NV girls pile up postseason awards after another 20-win season

Three Nodaway Valley Wolverines made all-conference in girls basketball at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, however several players have received honors in various ways. It puts a fitting bow on another 20-win season for the program.

On all-conference are first-teamers Lindsey Davis and Izzy Eisbach, as well as honorable mention Annika Nelson. Davis was a unanimous first team selection.

This senior class finishes 82-14 for their career, making them the winningest class of girls basketball players in school history. Snapped this year was a 46-game home win streak. They finished 50-2 in conference games and 9-4 in the postseason. They won two Pride of Iowa Conference championships, in addition to the regional final runs, they’ve won 20 games in three of the last four years, with the team winning that many games in four of the last five years.

These seniors saw time on the court when the Wolverines were state semifinalists their freshman season.

Individually, Jorja Holliday and Nelson reached 500 career rebounds this season and 100 career blocks. Davis became the all-time scoring leader for the program this season.

After the regional final game, head coach Brian Eisbach called the senior group of six “good stewards of the program,” among many other good things.

Nodaway Valley was not fully healthy in a regional final at Ballard against Grundy Center but Eisbach feels good about the season as a whole.

“You get to a regional final and just hope that you’re healthy, and we weren’t. All that said, we ran into a good team that made free throws down the stretch, and that’s ultimately what got us,” he said. “You start with what the seniors accomplished and that’s pretty darn impressive. We had plenty returning and have plenty to choose from in terms of who is going to go in what slots for playing time and positions. There’s a lot to appreciate and celebrate.”

In addition to becoming the all-time scoring leader, Davis also became Nodaway Valley’s career scoring leader for girls or boys at 1,908. She set a single game scoring record with 44 on senior night and also has records with 231 made shots, 113 steals, 423 career steals, 311 assists and 72.8% free throw percentage. She tied career records with Maddax DeVault for 484 shot attempts, 197 made 3-pointers and 17 made field goals in a game.

Davis was not only unanimous first team all-conference, she was academic all-state from the Iowa Girls Coaches Association (IGCA), she was all-district, IGCA all-state first team, Iowa Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) all-state, IBCA all-region and Iowa Print Sports Writers Association (IPSWA) All-State First Team. Davis made the IGCA’s 2A Senior Select Larry Niemeyer All-Star Game, the IBCA Pizza Ranch Senior All-Star Game and the KMA Radio All-Star Game.

“Lindsey’s a really good player and has worked really hard. We’re really looking forward to seeing her playing at the next level. It’s a neat opportunity for her. Lindsey has a lot more basketball to play, but she’ll definitely be missed, and not just for the scoring,” Eisbach said. “If you want to summarize what Lindsey has meant to our program, look at senior night [when she broke those two records]. It couldn’t have been more special.”

Izzy Eisbach was the team’s second leading scorer during her sophomore season. She was first in assists on the team and broke the single season record (101) that she set last year. She also had a single game assists record with 11, was third in defensive rebounds and second in steals. Eisbach is eighth all-time in scoring, seventh in steals, third in assists and 10th in blocks.

Eisbach has not only been named first team all-conference, she made IGCA all-district, IBCA all-region and IPSWA second team all-state.

“Izzy really upped her scoring this year, but also her assists. She’s playing for All Iowa Attack this summer, so she’s going to get to practice against some really good kids,” coach Eisbach said. “I look for Izzy to continue to grow emotionally, physically, and she’ll tell you that she needs to do a better job of taking more efficient shots from a percentage standpoint. As a sophomore, to lead our team the last two years in assists, we as a team set a record this year in assists and she had over 35% of that. Going forward, she’s going to have to grow into being more of a leader for the team.”

Nelson was second for the Wolverines in rebounding with 117 on the season. Her 68 offensive boards led the program this year. She also had a team-high 59 blocked shots.

In addition to all-conference honorable mention, Nelson was nominated for and received the E. Wayne Cooley “You Can” Award for the heart she played with throughout the season, demonstrating character and leadership within the sport of basketball.

“It doesn’t matter how she’s feeling, who we’re playing or how the game’s going, Annika’s going to play with her heart on her sleeve. I’ve always compared her to Lexi [Shike] because she’s that kind of a player, or a glue kid,” Eisbach said. “She and Jorja are two of four in program history to have reached 500 career rebounds and 100 career blocks. She finishes fifth in rebounds and second in blocks. She’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached, often out-sized by the kids she’s guarding. Nobody gives up on their team, but you always knew Annika was going to leave it all out there.”

Nodaway Valley’s team grade point average this season was 3.72. Each of the players on the varsity and junior varsity teams had GPAs over a 3.0. Nine varsity players made academic all-conference.

“They’re student-athletes first. It’s really cool that over the course of my career we haven’t had to police grades because the girls do it themselves,” Eisbach said. “They take care of business in the classroom.”

Four seniors and a junior could be on next year’s team, and Eisbach is excited to see how these players continue maturing as players and leaders on and off the court.

“We need them to keep growing up, be all in and I think good things will happen,” Eisbach said. “We scored a program-high 67 points this season, but when you really look at the teams that make it to the state tournament, it’s the teams like Grundy Center who just grind it out and run clock.