2025 State Tournament Report: Prospects W/ Championship Pedigree

A State Championship contest can bring the best or the worst out of you as a prospect out on the floor. Below we briefly discuss six players that did really well in their Title Game. Not every individual led their team to victory but it wasn't due to a lack of effort.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    Scoring the first 10 points in a State Title game is impressive. This is the feat that [player_tooltip player_id='311380' first='Sydney' last='Huber'] accomplished last night while helping her team to a 3A State Championship. Huber started early by the rim. She was cutting off the ball, her teammates were hitting her near the block, and she was converting attempt after attempt with her little pull up jumper off of the block over her smaller defender. From there, Huber banged a deep three of the left wing. Following this start the Mustangs never looked back. Huber kept on fire throughout and ended the game with 24 points on 9-13 shooting, including going 3-5 from behind the three point line, ultimately making her the Fareway Player Of The Game when the final buzzer sounded.     [player_tooltip player_id='782508' first='Courtney' last='Franck'] was named an All Tournament First Team player for her performance over the past week in Des Moines. Franck, a 5'8 PG, is an unquestionable leader for her team with the ball in her possession. As a guard, she doesn't seem like a natural 1 or 2 but more of a mix. She can play both at a thorough rate without turning the ball over and that is a major key to her success or at least it has been thus far in her basketball journey. Franck was all over the floor last night in their big win. She did her usual offensively but she also recorded several rebounds on both ends. Just demonstrating what you can do with some smarts, a high motor, and a better than average athletic ability. I have Franck being a D2/NAIA prospect at the end of the day with her sister but it's all about fit. I'm sure whichever place makes them feel like home the most, will be where they eventually go. Either way though, she will always be able to say she is a 3A State Champion.     Jaliyah Kinnetz is one of the most underrated prospects that the state of Iowa has to offer out of the 2026 Class. Kinnetz is a Top 15 player for her Class and she demonstrated that last night on both ends with her Dragons squad. Kinnetz got to her spots offensively off the dribble, she made jumpers from deep when she was open, she stuck in front of her opponent on defense, and she competed with high energy throughout the entire contest. When the 3rd quarter came and the Dragons made a big run, Kinnetz was a vital part of that. She made some big shots and she created some tough turnovers defensively. Two things that really helped lead their group to victory.     Coming into this season we somewhat knew about [player_tooltip player_id='880913' first='Kelli' last='Kalb'] and the promise she could bring to the hardwood. Well this Winter Kalb put together one of the best overall seasons for a 2028 out of the state of Iowa and she ended things off on a high note yesterday in the 5A Title game. Kalb wasn't a huge impact in the first half but then the third quarter came and she made her mark. To start things in the third, Kalb hit a big three off of a ball rotation from the other side of the floor. The very next play she created a deflection for a steal and she finished the bucket on the other end with an AND1 finish. This was a big swing in the game and really where Johnston took over. Following this three play series, the Dragons took over as a whole and that's why they can call themselves back-to-back 5A State Champs this morning.     If you were to ask any of [player_tooltip player_id='311396' first='Ava' last='Zediker']'s opponents about her as a competitor, I'm sure there would speak with the utmost respect. Zediker embodies what it means to play the game of Basketball the right way. The Maroons may of fallen short of winning a 5A Title last night but Zediker left it all on the floor. She was assisting at her usual rate, she was defending like her life depended on it, and she was scoring the ball almost every other possession it seemed. This was needed though as DC really leaned on Ava for everything throughout this specific contest, which just wasn't enough with the fire power that the Dragons possess. It's really early to say this but there is a special place in history at Dowling for Zediker. She will go down as the second best PG to ever wear a Maroons Women's Basketball uniform behind Caitlin Clark and that's something she should be proud of.     When it's the last game of your high school career, you want to end it off on the right note and Olivia Donovan of Wahlert Catholic did that last night in the 3A Title game. Donovan had a stat line of 9 points (4-8), 13 rebounds, and 3 assists. When you account for the total team rebounds for WC, you see they recorded 35 total and 13 came from Donovan. Including 6 being offensive, which gave her team 6 more attempts on offense. At 5'10, with this production, and the challenge of facing Mount Vernon - this is a respectable effort. It was definitely the best on her own team in most regards.

A State Championship contest can bring the best or the worst out of you as a prospect out on the floor. Below we briefly discuss six players that did really well in their Title Game. Not every individual led their team to victory but it wasn't due to a lack of effort.