if CRB makes the title game). Both Ogden and Jefferson-Scranton boys and girls teams have been eliminated so both gyms (and school officials) will be available to host a tournament final.
UPDATE ON GIRLS TOURNEY: Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton is the only Rolling Hills girls team still on the tourney trail after the first two rounds. EHKE beat league foe CAM (Anita) last night in Anita, 44-42, to advance to the semifinal round against Sidney at Red Oak.
Coon Rapids-Bayard, the team that sidelined East Greene in first-round game last Thursday, upset No. 15 Adair-Casey in Adair on Saturday night, 43-32, to advance to the quarterfinals against Guthrie Center in Adair last night. CRB prevailed again, 45-39, having beaten Guthrie twice during the regular season. The Crusaders (14-9) move on to face top-ranked Martensdale-St. Mary’s in a semifinal game on Friday at the new West Central Valley High School gym in Stuart. Game time is 7 p.m.
Martensdale-St. Mary’s (21-2) advanced with a 79-28 drubbing of Ankeny Christian, the only other Rolling Hills team to make it to the quarterfinal round. Ankeny Christian bows out with its best record in its short school history, 14-10.
The winners from the semifinal games at Red Oak and Stuart meeting in the regional final at Atlantic on Monday.
Here is a look at how the Rolling Hills played out at the end of the season:
ROLLING HILLS CONFERENCE 2011 FINAL STANDINGS
Boys Basketball
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 17-1
East Greene 15-3
Orient-Macksburg 14-4
Ankeny Christian 12-6
Glidden-Ralston 10-8
CAM 8-10
Iowa Christian 5-13
Walnut 4-14
Adair-Casey 4-14
Paton-Churdan 1-17
Girls Basketball
Adair-Casey 16-2
CAM 15-3
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 15-3
Iowa Christian 13-5
Ankeny Christian 10-8
Orient-Macksburg 8-10
East Greene 5-13
Glidden-Ralston 4-14
Walnut 4-14
Paton-Churdan 0-18
Friday, February 11, 2011
Hawkettes Fall to CRB, 48-23
END SEASON IN FIRST ROUND REGIONAL ACTION
A solid first quarter last night gave fans hope that the Hawkettes might be able to pick up their seventh win of the season and advance in the regional tournament, but CRB put the clamps on EG the rest of the game on its way to a 48-23 triumph.
EG came out strong behind seniors Tia Lowe and Katlynn Gannon in the first quarter—going head to head with the Crusaders and ending the first period with a two point lead, 9-7. Lowe hit a three-pointer right off the bat to open EG scoring and she racked up six points in the first quarter with Gannon adding three.
But things soon took a turn for the worse. EG was still up by two, 11-9, early in the second quarter but CRB tied it all up with a basket by junior post Katie Dentlinger, a three-year starter in the post for the Crusaders. That ignited the home team as they went on a 13-0 run, taking a 24-11 advantage into the break.
It was more of the same in the second half as turnovers, foul trouble and a lack of offensive rebounding did in the Hawkettes, who ended their season at 6-16. CRB advances to a Saturday night second round game against Adair-Casey, ranked No. 15 in the state, at Adair.
Lowe led the Hawkette scoring with 8 points and Gannon had 6. Rounding out the scoring were Jasmine Kinney, 3; Molly Neese and Chelsi Wilkens, 2 each; and Liz Gunn, 1.
Four seniors—Lowe, Gannon, Neese and Kinney—closed out their EG basketball careers.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: These four seniors have given a lot of themselves to the EG cause, as they have excelled in volleyball, basketball, track, softball and cheerleading the last four years. Highlights were upper division finishes in the tough 2A dominated West Central Conference in volleyball in 2008 and 2009 and basketball in 2008 and 2010 and advancing to the regional basketball semifinals last year where they were just 4 points short of advancing to the regional championship game and a possible berth in the state tournament. Good job seniors, and thank you for representing your school with honor and distinction!
EG will be a young team next year with leadership coming from two juniors (Liz Gunn and Brittany Gunn) and four sophomores (Wilkins, Brooke Popp, Shelby Cooklin and Emily Jacobson). They will be joined by several talented freshmen who did well as 8th graders this past season. Wilkens, who had a stellar season as freshman center, is the only returning starter and will be the anchor for the team as she has faced all the top inside players from teams like AC, CAM and EEHK in the Rolling Hills this season. Wilkens averaged 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 points per game over the 21-game season.
