Three Iowa area girls basketball teams carry undefeated records into the statewide holiday break. Bellevue Marquette, Maquoketa and Maquoketa Valley all appear — at least through the season’s early stages — to be legitimate conference and state tournament contenders. Dubuque Wahlert and Cascade, the area’s two returning state qualifiers from last season, have also impressed early on.
Here are progress reports on area girls teams in Iowa into the holiday break: MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE Record — 4-1 (1-1 MVC Valley) Progress report — Claire Lueken (22.4 points per game) has established herself as a top scoring threat in Class 3A. She has netted 20-plus points in four of Wahlert’s five games this season.
Ruth Tauber, Olivia Donovan and Claire King are proven complimentary pieces offensively, and at 37.2 points per game allowed, the Golden Eagles’ defense has been stingy. Wahlert will certainly be a strong candidate for a third straight trip to the state tournament.
Record — 4-4 (0-3 MVC Valley) Progress report — Despite graduating all-time points leader Camdyn Kay, the Mustangs are on pace to eclipse last year’s win total of seven. Sydney Feldhacker (11.5 ppg) and Mara Hinz (10.
5 ppg) — both just sophomores — are leading the charge offensively in what appears to be Hempstead’s most balanced lineup in several years. Record — 2-6 (0-3 MVC Mississippi) Progress report — The Rams have already topped last year’s one-win campaign, and have battle.