SEC girls basketball teams run it back

Last season’s Southeast Conference basketball leagues saw some of the most parity the league has seen this millennium. Every team on both the boys’ side and the girls’ side took an SEC loss, and all but one of the 12 teams total had a conference win.

The girls’ race wasn’t quite as hypercompetitive as it was on the boys’ side, but the league still saw its share of nail-biters, and with the vast majority of top talent returning to the league, this year should be just as intense.

The 2020-21 season ended with Fort Madison on top of the heap, a break from the recent Fairfield-Keokuk dominance. The Bloodhounds were 9-1 in conference play.

Keokuk slid into second in last year’s SEC standings, going 7-3 in league play. Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant were right behind the Chiefs at 6-4. Washington went 2-8 and Burlington was shut out of the win column.

Though the Bloodhounds had upper hand in the regular season, a couple area schools got their licks in to the league champions. Mt. Pleasant handed the Hounds their only loss in league play, a 62-61 overtime road win for the Panthers. Fairfield had the last laugh in the postseason, knocking the Bloodhounds out 43-29 in Fort Madison.

The Union area’s top teams, Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant, split their annual home-and-home. Fairfield pulled away 52-32 on its home court, and Mt. Pleasant held on 49-42 at Mt. Pleasant Community High School.

Washington’s two SEC wins came in thrilling fashion. The Demons beat Burlington 53-52 on the road, and followed that up with another one-point victory, 36-35, when the two teams met at Washington High School.

That tight-game experience helped Washington in the regional tournament. The Demons scored a 38-37 road win over Oskaloosa to advance to the semifinals.

Each of the area’s three teams were knocked out at a different stage of the postseason. Fairfield went to the regional final, Washington to the semis, and Mt. Pleasant was bounced in the first round.

It should be the usual suspects in the SEC this season. If all eligible players return, the league will see its Top-7 scorers, an unusual event in high school hoops.

Two Mt. Pleasant and two Fairfield players are in those Top-7 names.

Junior Andrea Lopreato scored 16.7 points per game to finish third in SEC scoring, and also led the league with 10.9 rebounds per game. She is joined by fellow junior Tristian Shull, who scored 9.5 points per game, seventh best in the league.

Fairfield senior Danielle Breen led the Trojans with 11.5 points per game, fifth best in the SEC. Senior teammate Hannah Simpson was right behind her on the scoring charts, with 7.4 points per game.

The top senior scorer last year in the SEC was Washington’s Anna Nacos, who graduated after scoring 9.3 points per game last season. The Demons lost two of their Top-3 scorers to graduation, returning just junior Alex Murphy (5 PPG) from that group.