CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (The Des Moines Register) — Fans are calling foul against Northern Iowa and its business sponsor after a student was denied a $10,000 prize in a halftime basketball shooting promotion. The flap began Wednesday night, when Northern Iowa student Dalton Hinsch got the chance at the prize if he made a layup, a free throw, a three-pointer and a half-court shot within what he and the crowd thought was a 30-second time frame.

Hinsch made all four shots within 27 seconds, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Officials then declared Hinsch hadn’t got the last shot off in time.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kaila Charles scored 21 points, and No. 10 Maryland turned a showdown for first place in the Big Ten into a full-fledged blowout by taking charge early against 17th-ranked Iowa and coasting to 93-59 victory Thursday night.

Seeking revenge for a loss at Iowa last month, the Terrapins never trailed in extending their winning streak to 10 games. Maryland led by 11 after the first quarter, expanded the margin to 25 at halftime and took a staggering 74-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

Iowa had won 11 of 12, including a 66-61 win over the Terps on Jan. 6.

The playoffs get started for Class 1A girls basketball tonight with first round regional games. Here is a look at the schedule for area regions. All games are set for 7:00 p.m. tip-offs.

Region 7

Exira-EHK has first round bye
Fremont-Mills @ Sidney
Diagonal @ Stanton
Orient-Macksburg @ Audubon
Mormon Trail @ Central Decatur
Bedford @ Lenox
Essex @ St. Albert
Southwest Valley @ East Mills

Region 8

Newell-Fonda has first round bye
West Harrison @ Westwood
Coon Rapids-Bayard @ Paton-Churdan
Ar-We-Va @ Glidden-Ralston
Whiting @ Woodbury Central
Woodbine @ Boyer Valley
Griswold @ CAM
Riverside @ Heartland Christian (Played at Iowa School for the Deaf)

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the Regional pairings for Class 4A and 5A basketball on Wednesday.  First round games will be played on February 19th, the Semifinals on February 22nd, and Regional Finals on February 25th. Here is a look at the area match-ups.

Class 4A

Region 1

First Round
Denison-Schleswig @ Harlan
LeMars @ Sergeant Bluff-Luton

Semifinals
Glenwood vs. Denison/Harlan winner
Carroll vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton/LeMars winner

Region 8

First Round
Norwalk @ Carlisle
Winterset @ Dallas Center-Grimes

Semifinals
Lewis Central vs. Carlisle/Norwalk winner
ADM vs. Winterset/DC-G winner

Class 4A Pairings

Class 5A

Region 2

First Round
CB Thomas Jefferson @ Des Moines Roosevelt

Semifinals
Des Moines Lincoln @ Dowling Catholic
Sioux City East vs. DM Roosevelt/CB TJ winner

Region 3

First Round
Des Moines North @ Ankeny

Semifinals
Marshalltown @ Johnston
CB Abraham Lincoln vs. Ankeny/DM North winner

Class 5A Pairings

2020 11th Iowa Girls High School Basketball Rankings
Compiled by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union
February 12, 2020
FINAL RANKINGS FOR CLASS 1A-2A-3A

Class 1A
School Record LW
1 Newell-Fonda 21-0 1
2 Marquette Catholic 20-1 2
3 North Mahaska 18-2 3
4 Algona Bishop Garrigan 20-1 4
5 Montezuma 20-1 5
6 MMCRU 20-0 6
7 Saint Ansgar 18-2 7
8 Exira-EHK 19-1 8
9 Kingsley-Pierson 17-4 9
10 Springville 17-4 10
11 Burlington Notre Dame 17-4 11
12 Central Decatur 17-3 14
13 Central Elkader 18-3 15
14 AGWSR 16-5 NR
15 Clarksville 18-3 NR
Dropped Out: Woodbury Central (12), Colo-Nesco (13)

Class 2A
School Record LW
1 Cascade 21-0 1
2 West Hancock 21-1 2
3 North Linn 19-1 3
4 MFL-MarMac 18-2 4
5 Osage 19-2 5
6 West Branch 18-3 6
7 Mediapolis 20-1 7
8 Western Christian 14-7 8
9 Van Buren 19-3 10
10 Maquoketa Valley 17-4 10
11 Nodaway Valley 19-2 15
12 Logan-Magnolia 18-3 11
13 AHSTW 18-3 12
14 Emmetsburg 15-5 14
15 Panorama 18-3 13
Dropped Out: None

Class 3A
School Record LW
1 Dike-New Hartford 19-1 1
2 Clear Lake 19-2 4
3 Bishop Heelan 16-4 2
4 Red Oak 18-3 7
5 North Polk 16-5 8
6 Roland-Story 17-3 3
7 Okoboji 20-1 9
8 Crestwood 17-4 5
9 Des Moines Christian 19-2 6
10 Davenport Assumption 12-7 10
11 Cherokee 15-5 13
12 Monticello 16-5 12
13 West Marshall 17-2 14
14 West Liberty 17-4 11
15 Unity Christian 15-6 NR
Dropped Out: Hampton-Dumont-CAL (15)