Elswhere in Region 8 action last night, Ankeny Christian got by Earlham in overtime, 48-46, to advance to the quarterfinal round against No. 1 ranked Martensdale-St. Mary's. Iowa Christian lost to Guthrie Center, who will play the winner of Saturday's CRB-AC game at Adair on Tuesday. CAM and Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton advanced with easy wins and will face each other for the third time this season in Anita on Tuesday with the winner moving on to the semifinal round at Red Oak.
In Region 7, Orient-Macksburg was eliminated by Corning, 49-23. In Region 2, Glidden-Ralston was drubbed by No. 2 Ar-We-Va (Westside), 85-19, to end its season at 4-17, and Paton-Churdan lost to Southeast Webster-Grand, 65-23, closing out the year winless in 21 games. Ar-We-Va (19-2) and Southeast Webster-Grand (9-13) meet Tuesday in Westside in the quarterfinal round with the winner advancing on to the semifinal round in Denison on Friday.
A solid first quarter last night gave fans hope that the Hawkettes might be able to pick up their seventh win of the season and advance in the regional tournament, but CRB put the clamps on EG the rest of the game on its way to a 48-23 triumph.
EG came out strong behind seniors Tia Lowe and Katlynn Gannon in the first quarter—going head to head with the Crusaders and ending the first period with a two point lead, 9-7. Lowe hit a three-pointer right off the bat to open EG scoring and she racked up six points in the first quarter with Gannon adding three.
But things soon took a turn for the worse. EG was still up by two, 11-9, early in the second quarter but CRB tied it all up with a basket by junior post Katie Dentlinger, a three-year starter in the post for the Crusaders. That ignited the home team as they went on a 13-0 run, taking a 24-11 advantage into the break.
It was more of the same in the second half as turnovers, foul trouble and a lack of offensive rebounding did in the Hawkettes, who ended their season at 6-16. CRB advances to a Saturday night second round game against Adair-Casey, ranked No. 15 in the state, at Adair.
Lowe led the Hawkette scoring with 8 points and Gannon had 6. Rounding out the scoring were Jasmine Kinney, 3; Molly Neese and Chelsi Wilkens, 2 each; and Liz Gunn, 1.
Four seniors—Lowe, Gannon, Neese and Kinney—closed out their EG basketball careers.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: These four seniors have given a lot of themselves to the EG cause, as they have excelled in volleyball, basketball, track, softball and cheerleading the last four years. Highlights were upper division finishes in the tough 2A dominated West Central Conference in volleyball in 2008 and 2009 and basketball in 2008 and 2010 and advancing to the regional basketball semifinals last year where they were just 4 points short of advancing to the regional championship game and a possible berth in the state tournament. Good job seniors, and thank you for representing your school with honor and distinction!
EG will be a young team next year with leadership coming from two juniors (Liz Gunn and Brittany Gunn) and four sophomores (Wilkins, Brooke Popp, Shelby Cooklin and Emily Jacobson). They will be joined by several talented freshmen who did well as 8th graders this past season. Wilkens, who had a stellar season as freshman center, is the only returning starter and will be the anchor for the team as she has faced all the top inside players from teams like AC, CAM and EEHK in the Rolling Hills this season. Wilkens averaged 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 points per game over the 21-game season.
Elswhere in Region 8 action last night, Ankeny Christian got by Earlham in overtime, 48-46, to advance to the quarterfinal round against No. 1 ranked Martensdale-St. Mary's. Iowa Christian lost to Guthrie Center, who will play the winner of Saturday's CRB-AC game at Adair on Tuesday. CAM and Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton advanced with easy wins and will face each other for the third time this season in Anita on Tuesday with the winner moving on to the semifinal round at Red Oak.
