Four area girls make All-State basketball teams
DES MOINES (March 9) -- Led by first-teamer Macy Emgarten of Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton, four area student-athletes were recognized this week on the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association’s 2021 Girls Basketball All-State teams.
Emgarten, a 5-foot-11 junior, was named to the Class 1A First Team while teammate Quinn Grubbs, a 5’5” sophomore, was named to the Class 1A Second Team. Emgarten and Grubbs led the fourth-rated Spartans to a 24-1 record, a Rolling Valley Conference title and a trip to the 1A state tournament semifinals, where they were defeated for the first time by top-ranked Algona Bishop Garrigan last Friday.
Emgarten was a third-team all-state selection last year as a sophomore.
AHSTW’s Kailey Jones and Harlan Community’s Claire Schmitz were also named IPSWA all-staters as third-team selections in Class 2A and 4A, respectively.
Jones, a 5’11” senior, helped the Lady Vikes to a 17-7 overall record and a second consecutive appearance in the Class 2A regional finals. She was a second-team all-stater last season.
Schmitz, a 5’10” junior, helped the Cyclones finish 17-6 overall and make their first trip to the state tournament since 2016. HCHS lost in the first round, 38-27, to eventual champion Ballard.
The IPSWA all-state teams were selected by a group of sports writers during their meeting on Sunday, March 7. In addition to choosing three teams per class, the group also named Waukee senior Katie Dinnebier as the 2021 Miss Iowa Basketball.
Macy Emgarten:
Emgarten surpassed 1,000 career points during the Spartans’ regional semifinal win over Stanton and led the team with 17.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game on the year, along with 14 blocks. She was also the team leader with 153 made field goals, 59 made three-pointers (in 165 attempts) and a 78.0 free throw percentage (64-of-82).
A dual-threat scorer from the inside and outside, Emgarten added 49 assists and 45 steals on the season.
Quinn Grubbs:
Only a sophomore, Grubbs has developed into a true triple-threat scorer for the Spartan girls, showing the ability to score layups off the dribble, knock down threes (34-of-89) and consistently hit mid-range jumpers as well. She tallied 25 points in the team’s state quarterfinal win over MMCRU last week.
Grubbs averaged 16.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the season, adding a team-high 85 steals and 82 assists. She was the team’s late-game finisher at the foul line, knocking down 110-of-168 total free throws.
Kailey Jones:
Jones may have dropped one spot on the all-state teams this year but her numbers continued to climb as a senior. In just three years as a Lady Vike, she broke the school record for career rebounds (785) and surpassed 1,000 career points (1,008).
Jones led 2A in rebounds for the second straight year this winter with 309 total boards (12.9 per game), including 119 on the offensive glass. She also led AHSTW with 18.3 points per game, 38 blocked shots, 161 made field goals at 50.6 percent, 32.4 percent three-point accuracy (12-of-37) and 105 made free throws at an impressive 84.0 percent (2nd in 2A). She added 50 steals and 21 assists.
Claire Schmitz:
Schmitz paced a balanced Cyclone attack with 11.0 points and 8.4 rebound per game, pulling down 84 offensive boards, tying for the team lead with 37 steals and also leading the way in field goals (97-of-225) and free throws (55-of-89). She added 24 blocked shots, 29 assists and made 3-of-16 treys.
Schmitz, who has totaled 473 points and 356 rebounds in the last two years alone, posted a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) in the Cyclones’ state tourney loss to Ballard and came up big with 24 points and 10 boards in a regional semifinal win over Spencer.