Postseason basketball returns to southeast Iowa and KCII tonight when Lone Tree hosts Winfield-Mt. Union in regional action.
The 2023-24 Super Conference North Champion Lady Lions arrive in the playoffs 18-3. One of the hottest teams entering last week, Lone Tree had won 15 straight, before dropping its last two to WACO and Holy Trinity Catholic. Trailing the Crusaders 14-4 after the first frame, the Lady Lions cut that deficit to five at the break, but were ultimately held to their lowest point total all season. Still, Lone Tree is scoring more than 53 points per game behind the second most shot-attempts in 1A basketball. Defensively, they allow just 33. Despite having only two seniors on the roster, Lone Tree is top 10 in its class in rebounds, steals, and blocks. Individual leaders include Finley Jacque with 15.9 points per game, Alyson Ford with nearly 8 blocks per game, and Vivian Zaruba who has more than 4 steals per game.
They present a challenge for a Winfield-Mt. Union team that is certainly up for it. One year removed from a State appearance, the Wolves close the book on a 4-14 regular season looking to play spoiler. A brand-new starting five this season was led by sophomore Madisen Kellogg with more than 16 points and nine rebounds per game. Maggie Hutton joins Kellogg with a team-high two steals per night. Pacey Schlee has the most assists, while Lily Freeman sets the pace in blocks. As a unit, Winfield-Mt. Union scores 34 points per game while giving up 49. They’ve shot 29% from the field, 20% from deep, and 53% from the line, to go with 30 rebounds, 9 assists, 10 steals, 2 blocks, and 28 turnovers a night. Lone Tree got the best of the Wolves this season, winning 67-26 in November and 64-46 last month. Prior to that, WMU had taken the previous seven matchups.
You can listen to these Super Conference foes square off on 106.1 FM, the KCII1 app, and KCIIradio.com. Pregame coverage begins tonight at 6:30 with opening tip of regional basketball between the Lady Lions and Wolves at 7 live from Lone Tree.