It was supposed to be a rebuilding season for North Polk girls basketball.
The Comets finished as runners-up in last season’s Class 4A field and, in the months since, graduated four seniors and underwent a coaching change. There are no seniors in this year’s starting lineup, just a couple juniors, a couple sophomores and a freshman.
For most teams, that combination of factors would mean missing out on a trip to the state tournament. But the winning ways continued, and North Polk put together a 20-win season en route to the 2026 Iowa high school girls state basketball tournament.
That journey ended on Tuesday, March 3, though, with an 81-56 loss to undefeated, top-seeded Bishop Heelan in the state quarterfinals.
“I have 14 years of coaching experience – my first year here at North Polk – but I think one thing that I learned right away was (that) losing really isn’t an option with this program,” said coach Eric Zoske. “The girls have had a no-lose mentality all year, so I’m not surprised that we’re here.
“Wish this game would have gone a bit differently, but man, they played a heck of a game.”
North Polk hung tight with Bishop Heelan in the first quarter, trailing by just three points after the opening eight minutes of the game. The Crusaders started to pull away in the second, and Bishop Heelan held onto a comfortable 10-point lead (36-26) at the end of the first half.
The Crusaders showed no signs of slowing down after the halftime break, outscoring North Polk, 29-14, to take a 25-point lead heading into the final frame. And really, the difference maker in this matchup was Melina Snoozy, who scored 39 points for Bishop Heelan.
Snoozy’s point total broke the Class 4A state tournament single-game record, set last year by Xavier’s Libby Fandel, who scored 37 points. Ella Otten contributed 17 points, and Trishelle Miller added 15 points to go along with 13 assists, which broke another tournament single-game Class 4A record, which was previously 9, set by Clear Creek-Amana’s Ava Locklear in 2024.
“We knew they had three good players,” Zoske said. “Whenever you play a team that has three good players, it’s always difficult to stop all three. But Snoozy…she had some catches in transition – like over the shoulder, one-handed, it’s like an NFL receiver out there.”
It’s tough to compete with any team that has a single player score nearly 40 points, and the Comets put together a scoring performance that, against most other teams, could’ve resulted in a win.
Campbell Schulz scored a team-high 25 points for North Polk in the loss, and she added five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Fayth Sullivan contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals and Sophia Bouchard scored 10 points.
The Comets end their season with a 20-4 overall record and their fourth-straight appearance in the state tournament.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Record-breaking performances push Bishop Heelan girls basketball past North Polk
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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