In Region 7, Orient-Macksburg was eliminated by Corning, 49-23. In Region 2, Glidden-Ralston was drubbed by No. 2 Ar-We-Va (Westside), 85-19, to end its season at 4-17, and Paton-Churdan lost to Southeast Webster-Grand, 65-23, closing out the year winless in 21 games. Ar-We-Va (19-2) and Southeast Webster-Grand (9-13) meet Tuesday in Westside in the quarterfinal round with the winner advancing on to the semifinal round in Denison on Friday.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Hawkettes End Regular Season 6-15
OPEN REGIONAL ACTION TONIGHT AGAINST CRB
East Greene ended the girls basketball regular season on a sour note, falling to Iowa Christian Academy, 52-20, on Tuesday night in Rippey. The loss dropped the Hawkettes to 6-15 for the season and to 5-13 in the Rolling Hills Conference, where they finished seventh in the 10-team league. Iowa Christian finished in fourth place with a 13-5 mark.
It marked the final home appearance for four EG seniors: Katlynn Gannon, Tia Lowe, Molly Neese and Jasmine Kinney. Lowe and Gannon were the only two Hawkettes to get on the board with 11 and 9 points respectively. Karlie Schut had a big night for the Blazers with 19 points and 16 rebounds. She was 9-of-10 scoring from the field. ICA held the Hawkettes to just 1 point in the second quarter, allowing them to take a 30-7 lead and halftime and then coast to the win.
Both teams head into regional action tonight. EG travels to Coon Rapids to face Coon Rapids-Bayard, a team that tied with Guthrie Center and Woodward-Granger for fourth in the West Central Conference with a 9-7 mark. CRB is 11-9 overall, with a season-opening win over IKM-Manning (15-4), the No. 11 team in Class 2A to its credit, along with a 30-28 victory over Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, which tied for second this year in the Rolling Hills.
Iowa Christian (14-6) heads to Guthrie Center (11-10) to take on the Tigerettes in a first-round regional game. The winner of that game will advance to the quarterfinal round in Adair next Tuesday to take on the winner of second round game scheduled for Saturday night in Adair that will match up Adair-Casey (18-3) with the winner of tonight’s EG-CRB clash. Adair-Casey locked down the Rolling Hills title on Tuesday with a 16-2 league mark, and made its first appearance in the Class 1A rankings yesterday, coming in at the No. 15 spot.
The winner of next Tuesday’s Region 8 quarterfinal game in Adair will advance to the semifinal game to be played in the new West Central Valley gym in Stuart. The four teams vying to reach the semifinal round in the lower bracket of the region are Ankeny Christian, Earlham, Grandview Park Baptist and Martensdale-St. Mary’s.
Ankeny Christian (13-9), which finished strong with a fifth-place finish in the Rolling Hills at 10-8, will head to Earlham. The Cardinals were 7-13 overall and 3-12 in the West Central, tying them with Van Meter for seventh place. The winner tonight in Earlham will take on the winner of tonight’s battle between Martensdale-St. Mary’s and Grandview Park Baptist in a quarterfinal round game on Tuesday night in Martensdale. MStM will be heavy favorite, as they are the No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A with a 19-2 record. MStM’s only losses were to OA-BCIG, the top-ranked 2A team in the state, and Southeast Polk, a 4A team. The Blue Devils, who won the Pride of Iowa Conference with a perfect 16-0 mark, have posted big wins over West Central champion Panorama, a 2A school, and Mt. Ayr, also a 2A school and a Pride of Iowa league rival. Mt. Ayr (18-2) heads into 2A tourney action ranked fourth in the state. The Blue Devils’ drubbing of Panorama, 61-26, came in the first game of the season. Both MStM and Mt. Ayr were in the field of last year’s 1A state tournament with Mt. Ayr advancing to the championship game, losing to Exira, last year’s Rolling Hills Conference champion.
Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton posted a strong team again this year, finishing second in the Rolling Hills tied with CAM (Anita). Both posted 15-3 marks, just a game behind Adair-Casey. Each has been ranked among the Top 15 in Class 1A this season.
CAM takes on league foe Walnut in Anita tonight while EEHK hosts AHST (Avoca) in the upper half of the Region 8 bracket. Both will be heavy favorites to advance to the quarterfinal round on Tuesday in Anita. The quarterfinal round winner will move on to the semifinal round game scheduled for next Friday, Feb. 18, in Red Oak against one of the other four teams in the upper bracket of the region: Fremont-Mills, Riverside, East Mills and Sidney.
The Red Oak semifinal game winner will take on the team to advance from the Stuart semifinal tilt in the Region 8 final on Monday, Feb. 21, Atlantic.
