North begins bid for third straight tourney appearance
By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer | Posted: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Kirk Walker has few, if any, good vibrations emanating from the last time the Sioux City North coach took his team to Council Bluffs with a berth in the Iowa Girls State Basketball Tournament at stake.
"We've been to the state tournament twice since then and won it all last year, but I still remember losing to Council Bluffs Lewis Central in 2005,'' said Walker, whose fourth-ranked Stars slipped past 13th-ranked East 63-57 in the first round. ''We had a big lead in that regional final, but some weird things happened late in the game and we lost.
"Fortunately, only a couple of our girls suited up as freshman back then and this group has played in two state tournaments so the good experiences are more important.''
Lewis Central prevailed in that '05 regional final at Council Bluffs Jefferson, but lost a 20-point decision to West Des Moines Dowling in the first round of the state tourney.
Last year, in a regional final at West, North thumped Lewis Central 76-46 and went on to become the first Sioux City school to win a girls state hoops crown.
Tonight (7 o'clock) at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, 19-4 North bids for its third straight state tourney appearance and fourth overall in a Class 4A regional championship tussle with Lewis Central.
Lewis Central, ranked 14th, is 18-4 after beating Abraham Lincoln 56-45 in its opener.
"This game boils down to who executes the best and responds to the atmosphere of a game that decides a state tournament trip,'' says Walker. "Our kids are excited about playing.
"There's always some anxiety in a regional final when it is a one-and-done situation, but we're the defending state champs and our attitude is we want to get back there (Des Moines) by proving we're worthy.
"There's pressure and if you don't shoot the ball well you're going to have problems.''
Jalyssa Ceasar, a 5-10 junior, averages 13.3 points to lead North, while 6-foot senior Sarah Jane Bowden contributes 11.5 points and senior point guard Steph Robinson 11.4 points a game.
The North-Lewis Central winner will meet the Cedar Rapids Kennedy-Washington regional champ in a first-round state tournament game at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at Wells Fargo Arena.
Mallory Husz, a 6-2 senior and University of Iowa volleyball recruit, paces Lewis Central with 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds a game. Senior Rachelle Osborn is the other double digit scorer with a 10.4 average.
''If we're going to beat North we've got to take care of the basketball, limit our turnovers and rebound defensively,'' says Lewis Central Coach Chris Hanafan.
In Lewis Central's semifinal win over Abraham Lincoln, the Titans took advantage of 13 Lynx turnovers in the first quarter to fashion a 20-7 lead.
Abe Lincoln stormed back, though, when Husz sat out seven minutes of the second half with foul trouble.
Lewis Central has flourished lately since 5-6 freshman Kyley Simmons, a transfer from Sergeant Bluff-Luton, took over as the team's starting point guard just over three weeks ago.
Interestingly, Simmons and North freshman Brittni Donaldson were junior high teammates at SB-L.
The 5-7 Donaldson doesn't start for the Stars, but averages 7.8 points, while Simmons averages 6.5 points in 12 varsity outings.
"You don't see it very often where a freshman is taking over a 4A team at the point guard spot,'' said Lewis Central Coach Tom Hanafan of the Simmons contributions. "She's put in a lot of time with the game, sees the floor well, has a great sense for the game and handles the ball extremely well.''
"We've been to the state tournament twice since then and won it all last year, but I still remember losing to Council Bluffs Lewis Central in 2005,'' said Walker, whose fourth-ranked Stars slipped past 13th-ranked East 63-57 in the first round. ''We had a big lead in that regional final, but some weird things happened late in the game and we lost.
"Fortunately, only a couple of our girls suited up as freshman back then and this group has played in two state tournaments so the good experiences are more important.''
Lewis Central prevailed in that '05 regional final at Council Bluffs Jefferson, but lost a 20-point decision to West Des Moines Dowling in the first round of the state tourney.
Last year, in a regional final at West, North thumped Lewis Central 76-46 and went on to become the first Sioux City school to win a girls state hoops crown.
Tonight (7 o'clock) at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, 19-4 North bids for its third straight state tourney appearance and fourth overall in a Class 4A regional championship tussle with Lewis Central.
Lewis Central, ranked 14th, is 18-4 after beating Abraham Lincoln 56-45 in its opener.
"This game boils down to who executes the best and responds to the atmosphere of a game that decides a state tournament trip,'' says Walker. "Our kids are excited about playing.
"There's always some anxiety in a regional final when it is a one-and-done situation, but we're the defending state champs and our attitude is we want to get back there (Des Moines) by proving we're worthy.
"There's pressure and if you don't shoot the ball well you're going to have problems.''
Jalyssa Ceasar, a 5-10 junior, averages 13.3 points to lead North, while 6-foot senior Sarah Jane Bowden contributes 11.5 points and senior point guard Steph Robinson 11.4 points a game.
The North-Lewis Central winner will meet the Cedar Rapids Kennedy-Washington regional champ in a first-round state tournament game at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at Wells Fargo Arena.
Mallory Husz, a 6-2 senior and University of Iowa volleyball recruit, paces Lewis Central with 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds a game. Senior Rachelle Osborn is the other double digit scorer with a 10.4 average.
''If we're going to beat North we've got to take care of the basketball, limit our turnovers and rebound defensively,'' says Lewis Central Coach Chris Hanafan.
In Lewis Central's semifinal win over Abraham Lincoln, the Titans took advantage of 13 Lynx turnovers in the first quarter to fashion a 20-7 lead.
Abe Lincoln stormed back, though, when Husz sat out seven minutes of the second half with foul trouble.
Lewis Central has flourished lately since 5-6 freshman Kyley Simmons, a transfer from Sergeant Bluff-Luton, took over as the team's starting point guard just over three weeks ago.
Interestingly, Simmons and North freshman Brittni Donaldson were junior high teammates at SB-L.
The 5-7 Donaldson doesn't start for the Stars, but averages 7.8 points, while Simmons averages 6.5 points in 12 varsity outings.
"You don't see it very often where a freshman is taking over a 4A team at the point guard spot,'' said Lewis Central Coach Tom Hanafan of the Simmons contributions. "She's put in a lot of time with the game, sees the floor well, has a great sense for the game and handles the ball extremely well.''
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
