Grip it and rip it.

Those are the words of Roy McAvoy, a free-spirited golf pro played by Kevin Costner, in the golf movie, “Tin Cup.”

Want to hit a long golf shot?

“Grip it and rip it.”

That’s exactly what Bryce Henry did for Mid-Prairie’s boys basketball team this season.

Henry, a junior guard, hit 84 3-point shots for the Golden Hawks in an 18-win season that fell just two wins short of a state tournament berth. Only one player in all of Class 2A, Carson Hoogeveen of West Lyon, hit more (97).

Henry led the River Valley South Conference in scoring, in 3-pointers made, in 3-pointers attempted, field goals made.

If there’s a shot to be taken, he’ll take it. And make it.

“He’s going to let it rip,” Golden Hawks head coach Daren Lambert said.

Grip it and rip it.

In a late-season win over River Valley South champion Iowa City Regina Catholic, Henry hit three consecutive 3-pointers to seal an upset victory. In the semifinals of the 2A districts, Henry scored 16 points in the second half of a win against Mediapolis after being held scoreless in the first half.

Henry scored 489 points in 23 games, just two points short of the 491 Mid-Prairie alum Carter Harmsen scored in the 24-1 season of 2021-22. But Harmsen played two more games because the Golden Hawks won conference, district and substate titles that year.

Clearly, Henry will lead the Golden Hawks into the 2025-26 season after starting all 23 games this year. He and junior forward Hudson Ehrenfelt will be the only returning starters after the graduation of seniors Brady Weber, Ace Peck and Conner Wiles.

Headed to State

Two Mid-Prairie opponents, Williamsburg and Iowa City Regina Catholic, made it to the Iowa Girls High School Basketball State Tournament.

Williamsburg (23-2) is the number 3 seed in Class 3A and Regina (23-1) is the number 2 seed in 2A. Regina opens play in the tournament Wednesday against seventh-seeded Maquoketa Valley (23-2). The 2A semifinals are Friday, followed by the title game at 4:45 p.m. Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

The Golden Hawks (16-6) played Regina to 10- and 8-point games, and were the only ones to hold Williamsburg to 35 points, which happened in a regional semifinal. The Raiders scored 57 points three nights later in its regional title win over PCM.

Mid-Prairie senior forwards Callie Huber and Brylee Gearhart combined for one of the top rebounding attacks in the River Valley South. Huber had a second-best 197 rebounds and Gearhart, mostly coming off the bench, totaled 139. The only duo with more boards were Durant sisters Allison and Katelynn Toft, who combined for 359. Allison Toft, a sophomore, had 202 rebounds to beat defending conference rebounding champ Huber by 5 rebounds.

Fab Freshmen

The top freshmen rebounders in 1A girls basketball come from opposite ends of Iowa: Highland’s Kamryn Fink and Essex’s Paityn Vanatta.

Fink had 363 rebounds in her first year and 400 points, helping to lead the Huskies to a 17-8 season and an appearance in a regional semifinal.

Vanatta was the top freshman in the state, all classes, with 365 rebounds for Essex, which is located southeast of Omaha, Nebraska, in western Iowa. The Trojans won just four games.

Fink’s high rebound game was 23 against Columbus.

Her 51 3-pointers ranked No. 2 among 1A freshmen and fell just six short of a Highland single-season record.

Golden Hawkeyes

Let’s point our attention to the University of Iowa: Three pairs of Mid-Prairie sister-brother alums have joined together to play in a co-ed intramural basketball league with the prize being the championship game of the league will be played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Golden Hawk siblings on the team: Maddie and Jacob Nonnenmann, Nora and Jack Pennington, and Amara and Justice Jones.

They won their first two games.

Ready to Run

While the state tournaments in basketball are held over the next two weeks in Des Moines, track and field is about to begin its season, as well.

Lone Tree’s girls team will open its season next Tuesday in the A.D. Dickinson Relays at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Three days later, several local teams will compete in the IATC Indoor Championships at Iowa State’s Lied Recreation Athletic Center.

The River Valley Conference Indoor Championships are set for March 25 at Dubuque University.

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul