Lady Royals Defeat #11 Team in 2A; Now 19-2

If you haven’t noticed yet, the Colo-Nesco girls’ basketball team is having a magnificent season. The Royals defeated Pella Christian, the #11 team in Class 2A, on Saturday afternoon in front of a large crowd in Colo to move its record to 19-2 on the season. The Royals have now defeated four teams ranked in the top 15 this year, two of which are in class 1A (Clarksville and Janesville) and two that are in 2A (West Marshall and Pella Christian).

Colo-Nesco used a barrage of three-pointers from Haley Stoeffler, Madison Eley, and Shelby Anthony, along with a solid inside game from Caitlyn Riese, and terrific defense from Madison Farren and Shayla Dean to secure the win over Pella Christian (14-4).

This is shaping up to be the finest season for a Colo-Nesco girls team since the 2001-2002 season in which the Royals made the state championship game, finishing as Runner-Up. That team was 26-2 and was anchored by a backcourt of Morgan Nelson and Dana Johnson who were named to the All-Tournament Team. Johnson is now the Assistant Coach for Wayne Cafferty. The Runner-Up team won 20 straight games and was ranked as high as #3 in Class 2A.

The Royals are defeating teams by an average of 27.4 points per game (third best in 1A). They are second in Class 1A in steals behind Burlington Notre Dame, sixth in Class 1A in assists, and eighth in Class 1A in points per game. They are also #5 in the state in 1A in three-point baskets made. Individually, Madison Eley leads the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg. She also ranks in the top 20 in Class 1A in three-pointers made. Shayla Dean ranks in the top ten in Class 1A in assists and is #1 in the state (all classes) in steals with 134. Dean, barely five feet tall, is the spark-plug behind a full-court, trapping defense that really gets after it and is really fun to watch.

The Royals will have a chance for their 20th win of the season on Tuesday evening with a road contest at #8 Meskwaki. Game time is 6:30 and this is a huge game. I highly recommend a road-trip to Tama to watch this contest if you can. Colo-Nesco has won thirteen straight games, with their last loss coming on December 11th against Meskwaki. The conference title is on the line and there’s a possibility that these two teams could meet again with a birth in the Girls State Tournament at stake in a couple of weeks. Let the madness begin!