Van Buren heads All-Union girls team

Although the name of this team has changed from last year, it has some famaliar names at the top.

Last year, it was the All-Golden Triangle News Service or All-GTNS team. This year, it is the All-Union team.

Last year, the captain of the All-GTNS small school girls basketball was too tough a choice to name one player. Suzanna Yoder of Iowa Mennonite School, which has also undergone a name change to Hillcrest Academy, and Taryn Scheuermann of Van Buren, which is now known as Van Buren County, shared the captainacy.

This year, the debate was between Scheuermann and her own teammate, Isabel Manning. Manning was named the Southeast Iowa Cuper Conference South Division Player of the Year. Scheuermann's stats gave her the nod for sole capataincy this year.

Scheuermann's coach, Matt Zietler, was named coach of the All-Union team last year and this year.

Coach

Matt Zeitler, Van Buren County

Van Buren County was the best small school in Southeast Iowa in 2020, and they proved it on the court as Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division champions.

Led by Coach Zeitler, the Warriors went 21-4 overall this year and 15-1 in conference play. The Warriors earned a share of the South Division crown with a dominant 53-25 at Notre Dame, and earned the division title outright when Notre Dame lost again at the end of the season.

Van Buren knocked two SEISC North Division teams out of the regional tournament, bouncing Louisa-Muscatine 65-30 in the quarterfinals, and dropping North Division champion Mediapolis 43-23 in the semifinals, before falling to West Branch 58-38 in the regional finals.

The Warrior skipper has spent 10 years at Van Buren. Coach Z and his current group of seniors are 75-17 over the last four seasons after going 15-31 the previous two.

Captain

Taryn Scheuermann, senior, Van Buren County

There was nobody more dominant in the Union coverage area than Scheuermann, who made her presence known on both sides of the ball this season.

Scheuermann led the Warriors with 20 points per game, 202 rebounds (8.1 per game) and 143 blocks (5.72 a game). Her blocked shot total was far and away the best mark in the state of Iowa, and she reached a career milestone by breaking the career blocked shot record to secure her place in Iowa basketball history.

The 6-foot-3 post has the state record for blocks in a single game when she swatted away 21. The Northern-Iowa commit is a four-time selection and third as captain. She shot 56.3 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line.

Isabel Manning, junior, Van Buren County

On a Van Buren County team that was highlighted by a talented senior class, the one junior in the rotation may have been the most dynamic guard in Southeast Iowa. She and point guard Madison Bartholomew brought a whole lot of lightning to a team that already had thunder down low.

Manning scored 16.9 points per game and hit 50 3-pointers on the year. She hit almost half the shots she took, shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from down town. She also racked up 185 rebounds, 79 assists and 58 steals.

She was the SEISC South Division Player of the Year in a vote by coaches.

Layney Loyd, senior, New London

While Layney Loyd will always be known for her prowess on the softball field, she has been the anchor of New London's basketball team for the past two years. Loyd was almost always on the court for the undermanned Tigers, and put up great numbers in her senior season.

Loyd led the team with 13.6 points per game, shooting 50.2 percent from the field. She also led a stacked field of rebounders in the SEISC South Division on the boards, finishing with a league-high 262 rebounds. her scoring average was sixth in the South.

Alyssa Brase, senior, Highland

The 5-foot-8 leader of the Huskies could play in the post or bring the ball up court. Despite suffering a concussion early in the season, Brase averaged right at 13 points a game. She was the Highland leader in free throws made and attempted, offensive, defensive and total rebounds, field goals made and attempted.

Brase's average rebounds per game of 9.2 was first in the North Division. Her scoring average was sixth in the North.

Myah Lugar, junior, Mid-Prairie

The 5-foot-8 shooting guard for the Golden Hawks was a specialist from beyond the 3-point arc, sinking 44 treys on the season. She averaged 9.5 points a game and led Mid-Prairie in rebounds with 101, an average of 4.6 a game.

Lugar and teammates, including sophomore Maddie Nonnenmann, who averaged 11.6 points a game, competed in one of the toughest conferences in the state, the River Valley. Nonnenmann suffered an injury and missed a number of games. Nonnenmann was selected to the RVC All-South Division team.

Morgan Graber, junior, WACO

The 5-foot-10 Warrior led the team with a scoring average of 10.1 points per game. She was successful on 47.5 percent of her field goal attempts. She was a 68 percent shooter on her free throws, which also led the Warriors. Her 58 blocks was second in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division.

She was the WACO leader in blocks, field goals made (75), field goal percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, and had the lowest amount of turnovers among starters. She was second on the team in steals.

The 2019-20 All-Union small school girls basketball team was selected by sports editors Andy Krutsinger and Doug Brenneman.