Drake coach Darian DeVries says the Bulldogs need to go out and earn an NCAA spot as the regular season enters its final week. The Bulldogs are considered a bubble team for an at-large bid as they take a share of the Missouri Valley lead and a 23-5 overall record to Cedar Falls to play UNI on Saturday.

DeVries believes there is a path to an at-large bid if it is needed but the margin is slim.

The Bulldogs have put themselves in contention by winning seven of their last eight games after Wednesday night’s 84-69 win over Belmont.

Drake earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament in 2021.

The fourth ranked Iowa Hawkeye wrestling team closes out the regular season on Sunday with a dual at second ranked Oklahoma State. The two programs have combined to win 58 NCAA team titles.

That’s Iowa coach Tom Brands who says the winner will get momentum heading into the postseason.

FIRST TEAM 

NAME SCHOOL GRADE 

*Nolan Grebin Stanton (12)

Jackson Embree East Mills (11)

Tony Racine Essex (12)

Layne Mastin East Mills (12)

Bode Wyman Griswold (11)

Michael Hensley Sidney (11)

Evan Gettler Stanton (10)

*Unanimous Selections

SECOND TEAM 

NAME SCHOOL GRADE

Kyler Williams East Mills (12)

Sawyer Forney Fremont Mills (10)

Logan French Stanton (12)

Peyton Cook Griswold (11)

Zach Thornburg East Mills (12)

Logan Jahke Fremont Mills (12)

Keith Thompson Hamburg (10)

HONORABLE MENTION 

NAME SCHOOL GRADE 

Gavin Ford Stanton (11)

Lincoln Palmer East Mills (12)

Hogan Hook Griswold (11)

Isaiah Sholes Essex (10)

Kaden Peeler Essex (12)

Braedon Godfread Sidney (11)

Kolt Payne Sidney (11)

FIRST TEAM 

NAME SCHOOL GRADE 

Izzy Weldon Fremont Mills (12)

Lilly Peters Sidney (12)

Leah Sandin Stanton (12)

Hannah Olson Stanton (11)

Ella Thornton Fremont Mills (10)

Brooke Burns Essex (12)

SECOND TEAM 

NAME SCHOOL GRADE 

Lauren Johnson Stanton (11)

Ryleigh Ewalt Fremont Mills (10)

Mia Goodman East Mills (12)

Jenna Thornburg East Mills (12)

Karly Millikan Griswold (12)

Emma Barrett Hamburg (12)

Bella Gute Fremont Mills (11)

HONORABLE MENTION 

NAME SCHOOL GRADE 

Brooke Burns Essex (12)

Loycee Palmer East Mills (10)

Addison Adams Griswold (11)

Kyla Hart Stanton (11)

Cindy Swain Essex (12)

Addyson Foster Sidney (9)

Ellie Switzer Fremont Mills (12)

The CAM Cougars girls basketball team came up short against the Montezema Bravettes with a 60-47 loss in the regional final. This will mean that the Cougars will miss out on a trip to state after cold shooting late in the second half on Wednesday night to the Bravettes.

The Cougars got their offense going right away with senior Meridith Rich scoring nine of her first 14 points in the first quarter alone as the Cougars led 19-9 after the first quarter.

The Bravettes got their offense going in the second quarter and they were on a mission as the hot hand of senior Jadyn Sharer knocked down two big three pointers down stretch as the Cougars lead evaporated and the game was tied at 28 at half. Cougars top scorer on the season senior Eva Steffensen was held to two points in the 1st half.

The Bravettes came out in the second half and continued their hot shooting in the third quarter with four three pointers from the hot hand of Jadyn Sharer as she scored 12 of 14 points scored in the 3rd quarter for the Bravettes. The Bravettes didn’t have their first lead of the game until in the third quarter of the game.

The fourth quarter found the Cougars desperately trying to get as many buckets as they could but they couldn’t get any three point shots to fall late in the game when they needed them. Bravette junior Ellen Cook also made eight key free throws down the stretch to help secure the win for the Bravettes.

The Cougars were led in scoring by senior Meridith Rich with 17 points on the night. Cougars head coach Joe Wollum was really pleased how his team played for the first quarter and a half.

Wollum said he wanted his Cougars team to get their inside game going coming out of the locker room.

Wollum says he is really going to miss this year’s seniors after their season ended Wednesday night.

The Cougars finished the season with a 21-3 overall record.

