Tournament Preview: Class 2A, Region 5

With the 2A tournament set to get underway on Saturday, February 9th, we are going to be breaking down each region with in depth analysis. We will cover who you should watch for, the teams that could come out of nowhere, and of course, the bracket buster candidate. We will also list five players from each class that you need to keep an eye on throughout the bracket as they can really change the game in a hurry. The complete Region 5 bracket is posted below.

The Teams
North Linn (18-1)
Mediapolis (19-2)
Wilton (18-2)
West Branch (15-3)
Danville (14-6)
Highland (14-7)
Wapello (12-7)
Regina Catholic (8-10)
Northeast (4-14)
Durant (2-17)
North Cedar (0-19)
Columbus (0-18)

The Favorite
North Linn
North Linn is coming into the tournament averaging 74.1 points a game. They are scorching the nets as they are shooting 46.6 percent from the floor. North Linn leads the region with 179 made 3-pointers and they are shooting nearly 40 percent from deep. Grace Flanagan, a junior, leads the team with 19.2 points a game.

The Sleepers
Mediapolis
Like North Linn, Mediapolis makes an absurd amount of 3-pointers. They are second in the region with 154 makes on the year. Only two seniors on the roster for this team and that makes them very dangerous. They have the potential to knock off anyone in their way. Senior Maya Johnson leads the team in points per game at 22.8 points a game.

Wilton
Wilton is a team that doesn’t score a ton of points compared to North Linn, but they shoot the ball at a really good percentage. They are scoring just over 60 points a game on the season and sit in a really good spot. They do have a puzzling loss to West Branch, one where they did not play a bench player in the game. Senior Emily Lange leads the team in scoring as she scores 23.2 points a game. That output is the best in the region.

The Outside Shot
West Branch 
This is a team that really does not score the ball that much as they are averaging just 50.4 points a game this year. They do, however, play very good defense as they allow just 38 points a game which is the best in their region. This is a team that has the potential to upset some teams if they hold it to a low scoring affair. Just a sohpomore, Sasha Koenig leads the team with 17.1 points a game.

Players to Watch

2019
Maya Johnson (Mediapolis)
Emily Lange (Wilton)
Alyson Stokes (Highland)
Kortney Drake (Wilton)
Kylie Kurt (North Linn)

2020
Grace Flanagan (North Linn)
Eryka Dickey (Wapello)
Sam Greving (Regina Catholic)
Mackenzie Springsteen (Mediapolis)
Helaina Hillyard (Mediapolis)

2021
Sasha Koenig (West Branch)
Taya Young (West Branch)
Ellie Ware (North Linn)
Emma Fowler (Northeast)
Annie Gahan (Regina Catholic)

2022
Kelsey Drake (Wilton)
Chloe Van Etten (North Linn)
Ally Happ (Durant)
Ellie Rickertsen (Northeast)
Kendall Smith (North Cedar)