Collins-Maxwell is 22-1. Montezuma is 21-1.
With records like that, it’s clear they’re both good girls basketball teams.
They collide on Wednesday evening, Feb. 24, in Pleasantville for the Class 1A regional championship and a berth in the state tournament in Des Moines.
In games like this, execution and details usually make the difference.
There was one common opponent: 15-8 Belle Plaine. The Spartans beat the Plainsmen 73-27. The Bravettes won 80-30. So, we can’t draw a whole lot from those results.
But, these two did play each other – in last year’s regional semifinals.
Montezuma won, 68-49. The Bravettes got out to a small early lead, and kept adding on.
In that game, Collins-Maxwell post player Reagan Franzen scored 24 points on 11-for-11 shooting. But the rest of her teammates were a combined 7-for-22 – meaning the Spartans were able to cast just 33 shot attempts – 16 fewer than the Bravettes.
Montezuma’s swarming defense had something to do with that. The Spartans had 21 turnovers, to eight by the Bravettes. So, there’s one detail.
On the other end, Bravettes all-stater Shateah Wetering scored 19 points, just a couple below her average.
But Montezuma guard Elise Boulton threw down 33, including nine three-point baskets. There’s another detail.
Montezuma was 13-for-38 on threes. Collins-Maxwell was 2-for-6.
Collins-Maxwell had nine more rebounds, but it didn’t seem to hurt the Bravettes. The Spartans ran down some of the 25 three-point shots Montezuma missed.
Franzen and Elise Boulton are key figures for their teams again this season. But roles have changed – and expanded – for their teammates.
Franzen, 5-11, is averaging 19.2 points per game. She’s a .528 shooter from the field, and an .851 shooter from the free throw line. She also averages 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Most of the other regulars for the Spartans are either 5-6 or 5-7 in height.
Freshman Erica Houge, 5-7, scores 12.6 points and shoots .476. She is getting 4.9 rebounds per game.
Junior Alexis Houge, 5-7, averages 11.0 points and shoots .466.
Brooke Christie, a 5-7 senior, scores 7 points a contest.
The Collins-Maxwell loss was to neighboring Baxter, which finished at 20-3. But the Spartans put two of the three losses on the Bolts during the season.
This season, Elise Boulton, now a 5-5 senior, is scoring 16.9 points per game for the Bravettes and dishing 5.9 assists. She shoots .433 from the field, including .424 from the behind the three-point line.
Shanae Wetering, a 5-11 junior , scores 12 per game and shoots .545.
Mia Boulton, a 5-3 sophomore, scores 11.4 per game and her .397 accuracy from three-point range is part of her .430 shooting average.
Dylan Holland, a 5-10 post, scores 10.7 per game and grabs 9.5 rebounds. She is a .610 shooter from the floor.
The Bravettes were number six in the Feb. 11poll issued by the girls union, to 12th for Collins-Maxwell.
Collins-Maxwell scores 60 points a game and gives up 28. That’s a 32-point spread, and the Spartans’ defense is number two in Class 1A, while the offense is number 9.
For Montezuma, the numbers are 66 points a game on offense and 30 per night on defense. Those rank fifth and third, respectively.
BCMoore Rankings puts the Bravettes at sixth and Collins-Maxwell at number 15. The ranking service thinks more of Montezuma’s strength of schedule. BCMoore says the Bravettes rank 76th out of 117 Class 1A teams for schedule difficulty, to 99th for Collins-Maxwell.
If the numbers are correct, this will be a close game.
But it’s humans who play the games, who have to make decisions, execute and do the detailing.
The human element is why they play the games.
Stay tuned for details . . .