Class 4A
School Record LW
1 North Scott 19-0 1
2 Marion 19-0 2
3 Glenwood 21-0 3
4 Center Point-Urbana 19-1 4
5 Ballard 18-1 5
6 Waverly-Shell Rock 17-2 6
7 Lewis Central 15-5 7
8 Gilbert 17-3 8
9 Cedar Rapids Xavier 14-6 9
10 Central DeWitt 17-2 10
11 Keokuk 16-3 14
12 Grinnell 14-5 11
13 Mason City 10-10 13
14 ADM 14-5 NR
15 Maquoketa 16-5 NR
Dropped Out: Clear Creek-Amana (12), Knoxville (15)

Class 5A
School Record LW
1 Iowa City High 19-0 1
2 Dowling Catholic 17-3 2
3 Johnston 18-2 3
4 Waukee 17-2 4
5 Cedar Falls 16-4 7
6 Southeast Polk 17-3 5
7 Waterloo West 16-4 8
8 Davenport North 16-2 10
9 Cedar Rapids Prairie 17-3 6
10 Urbandale 14-6 9
11 West Des Moines Valley 13-7 11
12 Ankeny Centennial 11-9 12
13 Ames 10-10 13
14 Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 15-5 14
15 Sioux City East 14-6 15
Dropped Out: None

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa D-N-R reports a drop in the number of deer taken by hunters this year. D-N-R Wildlife Biologist, Tyler Harms, says the drop coincides with a drop in the number of hunters. “We saw about a three percent drop in license sales and about a 14 percent drop in the deer harvest statewide this year,” Harms says. The deer taken dropped to 94-thousand — compared to nearly 108-thousand the year before. Harms says an outbreak of disease is likely behind the drop in license sales. “We had a significant outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease across the state. And that could’ve resulted in lower numbers of deer out on the landscape — and ultimately resulting in lower harvest,” Harms says. “We do know after an outbreak that we had in 2012 and 2013 we had similar trends in terms of license sales and harvest. So in other words — when we see these big E-H-D outbreaks statewide — we would expect to see a slight drop in both license sales and harvest.”

Harms says some hunters want to help the deer recover from such outbreaks. “Our hunters are conservationists, and so when they perceive that there’s a threat to the deer population, if they are seeing fewer deer, they are going to make decisions to not harvest deer. To not put additional pressure on the deer population,” Harms says. He expects future deer season will return to harvests of 100-thousand or more. Harms says the disease outbreaks cause some concern, but they monitor the deer population closely. “Both at local scales and also statewide. And we would anticipate, given what we know about the deer population status in Iowa currently, that the deer population would recover back to goal levels,” Harms says.

The state also reported the most positive tests for Chronic Wasting Disease this season since it started the testing. Harms says that is also a concern. “What we’re trying to do is gather more information on where the disease is and what the prevalence of the disease is in certain areas,” Harms says. “And then that helps us make a decision on how we are going monitor and manage the deer population moving forward to try and reduce disease spread and disease prevalence.” Harms says hunters have been very helpful in trying to manage the spread of C-W-D. He says they can continue to do that by following some simple steps. “Like refraining from putting mineral licks or bait piles out for deer — because that artificially congregates the deer with contributes to the spread. And then also minimizing carcass transport,” Harms says.

He says transporting the carcasses of deer that are infected can spread the disease.

With Sports Director Chris Parks.

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The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday, received an update on District Athletic Facilities construction projects, from liaison Bob Sweeney. Sweeney said work on construction has been slowed due to the recent snowfall and now, bitterly cold temperatures, but for the most part, they are ahead of schedule with grading and dirt work at the Trojan Bowl and Baseball/Softball fields.  About 60% of the retaining wall for the baseball/softball fields is finished. The remainder will be done in the Spring, to adjust for settling and adjustments. Sweeny said also, plumbing and electrical connections have been installed for the concession/restroom building, there was a slight change in the design of the ticket booth and traffic flow into the stadium.

And, the Trojan Bowl scoreboard, field turf colors and keying of locks have all been recent topics of conversation (see a PDF of the current color scheme, here: Trojan Bowl colors 2-2020 ) He said gray colors would be used for markings, instead of solid black, and having white in the end zone. While those construction projects have slowed due to the weather, construction is still slated to begin in June on the High School Tennis, Soccer and Track.  On a related note, Superintendent Steve Barber said the District is very grateful for the Atlantic Community and all the support and resources they provide the school and community.

