SEC girls race up in the air

After one month of play, the Southeast Conference girls basketball race is far from being settled. The conference, which hasn't been balanced in recent years, looks to be as competitive as it has been in a long time.

The last five seasons of SEC basketball have been dominated by Fairfield and Keokuk. The Trojans and Chiefs seem to rise to the top of the league every year, and it is often a runaway at the top, but early games in Southeast Iowa point to a much tougher route to conference gold in 2020-21.

There hasn't been a two-loss SEC girls basketball champion in seven years. The last was Keokuk, who went 6-2 in conference play to squeak out a one-game victory over Washington and Mt. Pleasant for the conference title. Since then, every SEC champion has been 7-1 or better, with Fairfield taking three of those six titles outright, and splitting one with Keokuk. The Chiefs have also won two of those six championships, including last season, when they went 10-0 in conference play.

There have been seven SEC girls basketball games played in the 2020-21 season, and no team is 2-0 or better in league play. Fairfield currently sits atop the conference at 1-0, with every other SEC team taking one loss.

Defending champion Keokuk, which was tabbed as early SEC favorites after returning defending SEC Player of the Year Abby Wolter, is 1-3 overall heading into the break, and 1-1 in conference play. Their lone win was a 38-37 thriller at Mt. Pleasant, and they were defeated on their own home court by Fort Madison, losing 53-43. That was the first time the Bloodhounds had beaten the Chiefs in girls basketball in over 30 years.

The defending champs currently sit behind three teams in the SEC standings. Fairfield sits at 1-0, Mt. Pleasant is 3-1, and Fort Madison is 2-1.

Fairfield represents the biggest question mark in the SEC. The Trojans had to start the season late due to Fairfield High School being online-only at the beginning of December, so the Trojans have only played two games this season; a 42-38 nonconference win over Pekin, and a dominant 53-22 victory against Washington.

The Trojans are the only team that hasn't faced off against Mt. Pleasant, which has been able to get in the most games of any SEC school. The Panthers are 3-1 in conference play with a 62-61 overtime win at Fort Madison, a 71-52 win at Washington and a 55-15 victory over Burlington.

Along with their 10-point win at Keokuk, Fort Madison also holds a 55-41 home victory over Washington. The Bloodhounds have the best overall record of any SEC team, sitting at 6-1 at the end of January.

According to bcmoorerankings.com, a computer matrix that measures the strength of every team, the SEC is set to be one of the most competitive races in all of Iowa. Fairfield's strength is a 76.54. Fort Madison is at 73.51. Mt. Pleasant sits at 70.28, and Keokuk's score is 69.72.

That means less than seven points separate the SEC's top team from fourth place. By comparison, Keokuk was seven points better than second-place Fairfield in last year's computer rankings, and just under 20 ahead of fourth-place Mt. Pleasant at the end of the year.

Individually, Fort Madison junior Malarie Ross leads the SEC with 21.8 points per game. Mt. Pleasant sophomore Andrea Lopreato is second in the conference, with 16.4 points per game, and is also leading the league with 10.9 rebounds per game and one block per game.

Defending Player of the Year Abby Wolter scores 15.7 points per game, third best in the conference. Fairfield's Danielle Breen has scored 12.5 points per game. Mt. Pleasant's Tristian Shull rounds out the Top-5 at 9.6 points per game, and also leads the conference in helpers, with 4.6 assists per game.

Team wise, Fort Madison is the conference's highest scoring team, at 51.9 points per game, which is just over four better than second-place Fairfield. The Trojans boast the best defense, giving up 30 points per game, over 12 points better than second place.

The SEC girls race will heat back up on January 8, when league play begins again. On that night, Washington is set to host Fairfield, Mt. Pleasant will host Fort Madison, and Keokuk will host Burlington.

SEC GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Team Conference Overall

1. Fairfield 1-0 2-0

2. Mt. Pleasant 3-1 4-4

3. Fort Madison 2-1 6-1

4. Keokuk 1-1 1-3

5. Burlington 0-1 0-1

6. Washington 0-3 0-8