DES MOINES -- A late-night ride home awaited the Xavier Saints.It was bound to be a happy one."It's going to be stupid," senior guard Sarah Dickes said.That's a good thing.Kayla Armstrong played the game of her life Thursday night, posting 22 points, seven assists and ...

Thursday's games at the girls state basketball tournament:CLASS 2A SEMIFINALNo. 14 Maquoketa Valley (20-5) vs. No. 2 Lawton-Bronson (25-1)Time: 1:30 p.m.Coaches: Scot Moenck is 162-69 in 10 years, including 123-41 in seven years at Maquoketa Valley. Trish Martin is 43-7 in two seasons at Lawton-Bronson.Key players: ...

DES MOINES -- Sarah Dickes wasn't being pushy. She was being a leader.A winner.So she called for the ball."I'm confident in my free throw shooting," Dickes said. "So in the huddle, we knew they were going to foul. I told them I wanted the ball."Dickes ...

Wednesday's games at the girls state basketball tournament:CLASS 4A QUARTERFINALNo. 5 Cedar Rapids Xavier (14-9) vs. No. 7 Lewis Central (20-3)Time: 10 a.m.Tournament history: Xavier is a qualifier for the 10th time and won championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Lewis Central is making its ...

 Capsules on area teams that have qualified for the girls state basketball tournament:BENTON COMMUNITY (Class 4A)Coach -- Laurie Donald (9th year, 160-54)Top players -- UNI signee Madison Weekly (5-7, sr.) leads the Bobcats in scoring (18.8 points per game), assists (3.3) and steals (4.6). She ...

Well, hello there, stranger.Despite their close proximity -- just 4 miles separate the schools -- it has been five years since Iowa City High and Iowa City West were placed in the same girls' basketball regional.The last time the Little Hawks and the Women of Troy ...

For high school bowlers across the state, it's the time of year where the rubber meets the road. Or, in this case, when the bowling ball meets the pins.Regional tournaments for girls and districts for boys are Thursday. The winner at each location, along with ...

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Reggie Schulte, the 2012 Gazette/KCRG 'Offensive Player of the Year,' will attend the University of Northern Iowa and join the football team as a preferred walk-on.Schulte set 18 school passing records this fall as Cedar Rapids Xavier went 13-1 and advanced to ...

TROY MILLS -- Small-school athletics are generally a cycle of waxing and waning, ebbs and flows, high tides and low tides.When Brian Wheatley took the girls' basketball job at North Linn nearly nine years ago, the program was at rock bottom. The Lynx had endured ...

CEDAR RAPIDS - Matt Nelson showed last night exactly why he holds several Division I college offers in basketball. But it sounds more and more like it'll be college football that he'll wind up playing."You only get a certain amount of time to play football ...