Seven of the 10 teams in the Rolling Hills are in Region 8—which pulls together teams from central, west central, western and southwest Iowa—while Glidden-Ralston and Paton-Churdan are in Region 2 (western and northwest Iowa) and Orient-Macksburg is in Region 7 (far southwest and deep southern Iowa).
Orient-Macksburg hosts Corning tonight while Paton-Churdan takes on Southeast Webster-Grand at Burnside and Glidden-Ralston has the unenviable task of taking on Ar-We-Va, the second-ranked 1A team in the state, on the Rockettes’ home court in Westside. If OM wins, it will travel to Villisca to take on the Lenox-Villisca winner. Winners of the games at SWG and Ar-We-Va will face each other Tuesday in Westside with the winner advancing to the semifinal game in Denison. Semifinal winners from Denison and Orange City will meet in the Region 2 final on Feb. 21 in Mapleton.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: The Hawkettes showed real promise early this season, getting out of the gate with a 5-3 record through the Christmas break. EG was only able to post one additional victory since then, however, downing winless Paton-Churdan in Rippey. EG fell to teams it had beaten earlier in the season—Walnut, Glidden-Ralston and Ankeny Christian—yet the Hawkettes were competitive in all of those games and in two close losses to Orient-Macksburg (each by three points).
It will be interesting to see how the Rolling Hills stacks up to the competition in the regionals, especially in Region 8, which features the top 5 teams in the league: Adair-Casey, CAM, EEHK and the two Christian academies from Des Moines.
The opening round has some interesting matchups, especially Iowa Christian at Guthrie Center, and Ankeny Christian taking on Earlham. Guthrie has a deep girls basketball tradition and the West Central is a solid conference while Iowa Christian was a real threat in the Rolling Hills this year, downing CAM by 10 points and losing to EEHK by only 3. Guthrie played four games in a six-day period that ended Tuesday night, marked by two big wins over West Central Valley; a near upset of Des Moines Christian, falling 47-44; and a loss to CRB, 33-25.
Other than Exira’s run to the championship in 2010 and a state tournament trip in 2008, the only other area 1A or 2A teams to advance to state in recent years have been tradition-rich Guthrie and CRB of the West Central, and Southeast Webster-Grand, a longtime area rival of EG. Guthrie Center most recently qualified for state in 2007 and 2002, and is widely known as a “girls basketball town” as the Tigerettes have qualified for state an amazing 21 times, topped only by Ankeny (23) trips and equaled by Mediapolis. Coon Rapids-Bayard made it to state in 2009, giving the school 9 total trips—7 by Coon Rapids and 2 by CRB. SWG qualified in 2006 and 2008. Coupled with appearances at state by Grand in 1960, Dayton in 1974, and Central Webster in 1983, SWG has 5 total appearances to its name.
If CRB gets by the Hawkettes tonight, they will face Adair-Casey on the Bombers’ home floor for the right to move on to the quarterfinal round, yet another matchup between Rolling Hills and West Central teams. CRB has big wins over EEHK, 38-30, in December and its win on Tuesday over Guthrie, a team it lost to earlier in the season 34-31. AC split with both CAM and EEHK on its way to the Rolling Hills title and interestingly, its only other loss on the year was to Guthrie Center. A rematch of those two teams is a possibility in the quarterfinal round also.
Panorama won the West Central title this year 15-1, just ahead of another 2A school, Des Moines Christian. 13-2. CRB, Guthrie, West Central Valley and Woodward-Granger were all bunched together in the middle of the league with WCV going 9-6 with one game cancelled due to snow and the other three teams right behind at 9-7.
In the bottom of the Region 8 bracket, Ankeny Christian has come on strong at the end of the season, posting a big win over CAM on Monday, knocking the Cougars out of the league lead. ACA has gone 3-1 in non-conference play beating Grandview Park Baptist, Madrid and Twin Cedars (Bussey) and losing to Clarke (Osceola), a 2A school. This the best the small Christian academies have done in the Rolling Hills since they joined the league a few years ago after first fielding varsity high school athletics. Last year, ICA and ACA finished fifth and seventh in the league and this year they improved to fourth and fifth—even more impressive when considering the competition included another larger school that moved in from the West Central (EG) and a team formed by two individual competitors from last year (Exira and EHK), which made for a combined enrollment of 119, considerably more than ICA, 56, and ACA, 38.
For comparison purposes, enrollment for the other league teams breaks down like this: CAM 103, GR 102, AC 83, EG 81, OM 57, Walnut 43, and PC 35.
All in all, Martensdale-St.Mary’s looks to be the solid favorite to come out of EG’s half of the bracket with what should be an easy first-round win over Grandview Park Baptist (4-17) and then a solid tussle with Ankeny Christian in the quarterfinal round. It should be interesting in the semifinal round because ICA, GC, CRB and AC would each give them a real challenge—especially with the basketball heritage of CRB and GC—but MStM is also a tournament-tested team as the Blue Devils advanced to state last year as did league foe Mt. Ayr, which attest to the strength of the Pride of Iowa.
Either CAM or EEHK should make it to the semifinal round to most likely face Sidney (15-6), the only other team with a winning record on the Red Oak side of the region.
East Greene ended the girls basketball regular season on a sour note, falling to Iowa Christian Academy, 52-20, on Tuesday night in Rippey. The loss dropped the Hawkettes to 6-15 for the season and to 5-13 in the Rolling Hills Conference, where they finished seventh in the 10-team league. Iowa Christian finished in fourth place with a 13-5 mark.
It marked the final home appearance for four EG seniors: Katlynn Gannon, Tia Lowe, Molly Neese and Jasmine Kinney. Lowe and Gannon were the only two Hawkettes to get on the board with 11 and 9 points respectively. Karlie Schut had a big night for the Blazers with 19 points and 16 rebounds. She was 9-of-10 scoring from the field. ICA held the Hawkettes to just 1 point in the second quarter, allowing them to take a 30-7 lead and halftime and then coast to the win.
Both teams head into regional action tonight. EG travels to Coon Rapids to face Coon Rapids-Bayard, a team that tied with Guthrie Center and Woodward-Granger for fourth in the West Central Conference with a 9-7 mark. CRB is 11-9 overall, with a season-opening win over IKM-Manning (15-4), the No. 11 team in Class 2A to its credit, along with a 30-28 victory over Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, which tied for second this year in the Rolling Hills.
Iowa Christian (14-6) heads to Guthrie Center (11-10) to take on the Tigerettes in a first-round regional game. The winner of that game will advance to the quarterfinal round in Adair next Tuesday to take on the winner of second round game scheduled for Saturday night in Adair that will match up Adair-Casey (18-3) with the winner of tonight’s EG-CRB clash. Adair-Casey locked down the Rolling Hills title on Tuesday with a 16-2 league mark, and made its first appearance in the Class 1A rankings yesterday, coming in at the No. 15 spot.
The winner of next Tuesday’s Region 8 quarterfinal game in Adair will advance to the semifinal game to be played in the new West Central Valley gym in Stuart. The four teams vying to reach the semifinal round in the lower bracket of the region are Ankeny Christian, Earlham, Grandview Park Baptist and Martensdale-St. Mary’s.
Ankeny Christian (13-9), which finished strong with a fifth-place finish in the Rolling Hills at 10-8, will head to Earlham. The Cardinals were 7-13 overall and 3-12 in the West Central, tying them with Van Meter for seventh place. The winner tonight in Earlham will take on the winner of tonight’s battle between Martensdale-St. Mary’s and Grandview Park Baptist in a quarterfinal round game on Tuesday night in Martensdale. MStM will be heavy favorite, as they are the No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A with a 19-2 record. MStM’s only losses were to OA-BCIG, the top-ranked 2A team in the state, and Southeast Polk, a 4A team. The Blue Devils, who won the Pride of Iowa Conference with a perfect 16-0 mark, have posted big wins over West Central champion Panorama, a 2A school, and Mt. Ayr, also a 2A school and a Pride of Iowa league rival. Mt. Ayr (18-2) heads into 2A tourney action ranked fourth in the state. The Blue Devils’ drubbing of Panorama, 61-26, came in the first game of the season. Both MStM and Mt. Ayr were in the field of last year’s 1A state tournament with Mt. Ayr advancing to the championship game, losing to Exira, last year’s Rolling Hills Conference champion.
Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton posted a strong team again this year, finishing second in the Rolling Hills tied with CAM (Anita). Both posted 15-3 marks, just a game behind Adair-Casey. Each has been ranked among the Top 15 in Class 1A this season.
CAM takes on league foe Walnut in Anita tonight while EEHK hosts AHST (Avoca) in the upper half of the Region 8 bracket. Both will be heavy favorites to advance to the quarterfinal round on Tuesday in Anita. The quarterfinal round winner will move on to the semifinal round game scheduled for next Friday, Feb. 18, in Red Oak against one of the other four teams in the upper bracket of the region: Fremont-Mills, Riverside, East Mills and Sidney.
The Red Oak semifinal game winner will take on the team to advance from the Stuart semifinal tilt in the Region 8 final on Monday, Feb. 21, Atlantic.
Seven of the 10 teams in the Rolling Hills are in Region 8—which pulls together teams from central, west central, western and southwest Iowa—while Glidden-Ralston and Paton-Churdan are in Region 2 (western and northwest Iowa) and Orient-Macksburg is in Region 7 (far southwest and deep southern Iowa).
Orient-Macksburg hosts Corning tonight while Paton-Churdan takes on Southeast Webster-Grand at Burnside and Glidden-Ralston has the unenviable task of taking on Ar-We-Va, the second-ranked 1A team in the state, on the Rockettes’ home court in Westside. If OM wins, it will travel to Villisca to take on the Lenox-Villisca winner. Winners of the games at SWG and Ar-We-Va will face each other Tuesday in Westside with the winner advancing to the semifinal game in Denison. Semifinal winners from Denison and Orange City will meet in the Region 2 final on Feb. 21 in Mapleton.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: The Hawkettes showed real promise early this season, getting out of the gate with a 5-3 record through the Christmas break. EG was only able to post one additional victory since then, however, downing winless Paton-Churdan in Rippey. EG fell to teams it had beaten earlier in the season—Walnut, Glidden-Ralston and Ankeny Christian—yet the Hawkettes were competitive in all of those games and in two close losses to Orient-Macksburg (each by three points).
It will be interesting to see how the Rolling Hills stacks up to the competition in the regionals, especially in Region 8, which features the top 5 teams in the league: Adair-Casey, CAM, EEHK and the two Christian academies from Des Moines.
The opening round has some interesting matchups, especially Iowa Christian at Guthrie Center, and Ankeny Christian taking on Earlham. Guthrie has a deep girls basketball tradition and the West Central is a solid conference while Iowa Christian was a real threat in the Rolling Hills this year, downing CAM by 10 points and losing to EEHK by only 3. Guthrie played four games in a six-day period that ended Tuesday night, marked by two big wins over West Central Valley; a near upset of Des Moines Christian, falling 47-44; and a loss to CRB, 33-25.
Other than Exira’s run to the championship in 2010 and a state tournament trip in 2008, the only other area 1A or 2A teams to advance to state in recent years have been tradition-rich Guthrie and CRB of the West Central, and Southeast Webster-Grand, a longtime area rival of EG. Guthrie Center most recently qualified for state in 2007 and 2002, and is widely known as a “girls basketball town” as the Tigerettes have qualified for state an amazing 21 times, topped only by Ankeny (23) trips and equaled by Mediapolis. Coon Rapids-Bayard made it to state in 2009, giving the school 9 total trips—7 by Coon Rapids and 2 by CRB. SWG qualified in 2006 and 2008. Coupled with appearances at state by Grand in 1960, Dayton in 1974, and Central Webster in 1983, SWG has 5 total appearances to its name.
If CRB gets by the Hawkettes tonight, they will face Adair-Casey on the Bombers’ home floor for the right to move on to the quarterfinal round, yet another matchup between Rolling Hills and West Central teams. CRB has big wins over EEHK, 38-30, in December and its win on Tuesday over Guthrie, a team it lost to earlier in the season 34-31. AC split with both CAM and EEHK on its way to the Rolling Hills title and interestingly, its only other loss on the year was to Guthrie Center. A rematch of those two teams is a possibility in the quarterfinal round also.
Panorama won the West Central title this year 15-1, just ahead of another 2A school, Des Moines Christian. 13-2. CRB, Guthrie, West Central Valley and Woodward-Granger were all bunched together in the middle of the league with WCV going 9-6 with one game cancelled due to snow and the other three teams right behind at 9-7.
