Panther girls open Friday

Despite having only two seniors — after just one senior a year ago — experience is a strength of the Creston girls basketball team this winter.

“We’re still young, but we’re not inexperienced anymore,” said Neubauer, beginning his seventh year as Panther head coach. “We have a lot of kids who have played a lot of Hawkeye Ten basketball.”

The Panthers return everyone but 2024 senior Lydia Goins from last year’s 6-16 team. The lone seniors are guard Ava Adamson from last year’s varsity rotation, and Ady Morrison, who’s slated for more duty this season as a shooting guard.

Several juniors have played varsity for two seasons already. Back as projected starters are point guard Hollynn Rieck and leading scorer Kadley Bailey from the guard court, forward Ella Turner as the 2023-24 leading rebounder, and post player Brynn Tussey, who had a strong second half of last season.

Morrison and 5-9 junior Braylee Pokorny missed much of last season with injuries and their healthy return adds some much-needed depth, Neubauer said.

“We were really thin last year after we lost Ady and Braylee, so that will definitely help us,” Neubauer said.

Since Rieck has been out with an ankle injury suffered on the first day of practice, the Panther coaches have found some pleasant surprises among the players who may play mostly JV this year, but have shown the ability to fit in with the varsity unit.

“We’ll probably rest Hollynn Friday (at Des Moines Hoover) until Monday,” Neubauer said. “With Hollynn hurt, it’s allowed us to look at some other kids. (Freshman) Jensan Tussey has really surprised me. She’s quick on defense and doesn’t make silly mistakes. She plays hard and challenges our older kids. (Sophomore) Kennedy Strider has improved and is working hard. They can help us if needed. And freshman Cora Smith is just so fast, she fits our system.”

Sophomores Reese Strunk and Hope Henderson are also in that JV-varsity mix, the Panther coach said.

With Pokorny the tallest Panther at 5-9, it’s a squad that will rely on its athleticism and balance to compete against many taller squads in the Hawkeye Ten Conference.

When healthy, Rieck leads an effective transition offense often ignited from its defense. Bailey has speed and shooting ability with a team-high 13.2 points per game last year. Turner is an athletic forward and strong rebounder who can start a fast break from her own rebound. Brynn Tussey and Pokorny run the floor better than many post players, and Tussey has proven to be a dependable mid-range shooter. Adamson and Morrison add fast break abilities as extra shooting threats.

The overall team quickness is a strength of its defense, Neubauer said.

“Our goal is to match our game with our strengths,” Neubauer said. “We have to get out and go. If we don’t get out in transition, we’re still moving — we call it perpetual motion — that doesn’t rely on one big scorer. The strength of this group is the whole, not the parts. Kadley can have some big nights, but everybody has to contribute and do their role well.”

New participation rule

There’s been a change in participation limits in Iowa high school basketball that could benefit teams trying to a freshman team or extra JV team. Neubauer said the JV2 unit, often made up of the youngest players on the roster, should have more games than recent years.

“In the past a player could be used in six quarters a night, such as four quarters of varsity and two quarters of JV, or any combination of six,” Neubauer said. “Now, you’re allowed four quarters in each level — varsity, JV, JV2, and it counts as one game each. You’re allowed 21 games per level, so one kid could actually play 63 games a year within the new rule. That takes some pressure off the coaches wondering if they should save some quarters for varsity when a kid is playing in the JV game.”

Neubauer said Creston will compete in Class 4A again this season, but is projected to drop to 3A next year. He welcomes that change.

“I remember Doryn’s (Paup) senior year we took Clarke and Harlan to overtime and they were both regional finalists in 3A,” Neubauer said. “It’s just really hard for us to compete against teams like DC-G and North Scott when they’re twice as big as us with so many athletes.”

Conference outlook

Neubauer considers the Hawkeye Ten “wide open” this year with some key graduation losses from the top teams last season. He expects Shenandoah, Atlantic, Clarinda and St. Albert to be considered the top contenders, with hopes that Creston can move up from last year’s 10th-place finish at 1-9, ahead of only 0-10 Red Oak. Harlan is also coming off a strong 20-4 season including an 8-2 conference mark, led by 5-10 senior returnee Aubrey Schwieso.

“The (Paytn) Harter girl (16 points, 11 rebounds per game) is really tough in the post for Atlantic and they will be decent,” Neubauer said. “Shen should be really good, they have Lynae Green (19 points, 13 rebounds) back. Clarinda is a lot like us, except they have a little more height. We played them close twice last year. St. Albert was in the state semifinals last year. They lost three of their top four scorers, but they are always good. Kuemper and LC have new coaches and I’m not sure, but LC is athletic. We expect to be in some battles and we hope to move up.”

Monday’s scrimmage

The Panthers played one of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Achieve Challenge scrimmages Monday at home against ACGC, coached by former Nodaway Valley player Brad Baudler. Admission was two canned goods to be donated to Creston Food Pantry.

ACGC bolted to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes and outscored the Panthers 13-0 in the fourth quarter in posting a 58-34 win.

Creston rallied to pull within 35-32 with 2:12 left in the third quarter, but only scored two more points during the final 10 minutes.

“I’m not discouraged,” Neubauer said. “We need to slow down a little and move the ball better in the halfcourt, and our wings are getting a little too far extended in our defense and that hurt us in the reversal. That’s correctable. ACGC is a good team and they shot well tonight. They went 16-6 last year and return two of their top three kids.”

Bailey led the Panthers with 18 points Monday. Meranda Gruber scored 17 points for ACGC and Camdyn Richter added 16.

After Friday’s opener at Hoover, Creston hosts West Central Valley Monday and travels to Panorama on Tuesday, with both varsity games at 7:30 p.m.

Roster

(* — letterwinner)

Seniors — Ava Adamson*, Adyson Morrison*.

Juniors — Kadley Bailey*, Hollynn Rieck*, Braylee Pokorny*, Ella Turner*, Brynn Tussey*, Abby Freeman.

Sophomores — Reese Strunk, Hope Henderson, Kennedy Strider, Kinzley Downing, Gretchen Hoepker.

Freshmen — Nova Smith, Heaven Spencer, Jensan Tussey, Cora Smith, Lauren Purdum, Rohwyn Randall, Marlee Stalker.

ACGC 58, Creston 34

Creston — Kadley Bailey 18, Brynn Tussey 5, Ella Turner 5, Ava Adamson 4, Braylee Pokorny 2.

ACGC — Meranda Gruber 17, Camdryn Richter 16, Becca Littler 9, Olivia Mahaffey 5, Nora Langgaard 4, Shay Lemke 3, Stella Largent 2, Karli Kautzky 2.