Closing the gap

Strides were made this season, and now the stage is set for another step up next winter as Creston girls basketball moves from Class 4A to Class 3A for the first time in six years.

Thanking seniors Ava Adamson and Ady Morrison for four years of service, and a look ahead to lofty goals in 2025-26 were the main points of the team’s awards banquet held Monday night at Creston High School.

The Panthers finished 7-15 overall and tied for sixth in the Hawkeye Ten Conference at 4-6. With a younger team one year ago, Creston ended up 10th in the league at 1-9 and 6-16 overall.

“We closed the gap against the top teams this year,” seventh-year coach Tony Neubauer said. “Team that beat us by 30 last year beat us by 10 or 12, and we had some nice wins. We just had a problem putting the ball in the basket consistently. We didn’t shoot over 50 percent in one game this year, but we were in every game except a couple. St. Albert was one, but they just won a state championship.”

Neubauer noted that some of the highlights were winning at Glenwood for the first time in eight years, and picking up a road win at Clarinda, dropping the Cardinals into a sixth-place tie with Creston at 4-6.

With the entire roster but the two seniors returning next season, Creston should be as experienced as any team in the conference just as the program falls from 4A to 3A for postseason competition.

“We’re 3A next year for girls basketball, which is a difference in how you get to a regional final and the state tournament,” the Panther coach said. “My thoughts on our goals that we’ve talked about for next year are, how bad do you want to chase that down? We have potential. What are you going to do with that potential? It’s shooting on your own, being in the weight room, just putting the time in. Just get consistent with your shot and find that shot, and shoot it in the game. We’re excited to chase those goals next season.”

Shooting from the field was the downfall of this year’s team, ending at 34.1% overall and 25.1% from 3-point range. The team free throw percentage was 56.4%. Creston played a strong regional game at Winterset, but suffered from 22% shooting in a 52-39 loss.

“Every winning team in Creston girls (five-player) history has shot 40 percent or higher,” he said. “We showed improvement this year, but we’re not there yet.”

Academic prowess

In recognizing the seniors, Neubauer noted that both Adamson and Morrison received Academic All-State honors with 4.0 grade point averages. Adamson had the highest ACT score (28) in his time at Creston, and the third-highest on his year’s Academic All-State team. She was a four-year letterwinner and a strong defensive player and passer before missing the last third of the season with a leg injury.

Morrison helped fill the gap by earning some starts, or as a key 3-point shooting threat off the bench, Neubauer said. He said she was a good leader by example and received the Panther Pride Award, honoring a team member who exemplifies the standards of the program and is a great teammate.

Records set

All of the players who set team records or approached them this season are juniors, with another year to add to their production.

Junior Kadley Bailey became Creston’s new career steals leader in five-player girls basketball, setting a new single-season record of 101 steals in moving her career total to 186. Brielle Baker, currently the seventh grade coach in the program, held the previous record of 184 steals.

Bailey is the back-to-back team MVP, averaging 18.1 points this year and leading the team in 3-pointers made (30-78 for 38.5%). She ranks ninth in career scoring with 749 points and could approach the 1,000-points mark next season after scoring 398 this season. She was the Hawkeye Ten leader in steals and ranked third in Class 4A.

Point guard Hollynn Rieck tied the school single-game record of 15 assists, and ranks second with 245 career assists. She’s seventh with 129 career steals. Rieck ranked first in the conference in assists per game and second in Class 4A behind North Polk’s Abby Tuttle. Neubauer said one of her improvement areas was finishing with a 2:1 assists to turnovers ratio.

Forward Ella Turner tied the school record of 10 steals in a game and her 60 steals is ninth-highest in a season for Creston. She’s tied for eighth in career steals with 132, and 10th in career rebounds (417) after a team-high 143 this season. She also led the team at the free throw line, shooting 71%, and was second in scoring at 7.3 points per game.

Brynn Tussey contributed 5.5 rebounds and 6.7 points a game. She showed versatility with 29 steals while ranking second on the team in made 3-pointers.

JV 1 and JV 2 (including freshmen) coaches Bryant McCabe and Scott Wagner also summarized their seasons, noting growth made by the younger players gaining experience. Several also helped on the varsity. Combined, the two JV squads were 19-7 for the season, which McCabe noted was a big turnaround from the previous season.

Team captains for 2025-26 will be the team’s seniors — Hollynn Rieck, Brynn Tussey, Ella Turner, Kadley Bailey and Braylee Pokorny.

2024-2025 Awards

Letterwinners (letters won) — Seniors: Ava Adamson (4), Ady Morrison (3). Juniors: Hollynn Rieck (2), Brynn Tussey (3), Ella Turner (3), Kadley Bailey (3), Braylee Pokorny (3). Sophomores: Reese Strunk (1), Kennedy Strider (1), Hope Henderson (1). Freshmen: Cora Smith (1), Jensan Tussey (1). Participation awards: Kinzley Downing, Gretchen Hoepker, NoraLeah Smith, Marlee Stalker, Rohwyn Randall.

Team MVP — Kadley Bailey.

Offensive MVP — Kadley Bailey, Hollynn Rieck.

Defensive MVP — Kadley Bailey, Ella Turner.

Most Improved — Hollynn Rieck, Braylee Pokorny.

Panther Pride Award — Adyson Morrison.

Team Captain Award — Brynn Tussey, Adyson Morrison, Kadley Bailey, Ella Turner.

2025-2026 Captains — Ella Turner, Brynn Tussey, Braylee Pokorny, Kadley Bailey , Hollynn Rieck.

IGCA Academic All-State — Adyson Morrison, Ava Adamson.

IBCA Academic All-District — Adyson Morrison, Ava Adamson.

Hawkeye 10 Academic All-Conference — Adyson Morrison, Ava Adamson.

Second Team All-Conference — Kadley Bailey.

IBCA All Region Team — Kadley Bailey.

KMA All Junior Team Hawkeye 10 — Kadley Bailey.

KMA All Freshman Team Hawkeye 10 — Jensan Tussey.

Team GPA — 3.82.