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DES MOINES, Iowa -- When North Union tips off the Iowa Class 2A girls basketball state tournament on Wednesday, it will be a first in the fifth-year consolidated school district's already rich athletic history.
For Warriors head coach Merle Tigges and assistant coach Joel Klocke, however, it will be their second appearance of drawing up plays along the sideline at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
"Klocke and I had the good fortune of getting to experience the state basketball tournament once before in 2010," said Tigges, whose No. 7-seeded Warriors (21-2) tip off an 11:45 a.m. state quarterfinal against the No. 2-seeded Panorama Panthers (23-1) on Wednesday. "We've got a good balanced lineup, and look forward to our second time of coaching at Wells Fargo Arena."
Mount Ayr edged the North Sentral Kossuth Eagles -- under the tutelage of Tigges, Klocke and Paul Stevens -- in the 2010 Class 1A state quarterfinals, 54-45.
"Looking back, we might have overlooked Mount Ayr a little bit during the last time we qualified for state, but that definitely won't happen this time," said Klocke. "We're getting ready for whatever Panorama will throw at us."
Tigges agreed with Klocke's retrospective insight and positive outlook on Wednesday's upcoming state quarterfinal clash against the Panthers.
"I've watched Panorama on tape and they look like a fundamentally strong and athletic team," said Tigges. "They like to press defensively and push the ball on the offensive end."
The Panthers' 5-foot-5 backcourt tandem of Bailey Beckman and Devyn Kemble pace a balanced scoring attack on the strength of 17.9 and 14.1 points per outing, respectively. The playmaking guard combination has connected for 93 of Panorama's 134 made 3-pointers on the season.
The Panthers have connected on 33.8 percent of their shots from behind the arc to complement sinking 272 of 375 free throws for 72.5 percent. The Warriors have assembled similiar shooting statistics, draining 113 of 307 attempts from 3-point distance for 36.8 percent, in addition to reaching the free throw line a staggering 420 times while hitting 267 charity tosses for 63.6 percent.
Senior guard Samantha Hagedorn has connected on a team-best 42 treys to help pace her No. 2 scoring clip of 14.9 points per game -- behind top point producer Chloe Lofstrom -- for North Union's lethal offensive attack.
Senior point guard Kate Anderson has drained 37 trifectas for the No. 2 spot on the Warriors' long-distance shooting charts to complement 72 assists and a 7.2-point scoring average.
Hagedorn, the Andersons -- Kate and Breanna, and senior power forward Hallie Reese also combine forces in the steals category to fuel the green-and-black's high-pressure defensive effort.
Hagedorn tops the thefts department with 66, with Breanna Anderson (51), Reese (44) and Kate Anderson (32) following closely in that category.
While the Warriors have pocketed 262 steals, Beckman and Kemble have produced 79 and 69 thefts, respectively, to pace the Panthers' pouncing defense that has pocketed 319 steals.
"We'll have to get ready for a run-and-gun, up-tempo, shoot-the-3 type of game," said Tigges. "We'll definitely need to protect the basketball at all times."
The matchup between the two teams' centers also will be critical to which lineup advances to Friday's 11:45 a.m. semifinal and which one exits the single-elimination tournament.
Lofstrom, a 6-0 sophomore post player, tops North Union in both scoring (17.0 points) and rebounding (206), while Panorama relies on 5-10 junior Morgan Johnk for her multi-tasking ways. Johnk leads the Panthers in rebounds (139), blocked shots (43) and assists (60) to complement a 10.5-point scoring clip.
Reese, however, has been the Warriors' catalyst during the Region 1 playoffs, elevating her overall game in gradually elevating her scoring average (14.6 ppg) and rebounds (128) down the stretch, including the off-balanced, last-second game-winning shot to eliminate Western Christian in last Wednesday's state-qualifier, 50-48.
So, which program is considered the favorite to best the eight-team Class 2A state field this week?
"How do you really gauge it?" said Tigges. "Dike-New Hartford knocked No. 1-ranked North Linn out of the regionals, so you know they're a very good team. Treynor only has one loss and might be considered the favorite by some, but we're just focused on Panorama.
"They only have one loss and that was to Springville, who's the No. 1 seed in the Class 1A state tournament, so we'll take it one game at a time."
Treynor (22-1) plays West Sioux (21-3) at 6:45 p.m. tonight, Iowa City Regina (21-4) takes on Grundy Center (22-1) in an 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal tonight, while Cascade (22-3) battles Dike-New Hartford (23-2) at 10 a.m. Wednesday to round out the Class 2A field.
Ironically, North Union -- which is comprised of the former school districts of North Kossuth, Armstrong-Ringsted and Sentral -- technically has produced five other girls basketball state appearances in addition to 2010 and this campaign.
Loren Looft and Stevens engineered Armstrong-Ringsted's state appearance in 1998, while Jolleen Hunecke and current Fairmont head girls basketball coach and then Mustang player Sara (Yager) Junkermeier led the maroon-and-gold to Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines in 1994.
The late Dennis Tassel guided the Sentral Spartans to back-to-back state appearances in 1996 and 1997. Sentral also qualified for the 1960 state event.