March 06, 2025
Local NewsState & National

Trio of NV girls make postseason honors

Eisbach leads the way as unanimous POI pick

By Ryan Stonebraker
NV junior Izzy Eisbach squares up a jump shot among Shenandoah defenders in a Class 2A regional game recently.

NV junior Izzy Eisbach squares up a jump shot among Shenandoah defenders in a Class 2A regional game recently. (Dan Dickinson)

Junior Izzy Eisbach and senior Maddie Weston represented Nodaway Valley on the 2025 Pride of Iowa Conference’s all-conference girls basketball team, released last week.

The Wolverines finished the conference schedule tied for third in the league with Central Decatur at an 8-8 record, with each team winning against each other on the road.

Eisbach was a unanimous pick on the first team. She was also a unanimous pick for all-district and all-region honors. She led NV in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots. Her 734 points led the state in all classes as she averaged 31.9 points per game as well.

Through the season, Eisbach set new school records in field goals made (250), 3-pointers made (88), free throws made (145), points scored (734), steals (122), points scored in a game (51), 3-pointers in a game (9) and tied records for field goals made in a game (17) and free throws made in a game (12). She moved into third place in school history for points scored with 1,534 after collecting her 1,000th career point early this season

“She would be the first to say she would trade all the honors for 10 more wins,” said Nodaway Valley girl’s basketball coach Brian Eisbach. “She works hard and put a lot of time into getting ready for this season and is getting recognized by others for that hard work. Being a unanimous first team selection (only three in the POI) is special.”

Other unanimous selections on all-conference first team were Mount Ayr sophomore Izzy Gilbertson (14.7 points, 9.6 rebounds per game) and Lenox senior Sadie Cox (15.8 ppg, 14.2 rpg).

NV senior Maddie Weston looks for where to pass the ball to against a tight Shenandoah defender during a Class 2A regional road game.

NV senior Maddie Weston looks for where to pass the ball to against a tight Shenandoah defender during a Class 2A regional road game. (Dan Dickinson)

A savvy veteran for the Wolverines, Weston played in 83 varsity games over her four-year career. She was often the group’s sixth girl during her sophomore and junior seasons, starting five games her sophomore year and 10 last season. She finishes her final campaign third in scoring (6.7 ppg), sixth in rebounds (3.3), second in assists (70) and steals (44) and fourth in blocked shots. She scored 270 points in her career with 56 made 3s, made 139 rebounds, 131 assists, 96 steals and three blocked shots.

“Maddie was a steady player for us and played her role, whatever that was, throughout her time,” Coach Eisbach said. “She helped us out over the years with her ball handling, outside shooting and defense.”

Mount Ayr led all-conference picks with four players while Martensdale-St. Marys and Lenox each had three selections. The Raiderettes were the POI champs this year with a 15-1 conference mark, losing only to Lenox. Lenox and MStM tied for the runner-up slot at 13-3. All three of these top teams were ranked by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union at one point or another through the season.

As a team, Nodaway Valley averaged 55.5 points per game and gave up 60.3. Their longest win streak was two games, which happened twice. Wins came against Southeast Warren (twice), East Union (twice), Wayne, Southwest Valley (twice) and Central Decatur. Five of the Wolverines' losses were by less than 10 points.

Nodaway Valley lost 72-55 at Class 2A No. 9 Shenandoah in a Class 2A Region 7 quarterfinal. It was a game that didn’t get away until halfway through the fourth quarter.

“I’m going to remember how hard we played against No. 9 Shenandoah. They had an All-State player and two All-Region players and we left everything we had on the floor and it didn’t get away until halfway through the fourth quarter,” Eisbach said.

“I think that we (coaches) got everything out of this group this year. We were underdogs in a lot of our games. We struggled in our games with Mount Ayr, however, we got better both against Lenox and Martensdale-St. Marys the second time we played them.”

Potential seniors for next year’s squad are Eisbach, Lea Stonebraker, Kacie Ford, Kynnady Van Eaton and Caroline Britten. The program will also get an influx of players from Orient-Macksburg and a talented incoming freshman class.

Wolverines Excel in the Classroom

The Wolverines had a tremendous season off the court, as well earning several academic honors after the season ended. The honorees earned carried minimum grade point averages of anywhere from 3.0-3.85.

Wolverine senior Liv Laughery was named all-state academic by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association recently, leading the way for her team that was strong on the court and in the classroom.

Wolverine senior Liv Laughery was named all-state academic by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association recently, leading the way for her team that was strong on the court and in the classroom. (Dan Dickinson)

The first honor was a big one as senior Liv Laughery was named to the Iowa Girls Coaches Association’s Academic All-State team. To be selected, players must meet two of the three following criteria: have a cumulative GPA of 3.85, an ACT score of 27 or higher and be ranked in the top 15% of their class. Laughery was one of only seven Pride of Iowa Conference players honored, joining Makenna Perkins, Abigail Leahy, and Addy Schreck from Central Decatur; Izzy Curtis and Sadie Cox from Lenox and Ava Whitney from Wayne.

Three Wolverines were named to the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association’s All-District academic team. They were seniors Mylee Comstock and Weston and Eisbach.

Six Wolverines were named to the Pride of Iowa Conference Academic All-Conference team, including Laughery, Comstock, Weston, Eisbach, Stonebraker and Ford.