Games of the Week: Week 1

Once again it will be a light slate of games with the Thanksgiving Holiday essentially taking away the action on Wednesday-Saturday. We will be looking at five games once again this week before transitioning into a full run of 10 games next week. <hr /> <strong>Monday: Norwalk @ ADM</strong> Norwalk comes in to the year with high hopes after a 10-12 campaign last year. They haven’t won more than 11 games since the 2010-11 season when the won 14 and they have a great chance to match that this year. They only lose one starter from a year ago and return their top four scoring options. Add in a group of young freshmen and this team is going to be competitive for the next few years. A win tonight against an ADM team would be a big early season boost for them. ADM is coming off back-to-back 15 win seasons and looking to make it a third in a row. ADM does lose their top two scorers from a year ago but senior [player_tooltip player_id="131207" first="Grace" last="Hardcastle"] returns and she scored 10.0 points a game last year. There is a lot of young talent on this roster and Hardcastle and senior Aniston Smith will look to lead that group. This is an important game for both teams to get off to a good start. <strong>Monday: Sioux City West @ Cherokee</strong> Sioux City West is coming off a season that saw them win 13 games and fall to Ames in the final game of the season by just four points. They also lose five seniors who started nine or more games and only two players return with starting experience. They do have a lot of depth and it will be interesting to follow them this year to see who steps up and performs for them. If no one does, it could be a long year. Cherokee, despite losing by 20 points last year to Sioux City West, comes into this year with a ton of experience and high hopes for a state title run. Cherokee returns all of their starters from a year ago and they lose just one player off of their 17-6 team from last year. They will really need to win this game to create some momentum heading into the rest of the season. <strong>Monday: Kingsley-Pierson @ West Sioux</strong> Kingsley-Pierson has had a great deal of success over the past few years as they’ve won at least 20 games in the past six seasons. They only lose two senior starters from a year ago and have quite a bit of returning talent. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="165061" first="Brooklyn" last="Beery"] and [player_tooltip player_id="131211" first="Delaney" last="Iseminger"] both scored over 200 points last season and junior [player_tooltip player_id="129080" first="McKenzie" last="Goodwin"] scored 291 points a year ago. They are experienced and they are hungry to get back to the Well. West Sioux has seen a long run of success over the past decade and a half but they do lose three starters from their starting lineup. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="164994" first="Megan" last="Waterman"] scored 303 points last year and had an excellent junior campaign and will look to lead this team once again. They have some young talent and a win in this game would be huge for them. <strong>Tuesday: Xavier @ Davenport Assumption</strong> Xavier is turning a new leaf as they graduated a ton of talent including three senior starters but they do return sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="129002" first="Aree" last="Beckmann"], their leading scorer from a season ago. This is a big game for Xavier as they look to start off this season on a good note with almost an entirely new roster from last year as they will be leaning on players who have not made a big splash yet. Xavier has won five of the last six meetings between the two teams. Davenport Assumption is coming off a state tournament appearance and they also return all but two starters from a year ago. [player_tooltip player_id="164976" first="Katie" last="Anderson"] will be the senior leader of this group and junior [player_tooltip player_id="63607" first="Dawsen" last="Dorsey"] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="160549" first="Ava" last="Schubert"] will bring a lot to the table. This is a group that has high hopes for this season and this game will be a great measuring stick for them as they look to win conference. <strong>Tuesday: Indianola @ Des Moines Christian</strong> This is a year that Indianola has had it’s sights set on for a while with all of their talent now being heavily experienced. They only lose one senior from a year ago and return their top three point scorers. The trio of junior [player_tooltip player_id="63599" first="Lauren" last="Blake"], senior [player_tooltip player_id="164940" first="Kendall" last="Clatt"], and junior [player_tooltip player_id="63619" first="Mara" last="Bishop"] will lead this team this season as they combined to score 38 points a game last season. Add in a freshman post talent and some key returning offensive players and Indianola might be right back into the thick of things at the Well. Des Moines Christian is hopeful of winning a state title this year and got off to a good start last Friday against Creston in a nailbiter. This game will be a big test for them as Indianola has some of the best guards they’ll face all season long. [player_tooltip player_id="164930" first="Moriah" last="Prewitt"] will look to lead the charge this year for Des Moines Christian but they also have a ton of other players who will contribute at a high level. &nbsp;