The first half of Little Hawkeye Conference play is complete, minus one game delayed due to the weather Friday evening, and has led to a virtual three-way tie atop the girls standings between three top-six teams in class 4A, #5 Indianola, #6 Grinnell, and #4 Dallas Center-Grimes. The three teams each have one loss and beaten each other with Indianola taking down Grinnell and falling to DCG, while the Tigers defeated the Mustangs. Two other teams are currently ranked in the LHC standings, including #13 Pella and #15 Norwalk. Dallas Center-Grimes is currently a half-game back in the standings, as their game against 1-5 Newton was delayed until Tuesday, which will fully complete the first round of conference play.

Indianola head coach Jeff Janssen tells KNIA Sports the bar has been set as far as what the Indians will need to play like going forward, and they will be tested each night with how many talented teams still remain on the schedule.

Norwalk is 3-4 going into the second half of conference play, having dropped to each of the four ranked teams in front of them despite competing with all four teams well into the second half of each contest.
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Standout Stats:
Indianola’s Lauren Blake is currently 5th in class 4A and number one in LHC play in scoring at 21 points per game, as well as the leading rebounder at 7.9 per contest

Indianola’s Emily Naughton is second in the conference with 3.9 assists per game, while Norwalk’s Anna Larson is fifth with 3.1

Norwalk features three players averaging double-figures scoring on the season, led by Ava Johnson, Jocelyn Bice, and Bailey Birmingham

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Games to watch coming up:
#5 Indianola vs #1 Glenwood – Tuesday, January 18th
The Indianola girls squad will have a test against class 4A’s best this Tuesday in a non-conference bout. Glenwood has just one loss on the season to class 5A #1 Johnston, while Indianola will play their fourth top-six matchup of the season having already faced DCG and Grinnell in conference play, and defeated #3 North Polk to start the season.

#15 Norwalk at #13 Pella – January 25th
Pella got the better of the Warriors in their first matchup in a game that went down to the wire as the Dutch pulled away with a 50-46 win, and the win will go a long way towards a potential home game in regional play for either team and the fourth spot in the Little Hawkeye Conference standings.

#5 Indianola vs #4 Dallas Center-Grimes – January 28th
Indianola shot under 23% from the field as the Mustangs got the better of the Indians at DCG High School in December 48-31, and the winner of this contest will have the inside track on a Little Hawkeye Conference championship. Indianola has not scored less than 52 points in a contest since that game.