Drake’s home court winning streak is now 20 games. The Bulldogs raced out to a 10 point halftime lead and cruised to an 84-69 win over Belmont to maintain a share of the Missouri Valley Conference lead.

That’s Drake coach Darian DeVries. The Bulldogs shot 52 percent for the game, including 10 of 21 from three point range, to move to 14-3 in the Valley. The Bulldogs also avenged a 22-point loss in the first game against the Bruins.

Tucker DeVries led four Bulldogs in double figures with 21 points.

The Iowa State women outscored Houston 26-6 in the second quarter and the Cyclones rolled to a 76-64 victory in the Big 12.

That’s Cyclone coach Bill Fennelly. It snapped ISU’s five game road losing streak. Freshman center Audi Crooks had 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Iowa State is 9-6 in the Big 12 and 15-10 overall

The Northern Iowa women take a share of fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference race into Thursday night’s home game against Southern Illinois. The Panthers are 9-5 in the Valley while the Salukis are 3-11.

That’s UNI coach Tanya Warren. Despite a rash of injuries this season the Panthers still have shot for a top four finish in the Valley regular season race.

The win at Murray State was the 202nd for Warren in the Missouri Valley making her the all-time leader in conference victories.

Class 1A

Region 1 – North Linn 66, Edgewood-Colesburg 34
Region 2 – Newell Fonda 80, Coon Rapids-Bayard 33
Region 3 – Martensdale-St Marys 42, Fremont-Mills 34
Region 4 – Remsen St. Mary’s 52, George-Little Rock 38
Region 5 – St. Albert 61, Woodbine 23
Region 6 – Bishop Garrigan 57, Riceville 41
Region 7 – Calamus-Wheatland 56, Danville 51
Region 8 – Montezuma 60, CAM 47

Class 2A

Region 1 – Dike-New Hartford 63, Aplington-Parkersburg 35
Region 2 – Panorama 59, Denver 55
Region 3 – Westwood 55, Exira-EHK 35
Region 4 – Cascade 50, Regina Catholic 47
Region 5 – Sioux Central 51, Pocahontas Area 32
Region 6 – Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 61, North Mahaska 41
Region 7 – Central Lyon 51, Hilton 43
Region 8 – Grundy Center 55, Nodaway Valley 48

The Exira-EHK Spartans girls basketball team will miss out on a trip to state after a cold night of shooting resulted in a 55-35 loss Wednesday night to the Westwood Rebels.

The Spartans realized quickly that they had their work cut out for them with the size of Westwood’s three forwards all being six feet or over. The Rebels came out of the gate scoring first with a jump shot in the low post. The Spartans responded with a Jaelynn Petersen lay up, but then watched Westwood go on multiple runs in the first to go up 15-7 at the end of the quarter. Then in the second quarter the shooting slowed down for Taryn Petersen as she was limited to six points in the first half, having difficulty scoring around the basket. The Rebels continued to utilize their size and continued to focus on feeding the ball inside and Exira-EHK seemed to have no response as Westwood went into halftime with a 25-14 lead.

At the start of the second half Coach Petersen had the Spartans come out in a new defensive look focusing on a full court press and traps. The new defensive strategy worked forcing turnover after turnover, but on the offensive end of the floor Exira-EHK still couldn’t connect their shots.  So, with a plethora of turnovers and a few made threes, Westwood firmly held on to their lead at the end of the third being up 35-22.

The fourth quarter saw little change for style of play for both teams as the Rebels looked to Addy Johnson and Ashlyn Davis for points inside the paint. Without a player to match up in size and the normally deadly accuracy from Taryn Petersen, Exira-EHK had to watch the clock wind down with Westwood celebrating a 55-35 victory.

When reflecting on the outcome of the game, Spartans Head Coach Tom Petersen was impressed by the defensive grit his team showed in the second half.

Exira-EHK was led the loss by 21 points from Jaelynn Petersen, 13 from Taryn Petersen, and Hannah Nelson chipped in one. This year’s group put in a lot of great effort, but Hannah Nelson is one senior that Coach Petersen looks back on proudly.

Westwood’s leading scorer was Addy Johnson with 19 and second was Ashlyn Davis scoring 15. With the victory, the Rebels improve to 21-0 and will start State Tournament play on Wednesday. When asked about the future, Coach Petersen is optimistic about next year’s team.

The Spartans now finish with a  16-7 record on the season.