Trojan, Panther girls draw familiar foes

They say revenge tastes sweet, so the Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant girls basketball teams might be licking their lips at the site of the Class 4A regional brackets, which were released on Wednesday.

Both the Trojans and Panthers drew familiar foes in their first round matchups, and both teams will be playing squads that handed them losses during the regular season. Fairfield will be at Oskaloosa, and Mt. Pleasant will head to Fort Madison.

The Trojans were placed in Region 5, a bracket that is headed by fourth-ranked Indianola. To get to the top-seeded Indians, the Trojans will have to sneak past Presley Blommers and Oskaloosa in a true road game.

The two squads met up in the first game of the year. Blommers, the Indians’ junior star, hit five 3-pointers and scored 20 points to lead Oskaloosa to a 59-55 win at Fairfield High School on Nov. 30. She currently scores 13.2 points per game.

Fairfield’s Delaney and Danielle Breen combined for 35 points the first time they played Oskaloosa. Delaney poured in 20 points, and Danielle added 15.

The Breens lead the Trojans in scoring as the team nears the end of the regular season. Danielle scores 15.2 points per game, and Delaney sits at 14.3.

If Fairfield could get past Oskaloosa and Indianola, the Trojans would play either No. 13 Bondurant-Farrar, Norwalk or Newton.

Mt. Pleasant will play at Fort Madison in the Class 4A Region 2 bracket. The Panthers have had their troubles with the Bloodhounds this season, falling 55-44 in their first showdown of the year before dropping a road game 64-53 in January.

Fort Madison’s Malrie Ross (23.8 PPG) has put on a show against the Panthers. She went off for an incredible 37 points in the first matchup and scored 23 in the second.

Kenna Lamm (12.1 PPG) led the Panthers in their first game against the Bloodhounds, scoring 20 points. Andrea Lopreato (21.4 PPG) put in 27 the second time around.

If the Panthers win that first game, they will travel to No. 11 Keokuk for the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, No. 5 Cedar Rapids Xavier will play either Marion or Mason City.

All Class 4A opening round games will take place on Feb. 16. The second round will be played on Feb. 19, and the regional final is on Feb. 22.