Class 2A – Region 1: 2021’s Who Should be Valued by Colleges

As we look for other ways to cover prospects we thought it would be beneficial to cover players in a way that allows us to cover those we don’t write much about. We will be using the region’s from last season as they were constructed. Obviously, these regions will change into next season but for these stories it was the easiest way to divide players and teams as equally as possible. We will be writing a series of three stories for each region in the state and the categories are as follows: 2023’s to put on Your Radar, 2022’s who can Breakout, and 2021’s Who Should be Valued by Colleges. We will continue to go through each region and aim to hit as many players as we can that we haven’t talked about previously. Here are five 2021’s that need to be valued by colleges. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164947" first="Mallory" last="McCall"] - West Monona</strong> When you look at the Class 2A, Region 1 leaders, the name [player_tooltip player_id="164947" first="Mallory" last="McCall"] jumps out at you. The West Monona junior had herself quite the season this past winter, scoring 558 points with 191 rebounds, 85 steals, 76 assists and 16 blocks to help the Spartans win 17 games. Prolific from the field and deep, McCall shot 47 percent and made 44 three-pointers. She was also effective at the line, making 62.5 percent from there. McCall reached the career 1,000 point mark this past season, becoming just the second player in school history to do so in 5-on-5 basketball. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164998" first="Hayden" last="Heimensen"] - Central Lyon</strong> Central Lyon finished this past season second in the Siouxland Conference, winning 18 games and reaching the regional championship. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="164998" first="Hayden" last="Heimensen"] was a big reason for that success, averaging 20 points per game. Heimensen shot over 43 percent from the field, 36 percent from deep and 77 percent at the free throw stripe. Along with her 483 points, she also had 99 rebounds, 71 assists and 59 steals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="131226" first="Lexie" last="VanKekerix"] - Rock Valley</strong> The first part of a 1-2 junior duo for Rock Valley, [player_tooltip player_id="131226" first="Lexie" last="VanKekerix"] led the Rockets with 17 points per game. VanKekerix shot almost 37 percent from the floor and 34.5 percent at the 3-point line. She was also deadly effective at the free throw stripe, making 84 percent of her shots. VanKekerix finished with 391 points, 165 rebounds, 38 assists, 29 steals and 18 blocks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="165031" first="Abby" last="Heemstra"] - Rock Valley</strong> Joining [player_tooltip player_id="131226" first="Lexie" last="VanKekerix"] as talented members of the Class of 2021 for Rock Valley is [player_tooltip player_id="165031" first="Abby" last="Heemstra"]. The leading rebounder for the Rockets, Heemstra grabbed 210 loose balls. She also scored 311 points, which ranked second, adding in 31 assists and 18 steals. Heemstra shot 48 percent from the field and made 22 triples in all. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164994" first="Megan" last="Waterman"] - West Sioux</strong> West Sioux will be leaning on senior-to-be [player_tooltip player_id="164994" first="Megan" last="Waterman"] next year after losing leading scorer and rebounder [player_tooltip player_id="134013" first="Emma" last="McManaman"] to graduation. Waterman has the talent to fill that void after posting 13 points and nine rebounds per game this past season. She shot almost 65 percent from the field, adding 27 assists, 21 steals and 18 blocks to her 303 total points and 206 rebounds.