Class 3A: Region 1-4 Champions

<p>Below I will be briefly highlighting which teams are headed to the state tournament from the 3A class after their win's on Saturday evening. Enjoy & thanks for tuning in!</p>   <h2 class="has-large-font-size">Region 1 - Estherville Lincoln Central Midgets</h2>   <p>Region 1 completed Saturday, crowning the Estherville Lincoln Central Midgets as their champion. This comes to no surprise from everything we have seen recently from this program. A team that won convincingly all season long and didn't change anything up once the post season approached, giving them some more big time wins. In ELC's three region games they won 71-12, 71-17, and 82-40 in the championship. To say that the closest score in your region to you in a game was 42 points, says everything that anyone would need to know. There are some other analytics on their overall season that I think are worth of noting if you haven't followed this group around to closely this season. Going into the 3A state tournament they are the only undefeated team in the class, have been ranked #1 in their class throughout the entire regular season, they are the team with the highest margin of victory in the class at 31.6 PPG, and they have the most wins against teams with an over .500 record this year, those being 15 of their 24 games. All very impressive stats to possess. When we look at the big picture of this class and their state tournament, it gets interesting. It's going to be all about matchups in game between individual players and their overall squads. I've started to notice that the real stars shine brighter when they have more on the line and we have a lot of stars in the class. Each team possess a player that could take over the game in a single moment and win it for her team. In the Midgets case that is [player_tooltip player_id='311389' first='Haylee' last='Stokes']. A diverse 2-way guard that would be defined as a "bucket" to most but she is much more than that. She is a difference maker who can score in bunches and knows everything that is going on. Her in-game IQ is impressive to say the least and I can't wait for her to show off what she can do on the big stage for a second season in a row. </p>   <h2 class="has-large-font-size">Region 2 - Solon Spartans </h2>   <p>The Solon Spartans finished the job and did what they went out to do in their regional play this past week, pushing them onto the state tournament with a win against Mount Vernon on Saturday night by a final score of 58-44. This is the first time this team will be back competing in Des Moines since 2006, an incredible accomplishment for these players and their coaching staff. The most impressive part of these past few games and this state run is all the players that have stepped up along their star, [player_tooltip player_id='246099' first='Callie' last='Levin']. Levin has always been the main focus for other squads as she is a lethal scorer and Iowa commit but for this group to win the 3A state championship others were going to have to step up. Up until this point, they are doing just that. In their big 14 point win last night they had several other players step in to make a difference in the contest, two of the biggest difference makers being [player_tooltip player_id='1143208' first='Kobi' last='Lietz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='314120' first='Hailey' last='Miller']. Lietz went 7/10 shooting on the way to scoring a game high 22 points while Miller chipped in with 14 of her own. That's extremely important to mention as well move forward. A lot of teams at state have "their player" or star but usually they need some help to finish the job and win it all. Teams become much better at scouting and coming up with a good defensive strategy the closer and closer you get to the ship. The Spartans have the #2 seed in the class so they will be facing Wahlert Catholic on Monday, February 27th to see who moves onto the semi-finals, a contest that will have a lot of hype around it. Their records may not be comparable but once these teams take the floor, it should be a lot closer then you'd think.</p>   <h2 class="has-large-font-size">Region 3 - Benton Community Wildcats </h2>   <p>Benton Community ended their regular season at 21-3 with an average margin of victory of just over 17 PPG. Two impressive numbers but that isn't going to be enough for this group. Lead by a flat out STAR in [player_tooltip player_id='127632' first='Jenna' last='Twedt'], this group can play with the best of them. In their regional they won each of their first two games by convincing totals but the championships was a little bit closer. They matched up with [player_tooltip player_id='63032' first='Kelsey' last='Joens'] and the West Liberty Comets, who just came off of a big win in their previous round against a solid Center Point Urbana team. I like the Wildcats in the spot they are in. A lot. This team lives on defense. We have said it all year and we see it night in and night out. They try to slow down the game as much as possible and win in a low score, half court battle. A game plan that has worked tremendously this season and in seasons previous. If the Wildcats can play how they have been up until this point, it's going to be a barn-burner of a state playoff run for this group. They do have some offensive star power and players that can score but from what I've seen, they want to win by playing defense and I have the utmost respect for that. Defense is usually spoken on by coaches as "a skill that does not take god given talent, but hard work and dedication." I think that perfectly embodies what this team is all about. Showing that they may not have several D1-stars but it doesn't matter, if they want it more then you and work harder, they are going to win. An awesome message to send out there to show young players that no matter what, as long as they work hard, they can make a difference and be successful in this sport on several levels. </p>   <h2 class="has-large-font-size">Region 4 - West Marshall Trojans </h2>   <p>The West Marshall Trojans possess one of the best players in the state throughout any class in UNI commit [player_tooltip player_id='127623' first='Katy' last='Reyerson'] and they needed every ounce of her effort to become the Region 4 champs, moving them onto the state tournament. They got their championship victory in a tight fought battle against a very talented Clear Lake High School team, 45-38 on Saturday evening. Though the score was 7 points in the end, this game was a lot closer. With about 30 seconds left on the clock came the shot of the season for the Trojans. It was a SLOB (side-line out of bounds) play with only 4 seconds left on the shot clock. Reyerson received the ball, dribbled near half court and pulled up for a step back at the jump circle, banking it in to put her team up 43-38 with about 25 seconds left in the game. This would turn out to be the shot of the night and their season as this helped them secure the victory in a huge moment. This game didn't come down to just one play but this is the play that is definitely going to be remembered in the victory when looking back on everything. West Marshall is the 3 seed and will face off VS the 6th seed, Sioux Center high school. The Trojans will be favored in this one and for good reason but it's going to be a battle. I don't really expect big margins of victory in a lot of these playoff games as a lot of these teams are evenly matched, despite the teams records or which seed they may be. It'll be fun to watch Reyerson matchup with another star as this playoff run continues. I know one thing, it definitely won't disappoint. </p>

Below I will be briefly highlighting which teams are headed to the state tournament from the 3A class after their win's on Saturday evening. Enjoy & thanks for tuning in!