Lopreato captains youthful Union squad

It was a balanced year in the Southeast Conference girls basketball, and that allowed players from the Union area's big schools to compete every night of conference play. When it was all said and done, Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant tied for third in the SEC, and Washington took fifth alone. The Trojans made it the furthest in the postseason, getting all the way to the regional finals, and the 2021 All-Union team reflects the Trojans' efforts, as Fairfield had four of the seven names on the list, including their head coach.

With a sophomore as captain and a first-year coach at the helm of the 2021 All-Union girls basketball team for large schools, the future contains promise. The present is teeming with it as well.

Both last year's All-Union team and the All-Golden Triangle News Service team in 2018 were headed by a first-year coach at Fairfield - Jeff Miller in 2020, Brian Witzenburg in 2018 - but it is Pat Pacha this year. Witzenburg repeated as coach in 2019.

Fairfield has filled the last three captain positions as well with Nicole Buch in 2018, then last year and the previous year it was Shaylin Drish. That honor shifts to Mt. Pleasant this season with Andrea Lopreato's dominant play on the hardwood.

The 2021 squad includes just one senior, to go along with three juniors and two sophomores, giving hope that the area's teams will see even more success when the winter sports season rolls back around next year.

Coach

Pat Pacha, Fairfield

Pacha was announced as the Fairfield girls basketball coach shortly before the season began, and he had plenty of early challenges. The Trojans stared later than the other two Union area big schools due to COVID-19 protocols, and he was taking over a team that lost their top two scorers from the previous season.

His Trojans, led by a strong junior core, finished 11-9 overall this season and 6-4 in SEC play. The Trojans struggled down the final stretch of the regular season, going 1-3 in their last four games, but woke up in a big way once regional tournament play began.

Fairfield knocked out two SEC foes in the Class 4A Region 4 tournament. The Trojans took out Burlington 57-38 in the quarterfinals, completing a three-game sweep of the Grayhounds this season. In the semifinals, they beat SEC champion Fort Madison 43-29 on the Bloodhounds' home floor to earn vengeance for a couple of losses earlier this season and get to the regional final.

Fairfield ended its season one game before the state tournament. The Trojans were done in at North Scott, falling 69-41 to become the final SEC team taken out in postseason play.

The Trojan girls worked hard in the classroom as well. Fairfield was recognized by the Iowa Girl High School Athletic Union for having a team grade-point average of 3.69.

Captain

Andrea Lopreato, sophomore, Mt. Pleasant

Lopreato showed signs of being a great player when she was a freshman, but she really burst onto the scene in her sophomore year. The second-year forward dominated in the paint this season, scoring 16.7 points per game, which was ninth-best Class 4A, and pulling down 10.9 rebounds per game, fifth most in the class.

Lopreato was an all-around star in the SEC. She dished out 1.8 assists per game and led the way on defense, with 2.9 steals per game and 1.2 blocks per game.

Lopreato had one of the best games in Mt. Pleasant Community High School history on February 5 at Burlington. She poured in a school record 37 points, going 13-for-19 from the field and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to lead the Panthers to a 62-52 victory.

Lopreato's hard work landed her on the Class 4A third team All-State, quite the honor for the sophomore. With a solid group of teammates around her, Lopreato could reach new heights when her junior year tips off this winter.

Danielle Breen, junior, Fairfield

Danielle Breen was responsible for a lot of the points on the Trojans side of the scoreboard this season either from her shooting or her passing. Breen was third in assists and fifth in scoring in the Southeast Conference, hitting an average of 11.5 points a game. She was fifth in 3-point attempts.

She averaged 1.6 steals a game. Breen was the ninth best on free throws in the SEC with a percent of success at 63.8.

Breen was a pick for the Iowa Basketball Coaches All-Region 4 Team.

Hannah Simpson, junior, Fairfield

Simpson is at heart a softball player but she stepped up to the plate on the court this season. Simpson was a force inside for the Trojans despite being shorter than most post players she went against and only two girls had more total rebounds than her in the Southeast Conference.

Simpson was fourth with 7.4 rebounds a game in the SEC and sixth in scoring at 11.1 points a game.

Simpson hadn't scored in double figures in a varsity game before this season but went for 23 in the fourth game of the year. In the first postseason game, she set her career high at 27.

Only three SEC players attempted more field goals and Simpson was the only player to make more than half of her shots, finishing the year with a field goal percentage at 53.8. Simpson was fourth in the SEC with 5.5 free throw attempts per game.

Simpson averaged 7.4 rebounds per game, which tied for third with Southeast Conference Player of the Year Abby Wolter of Keokuk. She third in the league in defensive rebounds per game with an average of 4.6 and fourth in offensive at 2.8.

Simpson was a pick for the Iowa Basketball Coaches All-Region 4 Team.

Delaney Breen, junior, Fairfield

A tough combination of Trojans with her twin sister, Breen made the fifth highest total of 3-pointers in the league in the SEC and attempted the fourth most lomng balls.

Breen was the seventh best on free throws in the SEC with a percent of success at 65.1.

She averaged 1.6 steals a game. Breen was fourth in the conference in blocks. Breen was a pick for the Iowa Basketball Coaches All-Region 4 Team.

Anna Nacos, senior, Washington

Signed to golf at the University of Northern Iowa, Nacos filled the winter with basketball. In 2020, Nacos finished third in the SEC in scoring, putting up 11.8 points per game. She was the lone Demon with a scoring average in double digits on the season and hit 35 three-pointers, which was fourth in the conference.

This season, Nacos was the lone Demon with substantial varsity experience and a valuable ability to handle the basketball. She had the fifth most field goal attempts in the SEC. She was ninth in steals per game with 2.2. She scored nearly a third of the Demons points on the season 196-of-640.

Last year's stats in field goal percentage (42.2), field goals made and attempted, 3-pointers made and attempted, 3-point percentage (34.7), free throws made and free throw percentage (71.4) and steals all dropped from those marks, but she was second in the SEC this year in free throw percentage at 69.9, 12th in 3-point percentage.

At 5 feet, 6 inches, she was eighth in the SEC in blocks and her 1.5 assists per game was 13th. She was the eighth leading scorer in the conference with an average of 9.3 points a game.

Tristian Shull, sophomore, Mt. Pleasant

The Panthers' second-year pointguard was all over the court in 2020-21. Shull did anything and everything for Mt. Pleasant, taking another big step in her second year on the varsity squad.

Shull scored 9.5 points per game this season, second most on the team. She also dished out an SEC-leading 3.6 assists per game, 15th best among Class 4A players.

Shull was a menace on defense all year long, ending the season with 2.7 steals per game, another stat where she ranked Top-20 in Class 4A. She added 2.1 rebounds per game to her resume, and almost half of those were offensive.

Shull and the rest of Mt. Pleasant's tough group of underclassmen has the Panthers in position to continue to compete toward the top of the SEC for years to come.