IOWA CITY

The battle became the paint.

On a night when 2A second-ranked Regina Catholic claimed its fourth straight River Valley South girls basketball title last Friday, there was that war zone in the paint.

Callie Huber and Brylee Gearhart, Mid-Prairie’s senior forwards, both started together for the first time all season. Rebounding muscle. They combined for 32 points and 18 rebounds, creating a power partnership that is likely to be displayed in the start of the Class 3A Region 4 tournament Saturday.

“We did a great job of settling in and being strong and tough with the basketball and finding ways to get it in to Brylee and Callie,” Golden Hawks head coach Danny Hershberger said. “We knew that was where our advantage was. We had to get them the ball. Great job by those two finishing off some baskets for us.”

The problem was, Regina took off to a 14-6 advantage in the first quarter and the Golden Hawks played the rest of the night trying to catch up.

“We haven’t seen that aggressive defense for a little while and it kind of shocked us and shook us a little bit to get used to it,” Hershberger said.

After that, the Golden Hawks played even.

And that sets the stage for Saturday’s home tournament game against Central Lee and a possible second-round matchup next Wednesday against Williamsburg, the third-ranked team in 3A and the top seed in Mid-Prairie’s district. The Golden Hawks lost to them in early January, but few games will be easy with the start of the tournament.

“Anytime at tournament time, it’s going to be a competitive game,” Hershberger said. “First round, second round, third round, whatever. We’re familiar with some other teams in our bracket. That can be a good thing. You kind of know what to expect, but at the same time, they know what you do, too.”

But first, there is Central Lee. The Hawks have lost three of their last four games.

“We have to make sure we take care of Central Lee,” Hershberger said.

Against Regina, Huber moved outside the paint to sink a 3-pointer in the final minute to cut the Regals’ lead to six. But the Golden Hawks were slowed after that.

Mid-Prairie 48,

Tipton 37

Senior forward Brylee Gearhart had a game-high 12 points, a game-high 9 rebounds and a game-high 3 rebounds in a Senior Night victory Feb. 4.

Callie Huber, another senior forward, added 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Golden Hawks in a 48-37 win.

Mid-Prairie rallied from a 3-point halftime deficit and held the Tigers to just 17 points in the second half. The Golden Hawks outrebounded the Tigers 39-24 and held Tipton to 26% shooting.

Freshman guard Jeorgia Evans had a game-high steals.

Ella Hein and Averie Bolger each scored 10 points for Tipton (12-6).

GAME STATS

REGINA CATHOLIC 53, MID-PRAIRIE 45

Mid-Prairie   6   11   13    15  -- 45

Regina         14   14   13    12  -- 53

Mid-Prairie scoring: Brylee Gearhart 18, Callie Huber 14, Jeorgia Evans 6, Olivia Swartzendruber 5, Tessa Bombei 2.

Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Huber 11, Gearhart 7, Evans 6.

MID-PRAIRIE 48, TIPTON 37

Tipton            11    9   10    7  --  37

Mid-Prairie    11   6   16   15  --  48

Tipton scoring: Ella Hein 10, Averie Bolger 10, Jordyn Schmidt 9, Zoe Holstein 5, Paityn Daedlow 3.

Mid-Prairie scoring: Brylee Gearhart 12, Izzy Kite 9, Katelyn Harland 8, Callie Huber 8, Morgyn Bender 5, Jeorgia Evans 4, Tessa Bombei 2.

Tipton leading rebounder: Schmidt 5.

Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Gearhart 9, Huber 8, Bombei 5.