Women’s basketball readies for State run

By: Nolan Nickerson

The girls basketball team finished the regular season last Friday, Feb. 12 with a 60-36 win at Waterloo West, finishing with a 19-2 record and claiming the MVC title heading into the postseason.

The only two losses of the regular season both came from Iowa City High, including a heartbreaking one point loss, but the Tigers are focused on what is ahead.

This Saturday the team is home against Waterloo West as the team prepares to make another run at the state tournament.

“Our goal is to be state champs. As a team we are going into every practice and not ‘setting a ceiling,’ meaning we want to get better every practice. Defense is key for us, so as a team, we work on it every day in practice,” said senior Emma Gerdes, who lead the Tigers during the regular season with 13.6 points a game.

In addition to Gerdes, the Tigers are lead by sophomore post Kiana Barney and standout first year starter Cynthia Wolf. Barney is averaging 11.9 points a game while Wolf is averaging 10.4 with a team high 7.7 rebounds a game.

For Gerdes, getting back to State “would be the best way to end my senior season. It would mean a ton to our team to accomplish our main goal: to make it to State. We all want it so bad after all the hard work everyone has put in at every practice and every game, so for it to happen would be awesome.”

All three will have to be playing their best for a run at State, but the Tigers are also filled with a crucial supporting class of juniors, including Calli Johnson, who is now in the starting lineup due to an injury to junior Reilly Johnson, and Ally Conrad, who has been a key to the team’s success all season. Johnson is putting up 7.4 points a game with a team high 37 three pointers, while Conrad, a returning starter, is averaging 5.1 points with 50 assists in the regular season. It was at this time last season that Conrad hit the game winning shot to make it to State.

For the Tigers, getting to State is the goal, but as Gerdes said, there is one team that they would love to see. “It would be fun to play City High at State. They have both of our losses on the season, so getting another shot at them, especially at the state tournament would be really cool.”