Barber extended a special thanks to the Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, for their generous donation and $100,000 matching grant challenge with the Trojan Bowl synthetic turf project. The challenge ends March 31st. The funding raising committee has raised nearly half of the $600,000 needed to make up the cost difference between what was bonded for due to the late change from a grass to synthetic field. Barber said “The response received from the community to the fund raising committee has been outstanding. We have a number of businesses and (30-to 40) individuals who have donated to the challenge ($70,000 to date), and Rolling Hills Bank has committed a $50,000 pledge.”

Bob Sweeney added $60,000 has been generated from advertising space on scoreboards within the district.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kristian Doolittle scored 20 points to help Oklahoma defeat Iowa State 90-61. Brady Manek scored 18 points and Alondes Williams added 14 for the Sooners, who outscored the Cyclones 50-25 in the second half. Oklahoma followed up Saturday’s victory over No. 13 West Virginia by avenging its loss at Iowa State a month earlier and falling a point short of its season’-high point total. Iowa State announced this week that guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his left wrist. The Cyclones shot just 34.5% in the second half.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — AJ Green had 27 points as Northern Iowa beat Illinois State 71-63. DJ Horne led the Redbirds with 16 points and six rebounds.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Keandre Cook had 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Missouri State beat Drake 97-62. Missouri State led 24-19 midway through the first half and erupted for 28 points in the final 8:48 to go up 52-30 at intermission. The Bears were 11-of-17 shooting from 3-point range in just the first half. They finished 14 of 25 overall from beyond the arc. Lamont West and Gaige Prim scored 15 points each for Missouri State. The 97 points were a season best for Missouri State. Noah Thomas led the Bulldogs with 14 points.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Brad Miller and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a $2 million, one-year contract. The deal for the 30-year-old infielder includes $500,000 in available performance bonuses for plate appearances. He hit .260 with 13 homers and 25 RBIs last year for Cleveland and Philadelphia. Miller has a .241 average with 88 homers and 293 RBIs in seven major league seasons that included time with Seattle, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Salvador Pérez caught a bullpen session from prospect Brady Singer in the Kansas City Royals’ first spring training workout. Pérez hurt his a ligament in his right elbow during drills in spring training last year, and Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed Tommy John surgery on the six-time All-Star on March 6. Pérez is hitting and throwing to bases. Pérez said it was difficult to watch last year and not play as the Royals skidded to their second straight 100-loss season.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Devon Dotson scored 15 points and No. 3 Kansas finished the game with a 9-0 run to beat No. 14 West Virginia 58-49. The Jayhawks won for the ninth straight time and remain a game behind first-place Baylor in the Big 12. Isaiah Moss had seven of his 13 points after halftime for Kansas. West Virginia fell flat after leading by as many as nine points in each half and lost at home for the first time this season. Oscar Tshiebwe led the Mountaineers with 14 points and nine rebounds, but he had just two points after halftime.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Damien Jefferson, Ty-Shon Alexander, Marcus Zegarowski and Denzel Mahoney all scored 18 points and No. 23 Creighton posted its second road win over a Top 10 team this month with an 87-82 decision over No. 10 Seton Hall on Wednesday night. Christian Bishop added 11 points as the Bluejays (19-6, 8-4 Big East) won for the sixth time in seven games, including a win at No. 8 Villanova at the start of the month. Quincy McKnight had 20 points to lead Seton Hall (18-6, 10-2), which lost for the second time in 14 games.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Three University of Iowa seniors — Grant Judkins, Grant Leonard, and Austin Martin — have been named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List, it was announced Wednesday by the league office.
​
Judkins, a right-handed pitcher from Pella, Iowa, will open the season as the Hawkeyes’ Saturday starter.  Last season, he went 4-7 with a 2.72 ERA with 65 strikeouts over 82 2/3 innings.  Judkins was the Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week on Feb.19 and finished the season ranking in the top 14 in the Big Ten in ERA, batting average against, and innings.

Leonard, a right-handed pitcher from Mokena, Illinois, returns for his second season as the Hawkeyes’ closer.  The reliever is a preseason All-American by the NCBWA (second team) and Collegiate Baseball (third team) and a member of the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.  As a junior, Leonard earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after tallying a single-season school record 14 saves.  He went 2-3 with a 3.37 ERA in 28 appearances.

Martin, a catcher from Altoona, Iowa, started 53 games — 49 behind the plate — during his first season as a Hawkeye, where he hit .294 with 10 doubles, 30 RBIs, and 29 runs scored. Martin had a team-leading 18 multi-hit games in 2019 and he hit safely in 34 contests.

The Hawkeyes were not picked to finish in the top six of the Big Ten preseason poll in a vote of the league’s coaches (only the top six spots are released). Michigan was tabbed as the favorite followed by Ohio State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, and Illinois.

Iowa opens the regular season Friday at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida, facing Kent State at 3 p.m. (CT).