In the bottom of the Region 8 bracket, Ankeny Christian has come on strong at the end of the season, posting a big win over CAM on Monday, knocking the Cougars out of the league lead. ACA has gone 3-1 in non-conference play beating Grandview Park Baptist, Madrid and Twin Cedars (Bussey) and losing to Clarke (Osceola), a 2A school. This the best the small Christian academies have done in the Rolling Hills since they joined the league a few years ago after first fielding varsity high school athletics. Last year, ICA and ACA finished fifth and seventh in the league and this year they improved to fourth and fifth—even more impressive when considering the competition included another larger school that moved in from the West Central (EG) and a team formed by two individual competitors from last year (Exira and EHK), which made for a combined enrollment of 119, considerably more than ICA, 56, and ACA, 38.
For comparison purposes, enrollment for the other league teams breaks down like this: CAM 103, GR 102, AC 83, EG 81, OM 57, Walnut 43, and PC 35.
All in all, Martensdale-St.Mary’s looks to be the solid favorite to come out of EG’s half of the bracket with what should be an easy first-round win over Grandview Park Baptist (4-17) and then a solid tussle with Ankeny Christian in the quarterfinal round. It should be interesting in the semifinal round because ICA, GC, CRB and AC would each give them a real challenge—especially with the basketball heritage of CRB and GC—but MStM is also a tournament-tested team as the Blue Devils advanced to state last year as did league foe Mt. Ayr, which attest to the strength of the Pride of Iowa.
Either CAM or EEHK should make it to the semifinal round to most likely face Sidney (15-6), the only other team with a winning record on the Red Oak side of the region.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Hawks Face Key League Test Tonight
CAN TIE FOR LEAGUE LEAD WITH WIN AT ELK HORN
East Greene is coming down the home stretch of one the most successful boys basketball seasons in school history. The Hawks head to Elk Horn tonight for a key battle with Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira, leader of the Rolling Hills Conference with a 15-1 record. EG is right behind the Spartans at 14-2.
The two teams met on Jan. 4 in Rippey with EHKE getting the upper hand in a tough defensive tussle, 40-37. EG has seen what the Spartans have put on the floor in the earlier matchup and can hopefully rectify that. On paper, it would seem that EHKE has the advantage as they are playing on their home floor in Elk Horn, but EG is actually undefeated in road contests, whereas all three defeats this season have come on the home court in Rippey. Another wrinkle in the mix is that EHKE actually has two home courts—the first half of the season was played in Exira and now the latter half of the schedule shifts to Elk Horn, as they are in the early stages of sports and whole-grade sharing arrangement between the two--now still separate--school districts.
Both teams sailed through their matchups last night, with EG taking care of Adair-Casey at home, 74-38, and EHKE picking up a road win at Walnut, 76-31. The fact that the second place team beat the ninth-place team in the league by 36 points and the first-place team beat the eighth-team by 35 points—each a team seven slots lower on the RH pecking order—shows that these teams are very evenly matched.
The 74 points scored was the second highest total for the Hawks all season and the most points scored in any of their 14 conference wins. It was the same for EHKE, and the first time the Spartans have topped the 70-point threshold all season. EG has the higher offensive average for the year, 58.2, the 26th best among all 1A schools (137 total) with EHKE at 53.4 points per game. EHKE gives up just 36.6 points a game, second best in all of Class 1A, while EG is hold teams to 42.9.
In other make-up games in the league last night, Glidden-Ralston beat Paton-Churdan 46-29 to stay in the hunt for an upper division finish in the conference. GR moved is conference record to 11-5, right behind Orient-Macksburg and Ankeny Christian, both at 11-4.
Paton-Churdan is winless in the RH and is 1-16 overall, with is lone victory coming against Southeast Webster-Grand. EG opens district action in a quarterfinal round game at home against SWG on Jan. 17. EG thumped the Eagles 78-23 in the second game of the season back in December, which was the highest point total and widest margin of victory all year for the Hawks, who are now 15-3 overall, the same mark as EHKE.
In girls action, Adair-Casey beat the Hawkettes, 67-39, to stay in contention for the Rolling Hills crown. AC is now 14-2, just behind CAM (Anita) which is 14-1.
