Some of it was adrenalin. A lot of it was preparation.Brian Wheatley spent late Friday night (and early Saturday morning) in college-student mode, cramming for an exam.A regional-final exam."I was up until 2 in the morning," said Wheatley, girls' basketball coach at North Linn High School. "We're playing another ...

(View Friday's 1A & 2A regional semifinal scores ... HERE)DELHI -- When the security blanket came back, so did Monticello's mojo.Brooke Stahlberg spearheaded a second-half push, and the Panthers downed ninth-ranked Maquoketa Valley, 59-51, in a Class 2A girls' basketball regional semifinal before a packed ...

An early illness put the Belle Plaine girls' basketball team in an early hole.Now, the Plainsmen are more than playing catch-up. They're two games from Never Never Land.Belle Plaine continues its postseason journey Friday at Huxley, when it faces Woodward-Granger in a Class 1A girls' ...

Game, set, rubber match.Iowa City Regina and Mid-Prairie were unable to determine girls' basketball superiority in the regular season, splitting their two games and sharing the Cedar Valley Conference championship.As far as tie-breakers go, Tuesday's Class 2A regional quarterfinal certainly will suffice."Every game is important, ...

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Good bye, "downer."Hello, spoiler.Monticello erased an 11-point third-quarter deficit and edged Class 2A 15th-ranked North Linn, 45-42, in a Tri-Rivers Conference girls' basketball game at Rivalry Saturday at Washington High School."The last two games had been a real downer for us," said Jordan ...

MONTICELLO - This is Tim Lambert's 13th year at Monticello. His team's next win will be its 13th."Don't jinx us," Lambert said, probably only half kidding.You can't blame the coach for not wanting anything to screw up what has been a special season for his team. ...

 Admit it, you expected Mount Vernon to plummet in girls' basketball this season, didn't you?All that height from two straight state finalists: Gone. More than three-fourths of their scoring: Vanished.But as we head down the stretch of the regular season, the first area team to ...

TROY MILLS -- The North Linn Lynx have some sharp-looking warmup tops waiting for them in a box.And for now, that's where they'll stay."Coach (Brian Wheatley) is a pretty superstitous guy," said senior Amanda Aberle.The Lynx played from ahead all game and overcame 26 turnovers ...

TROY MILLS -- T.J. Rieniets scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as Monticello pulled away to defeat Class 1A 10th-ranked North Linn, 46-33, in a Tri-Rivers Conference boys' basketball game Tuesday night at North Linn High School.Rieniets scored Monticello's first ...

A broken wrist hasn't broken the spirit of the Monticello Panthers.Class 2A sixth-ranked Monticello is without Brooke Stahlberg until late January, but the Panthers have persevered."It hasn't slowed us down," said Monticello Coach Donnie Kremer. "We've had some other girls step up. The team, as ...