5A: State Qualifiers – Seeds 4 & 5
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#4 – Dowling Catholic (19-4) The Dowling Catholic Maroons have been an odd team this season. Not really what other way to put it honestly. They are a deep team with a lot of players who contribute to their success.…
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Continue Reading#4 – Dowling Catholic (19-4)
The Dowling Catholic Maroons have been an odd team this season. Not really what other way to put it honestly. They are a deep team with a lot of players who contribute to their success. They are led by a young, star point guard in Ava Zediker Ava Zediker 5'10" | PG Dowling Catholic | 2025 State IA followed by a freshman in Ellie Muller Ellie Muller 6'3" | C Dowling Catholic | 2026 State IA , who is making a name for herself with the post-season she has been putting together. The Maroons walked through their region play with two 20+ point victories over their opponents, the most impressive being a win in the championship against Iowa City-West by a final score of 59-37. This is a victory that came on their home court, a common trend for this teams big wins this season. It makes me really think that this first round matchup against Davenport North is going to be a tough one on a neutral floor. I think it’s noticeable that the Maroons playing at home were almost un-beatable this season but on the road? That’s when the issues start to surface a tad bit. All I know is that this first round matchup is going to be the one to watch in the 5A class.
Ava Zediker Ava Zediker 5’10” | PG Dowling Catholic | 2025 State IA has been a stand out and top player of her class this season for the Dowling Catholic Maroons. She has been a leader, play-maker, great over-all teammate, and the “X” factor in a lot of her teams victories this season thus far. On top of all that she now has a chance to show off her skill on a big time stage next week, an opportunity she is not taking lightly. Throughout their 24 games Zediker is leading her team in points at 19.7 while also grabbing 5 RPG, and dishing out 3.5 APG. Great numbers to have on your resume as only a sophomore in high school. Looking toward this game and the matchups on paper, this one is going to be a star-driven show on both sides. Zediker is going to keep up with what she has been doing all season by trying to will her team to victory, giving it everything she has. It’s going to take a full-teams effort though in this one as the Davenport North Wildcats have some high, D1 talent-level type players.
Ellie Muller Ellie Muller 6’3″ | C Dowling Catholic | 2026 State IA had the game of her young career in their regional championship against West High the other night to move onto the state tournament. She ended up leading her Maroons team to the victory with a 20 points, 12 rebound performance while going 9/9 from the floor. Muller is a major key to the success for this team as she is the only real inside presence they have, size wise. She is the counter-part piece to Ava so that teams can’t just guard one player to win the game. Coming in as freshman she hasn’t started a game this season but has played in all. While doing so she has the second most points scored on the season, leads her team in rebounds, and has gotten to the free throw line as much as anyone else on her team. Moving forward Ellie is going to be on a lot of radars. Her size and skill alone is impressive, when you pair it with her in-game IQ and some other small factors, she is a great prospect. I’m excited to see how she is going to do in their first round matchup. She will be paired up with a player alike in her size and athleticism so it’s going to all come down to experience and who wants it more.
#5 – Davenport North (21-2)
The Wildcats of Davenport North have put together a 21-2 year thus far for their 22′-23′ campaign and they aren’t looking for it to end just yet. The Wildcats, who are led by the best sophomore duo in the state in Divine Bourrage Divine Bourrage 6'0" | CG Davenport North | 2025 State IA and Journey Houston Journey Houston 5'11" | CG Davenport North | 2025 State IA , have only fallen twice this season but to who? Ironically the same team both times in the Pleasant Valley Spartans, two games in which Davenport North was in it both times the entire contest but just came up short in the end. This is not bad considering the Spartans are the #1 team in the 5A class going into the state playoff. Other than these two contests it has been smooth sailing for this group up until the playoffs. In their regional they had two hard fought games but ended up coming out on top in the end with a victory against a very impressive Ankeny Hawks high school team, 65-61 in the championship. When it comes to their next matchup I honestly really like their chances with the players they have. If they can put it together early and keep Zediker in check, the Wildcats will be prepping for a round-3 matchup with the Pleasant Valley Spartans in the state Semi’s.
Journey Houston Journey Houston 5’11” | CG Davenport North | 2025 State IA has been her normal self for her sophomore season, putting up big time numbers in some big time wins and helping lead her team to the state tournament all at the same time. Houston, one of the highest sought out recruits in the state for her class, averaged 19 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 2.7 APG for her Wildcats team. Giving her a chance at averaging a double-double throughout her sophomore campaign. Like I mentioned yesterday with another player I was highlighting, that is an impressive feat to accomplish or even having the opportunity to accomplish. Houston isn’t worried about the numbers though. She is the type of player who would do anything to win, including if she were asked to sit on the bench and support her teammates. Something that would never happen but it gives insight to who she really is as a player and more so, a human being. The combination of Houston and Bourrage is going to be on full display next week and I can’t wait to see it live.
Highlights
It’s an unusual situation to have a talent at this level like Journey Houston Journey Houston 5’11” | CG Davenport North | 2025 State IA but to have one like Divine Bourrage Divine Bourrage 6’0″ | CG Davenport North | 2025 State IA also? That’s just unfair. Bourrage has put together a just as impressive campaign this season as Houston, averaging just below 15 PPG and just under 8 RPG, two impressive numbers paired with the stats her counterpart as putting up. She is a game changing talent. She is a player who gets to the spots she needs to, can score at will from a multitude of ways, and is a leader. It’s really been something this season watching these two special talents grown next to each other. Going forward I am curious to where Bourrage is going to get interest from. She is has superior talent to most at her age and I could see her impacting a college floor immediately. Keep on eye on this one. By the time she is a senior, she could be a top player in her class in the state of Iowa, if not THEE top player in Iowa.