After tonight’s game at Elk Horn, both EG squads end conference play against Iowa Christian at home on Tuesday. The boys host Madrid in a non-conference game at home on Friday, while the girls head to Coon Rapids-Bayard the night in a first-round regional match up the night before.
BOYS ROLLING HILLS STANDINGS
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 15-1
East Greene 14-2
Ankeny Christian 11-4
Orient-Macksburg 11-4
Glidden-Ralston 10-5
CAM 6-9
Iowa Christian 5-10
Walnut 3-13
Adair-Casey 2-14
Paton-Churdan 0-15
GIRLS ROLLING HILLS STANDINGS
CAM 14-1
Adair-Casey 14-2
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 13-3
Iowa Christian 10-5
Orient-Macksburg 7-8
Ankeny Christian 7-8
East Greene 5-11
Walnut 4-12
Glidden-Ralston 2-12
Paton-Churdan 0-14
East Greene is coming down the home stretch of one the most successful boys basketball seasons in school history. The Hawks head to Elk Horn tonight for a key battle with Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira, leader of the Rolling Hills Conference with a 15-1 record. EG is right behind the Spartans at 14-2.
The two teams met on Jan. 4 in Rippey with EHKE getting the upper hand in a tough defensive tussle, 40-37. EG has seen what the Spartans have put on the floor in the earlier matchup and can hopefully rectify that. On paper, it would seem that EHKE has the advantage as they are playing on their home floor in Elk Horn, but EG is actually undefeated in road contests, whereas all three defeats this season have come on the home court in Rippey. Another wrinkle in the mix is that EHKE actually has two home courts—the first half of the season was played in Exira and now the latter half of the schedule shifts to Elk Horn, as they are in the early stages of sports and whole-grade sharing arrangement between the two--now still separate--school districts.
Both teams sailed through their matchups last night, with EG taking care of Adair-Casey at home, 74-38, and EHKE picking up a road win at Walnut, 76-31. The fact that the second place team beat the ninth-place team in the league by 36 points and the first-place team beat the eighth-team by 35 points—each a team seven slots lower on the RH pecking order—shows that these teams are very evenly matched.
The 74 points scored was the second highest total for the Hawks all season and the most points scored in any of their 14 conference wins. It was the same for EHKE, and the first time the Spartans have topped the 70-point threshold all season. EG has the higher offensive average for the year, 58.2, the 26th best among all 1A schools (137 total) with EHKE at 53.4 points per game. EHKE gives up just 36.6 points a game, second best in all of Class 1A, while EG is hold teams to 42.9.
In other make-up games in the league last night, Glidden-Ralston beat Paton-Churdan 46-29 to stay in the hunt for an upper division finish in the conference. GR moved is conference record to 11-5, right behind Orient-Macksburg and Ankeny Christian, both at 11-4.
Paton-Churdan is winless in the RH and is 1-16 overall, with is lone victory coming against Southeast Webster-Grand. EG opens district action in a quarterfinal round game at home against SWG on Jan. 17. EG thumped the Eagles 78-23 in the second game of the season back in December, which was the highest point total and widest margin of victory all year for the Hawks, who are now 15-3 overall, the same mark as EHKE.
In girls action, Adair-Casey beat the Hawkettes, 67-39, to stay in contention for the Rolling Hills crown. AC is now 14-2, just behind CAM (Anita) which is 14-1.
After tonight’s game at Elk Horn, both EG squads end conference play against Iowa Christian at home on Tuesday. The boys host Madrid in a non-conference game at home on Friday, while the girls head to Coon Rapids-Bayard the night in a first-round regional match up the night before.
BOYS ROLLING HILLS STANDINGS
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 15-1
East Greene 14-2
Ankeny Christian 11-4
Orient-Macksburg 11-4
Glidden-Ralston 10-5
CAM 6-9
Iowa Christian 5-10
Walnut 3-13
Adair-Casey 2-14
Paton-Churdan 0-15
GIRLS ROLLING HILLS STANDINGS
CAM 14-1
Adair-Casey 14-2
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 13-3
Iowa Christian 10-5
Orient-Macksburg 7-8
Ankeny Christian 7-8
East Greene 5-11
Walnut 4-12
Glidden-Ralston 2-12
Paton-Churdan 0-14
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