THE PERFECT SEASON

COACH PJ SWEENEY CELEBRATE WITH HIS TEAM AFTER WINNING THE STATE TOURNAMENT; PHOT PROVIDED BY TEAM

Our CCA Girls' Basketball team just capped off a perfect season. They ended the season with a 26-0 record, even beating the eventual 3A state champion, Solon, handing them one of their only three losses in the 23-24 season. They also took down the eventual 1A state champion, North Linn, giving them their only loss during the season. 

They started their historic season by defeating North Linn(1A Champion) on Rivalry Saturday at Kirkwood. They then went on to beat both West and Liberty High School. The team ended the WaMaC conference play with a 15-0 record. During their game against Solon, they held them to under 10 points in each quarter except the 2nd. The girls then went on to beat both Oskaloosa and Keokuk during regionals by 30+ points. 

The team started the state tournament by playing the Gilbert Tigers in the quarterfinals. They beat them by 38 points(68-30). Averie Lower was the leading scorer in this game with 17 points. Ava Locklear had the most rebounds with 17. In the semi-finals, they played the North Polk Comets. They beat them by 2 points(50-48) in a very exciting game. In the finals, the girls played Waverly-Shell Rock. They beat them by 18 points to secure the state title. They held W-SR to less than 10 points in each quarter of the game. Ava Locklear had 19 rebounds in the state title game. (Interview with Kennedy) 

There were a lot of awards, recognition, and broken records for this team. There were 3 players on 1st-team all-conference: Averie Lower(who also received Player of the Year), Ava Locklear, and Bliss Beck. Lower and Locklear were both unanimous decisions. There were 2 players on 2nd-team all-conference: Kaylee Stratton and Sam Schrage. 2 players received the recognition award: Kennedy Stratton and Lena Evans. Ava Locklear broke the tournament rebound record, with 43 rebounds, the single-game rebound record, with 19 rebounds against WSR, and the single-game assist record, with 9 assists against Gilbert. Averie Lower set the tournament record for 3-point field goals made in the tournament, with 12. 

There were 3 players named to the All-Tournament Team, including Ava Locklear(Team Captain), Bliss Beck, and Averie Lower. Ava Locklear, Averie Lower, and Bliss Beck were all named to the IGCA SE District all-district team. Coach PJ Sweeney also was named Coach of the Year in the IGCA SE District. 

Overall this team had a very successful season with many, many victories. The 23/24 CCA Girls basketball team is a very special team that has made history at CCA.