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A historic senior class for Creston girls basketball officially closed the book on their season Monday night at their end of the season banquet.
The Panthers opened the banquet with remarks about the freshman and junior varsity teams before diving into how the season nearly didn’t turn out to be as successful as it was.
The junior varsity team that acted as the main depth for the Panthers fell victim to the COVID-19 bug, particularly early in the season. However, the team persevered and worked with the situation at hand to stay the course as a state-ranked team in Class 4A, eventually closing the season as a Regional final team for the second straight year.
“There was a lot of stuff going on. JV got hit pretty hard (with COVID) and there were times we had 10 kids dressed for varsity. It was always a revolving door,” said Creston girls basketball head coach Tony Neubauer. “A couple of kids found out they were staring the day of. We just had to roll with the punches.”
Neubauer thanked administrative staff along with his family and his players’ family for both tolerating and following protocols to make the 14-7 (7-3 in Hawkeye 10) season possible.
This season, despite not escaping the COVID bug entirely, was also plagued with the injury bug as both regular starters and role players missed time throughout the season.
“It was one of those things where injuries hurt a little bit and it is what it is. Through everything, we got back and had a chance to play for the state tournament. That’s a test of our kids who played hard and never gave up,” said Neubauer. “The first game we hit with a quarantine right away and we almost beat Des Moines Christian. Then came out and destroyed Winterset.”
Neubauer pointed out players who came in and filled in for players who had injuries, which included a combination of Doryn Paup, Morgan Driskell, Gracie Hagle, Jacy Kralik and Keely Coen, a mixture of which came off JV to fill in at times. Notables who were victim to injury were starting point guard Braelyn Baker and Bri Fields, both of whom suffered meniscus injuries. Rylie Driskell also had ankle issues at times.
The injury to Baker in particular, who ended up sitting the latter portion of the season, stung the Panthers at times. Baker finished her career ninth all-time in steals (125) and third all-time in assists with 196, two shy of tying her sister Brielle.
“In the first games healthy, she was leading Class 4A in steals, was third in assists and was playing really well, but life sucks sometimes. ... She came back and really battled and really gave us everything she had,” said Neubauer. “... She handled things a lot better than some would have this year. It made a big difference in moving forward.”
Bri decided to play through the knee injury, and provided a valuable edge off the bench.
“Bri, tough is the first word that comes to mind. She didn’t like to say she was hurt,” said Neubauer. “... Completely, always played hard. She kind of switched roles on us this year, was kind of a wing more than a post. Did a really good job with that and always played hard. Excited to have her next year with two healthy legs.”
The level of play, character and leadership Baker and Bri Fields brought to the program this season earned them the Panther Pride Award.
Bri’s sister, Kelsey, cleaned up in postseason honors. An all-state selection by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association (first-team), Iowa Print Sports Writer’s Association (third-team) and the Des Moines Register, Kelsey Fields etched her name into the Creston girls basketball (5-on-5) record books with authority. She was also a first-team unanimous selection by the Hawkeye 10.
She departs the program the all-time leader in rebounds (1,019), scoring (1,394), single-season leader in rebounds (304 in 2019-20), single-game rebounding (24 in 2018-19), all-time leader in blocks (125) and single-season leader in blocks (50 in 2018-19). This year she finished with 394 points, 28 blocks, 246 rebounds and 62 assists.
Her prowess on the court earned her a scholarship offer to play basketball at Northwest Missouri State and the team’s Defensive MVP award.
“Its just been so fun to watch Kelsey grow. Each year, getting better, playing a lot of basketball and spending a lot of time in the weight room. Really consistent with stuff and it’s special. Not a lot of kids score 1,000 points and even fewer get 1,000 rebounds. I think she’s 24th all-time in career rebounds in the state of Iowa for 5-on-5 history. ... Constantly got better, ... she’s earned everything she’s got and was a good team leader.”
Alongside Kelsey under the basket for the last four years was Sam Dunphy, who also put together a memorable career with the Panthers.
A second-team selection by the H-10 and a third-team selection by the IGCA, Dunphy ended her career fifth in program history with 492 rebounds. She also was efficient in scoring, finishing fourth all-time in scoring with 903 points as a four-year letterwinner. She scored 317 points this year on 52% shooting.
Her efforts earned her both the Most Improved Award and the Offensive MVP Award.
“Sam had a sensational senior year and was one of those kids that consistently got better,” said Neubauer. “... She just worked hard every single time. ... Always worked hard and was a really solid player. ... Just unselfish, and a really good team player and was fun to watch her grow as a person. ... She was a big reason why we had so much success winning basketball games.”
Rylie Driskell was selected out of the four to choose from for the Outstanding Senior Award.
Driskell, a recent signee to play golf at University of Northern Iowa, was thrust into a point guard position she did not anticipate due to Baker’s injury. But, with her taking over, the Panthers didn’t miss a beat and continued to play at a high level.
“Rylie, we always talked last year, she’s the emergency point guard. Well that emergency happened,” said Neubauer. “She did a sensational job. Playing point guard at the Class 4A level when you really haven’t played it, she never missed a beat. She did a really good a good job of running the offense. ... She did a good job of doing what was needed to be successful. ... ”
In parting words with his team for the offseason, Neubauer said the time goes fast with a special group, and wished them good luck for their next endeavors.
“Time goes way too fast,” said Neubauer. These seniors, I remember meeting them in sophomore year. They’re just a special group of kids. Thank you for helping us get our basketball program rolling. That goes top to bottom and everything was earned. .... We’re thankful they’ve been a part of our program.”
Postseason awards
Letterwinners – Seniors: Braelyn Baker (3), Rylie Driskell (3), Sam Dunphy (4), Kelsey Fields (4), Payton Luther (Manager 2); Junior: Gracie Hagle (2), Anna Mikkelsen (2), Halle Evans (2), Morgan Driskell (3) and Brianna Fields (3); Sophomores: Doryn Paup (2), Keely Coen (1), Neveah Randall (1), Jacy Kralik (1) and Aleah Calvin (1).
Captains – Rylie Driskell, Sam Dunphy, Braelyn Baker, Kelsey Fields.
Team MVPs – Rylie Driskell, Sam Dunphy, Braelyn Baker, Kelsey Fields.
Outstanding Senior – Rylie Driskell.
Most Improved – Sam Dunphy.
Offensive MVP – Sam Dunphy.
Defensive MVP – Kelsey Fields.
Panther Pride Award – Brianna Fields and Braelyn Baker.
Hawkeye 10 all-Conference – Kelsey Fields (unanimous first-team), Sam Dunphy (second-team), Rylie Driskell (honorable mention).
Hawkeye 10 all-Conference academic and IGCA academic all-state – Rylie Driskell, Sam Dunphy, Braelyn Baker, Kelsey Fields.
ABCA all-region – Sam Dunphy and Kelsey Fields.
IGCA all-state – Kelsey Fields (first-team) and Sam Dunphy (third-team).
IPSWA all-state – Kelsey Fields (third-team).
Des Moines Register all-state – Kelsey Fields.
IBCA all-star game selection – Kelsey Fields.