Tournament Preview: Class 3A, Region 8

With the 3A 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 8 bracket is posted below. <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>The</strong></span></span><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"> Teams</span></span> </strong>Des Moines Christian (19-2) Red Oak (17-4) Shenandoah (12-9) Creston (11-9) Clarke (10-11) Atlantic (4-17) Clarinda (1-19) Saydel (1-19) <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The</strong> <strong>Favorite</strong></span> <strong>Des Moines Christian</strong> This season Des Moines Christian has been playing really well. They are 19-2 on the season and I don't think there are many teams in this region that will stand in their way. Scoring 56.1 points a game and shooting 46 percent from the floor bodes well for their chances at state. They are a really solid team who rarely turn the ball over. Senior <strong>Kaili Lawson</strong> is averaging 13.5 points a game to lead the team. <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Sleeper</strong></span> <strong>Red Oak </strong>I think that they could potentially knock off Des Moines Christian, but their 3-point shooting leaves a lot to be desired. A team that only shoots 21.1 percent from deep should not be a team that is 18-4, but they do everything else so well, they sit in a really good spot. They beat Shenandoah twice this year and have also beaten Creston once in their two games. Junior <strong>Sophie Walker</strong> is leading Red Oak at 13.7 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>The Outside Shots</strong></span></span><strong> </strong><strong>Shenandoah</strong> Shenandoah has hit 108 3-pointers on the year which is second most in the region. They are shooting 41.7 percent from the field and are making 64.4 percent of their free throw tries. They rarely steal the ball over as they only have 165 steals this year, second worst in the region. Shenandoah does have the potential to knock off the top teams in this region though as shown with two wins over Creston already this season. They are led in scoring by <strong>Logan Hughes</strong>, a senior, who is averaging 24.2 points a game. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></span></span> <strong>2019</strong> Logan Hughes (Shenandoah) Deseree Stubbe (Clarke) Brielle Baker (Creston) Megan Linskens (Clarke) Kaili Lawson (Des Moines Christian) <strong style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px">2020</strong> Sophie Walker (Red Oak) Roxy Denton (Shenandoah) Chloe Johnson (Red Oak) Mckenzie Waters (Atlantic) Ellie Rengstorf (Red Oak) <strong>2021</strong> Kelsey Fields (Creston) Moriah Prewitt (Des Moines Christian) Haley Rasmussen (Atlantic) Sam Dunphy (Creston) Kate Muller (Des Moines Christian) <strong>2022</strong> Lexi Johnson (Red Oak) Rachel Barton (Saydel) Chloe Straight (Clarinda) Ava Wolf (Shenandoah) Orianna Martin (Saydel)