DES MOINES — Despite a valiant effort, Iowa City Regina had its state title dream crushed by Rock Valley in the Class 2A Iowa high school state basketball quarterfinals.
The No. 7 Regals suffered a 43-31 loss to the No. 2 Rockets on Wednesday, March 4, at the Casey’s Center.
“We just knew we had to come out aggressive, and we knew defense was going to win us this game, obviously it didn’t happen for us this morning,” said Regina sophomore Addie McLaughlin. “But I think we just battled throughout the game and then shots just weren’t falling later in the game, so I’m just grateful for our team and proud of everyone.”
Down 8-2 early in the first quarter, the Regals rattled off eight straight points. Nora Wade converted a layup with contact and earned a trip to the charity stripe. After she came up empty, Jada Wiltz came down with an offensive rebound that turned into a 3-pointer by McLaughlin. Down by one, McLaughlin converted a three-point play on a fastbreak. The Rockets tied the game at 10 after they countered with a transition bucket as time expired in the frame.
The Regals were down as many as nine in the second quarter. They were limited to two field goals for the bulk of the frame before they converted back-to-back buckets in the final minute to stay within reach. Facing a 23-14 deficit, Wiltz found Adalee Klein down low before the freshman secured a steal on the ensuing possession. That turned into transition points by Keegan Kleppe.
Regina was down 23-18 at halftime.
“We wanted it a lot for our seniors and just the rest of the team, so we knew we weren’t going to go out not battling and we just played as hard as we could the whole game,” McLaughlin said.
On Regina’s first possession of the second half, Ella Keune splashed a deep shot as the shot clock ran out to cut Regina’s deficit to two points.
The Rockets countered with two free throws before Maggie Sueppel matched that with her own makes at the charity stripe. McLaughlin tied the game at 25 with a jump shot. Rock Valley got back in front with a free throw and 3-pointer before Sueppel closed out the quarter with a jump shot.
Regina held a 29-27 deficit entering the fourth quarter — a disadvantage that couldn’t be overcome. The Regals’ deficit ballooned to double digits due to poor shooting. They went 2-for-11 in the final eight minutes, which proved costly.
In total, they were limited to 13-for-52 shooting in the game.
Regina finished its season with a 19-6 overall record. McLaughlin scored 16 points with six rebounds. Sueppel controlled the boards with nine rebounds while Wiltz came down with eight boards.
“A lot of people didn’t believe in us, but we got back here at state,” McLaughlin said. “I’m just grateful for this team, but next year, we’re all looking forward to it and the coaches said we got a lot to look forward to. We got a lot of people coming back and a lot of people coming in.”
The Regals will graduate four seniors, including two from the starting lineup. The good news is that they will return McLaughlin, Klein and Wiltz — three of their more productive players.
Regina made its fourth state tournament appearance in the last five seasons, three games away from closing its 2025-26 campaign with a state title. The Wednesday morning defeat will only fuel this talented Regina hoops team.
“We have some shoes to fill,” said Regina coach Mary Rogers. “We have some people who can step up and put in some work in the offseason. I think what’s nice is we’ve been here, we get our feet wet, and the goals are the same going into next year.
“But let this one sink in and figure out what we can do better as far as our offensive production and what we return. It’s going to be fun to see what we can do again.”
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City Regina girls basketball falls to Rock Valley in IGHSAU quarterfinals
Reporting by Marc Ray, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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