The Atlantic Trojans Girls Basketball team opened 2026 with a 48-41 road victory at the Shenandoah Fillies. The Trojans were led by their two posts in Brynn Lamp and Katrina Williams. The duo had 27 of the team’s 48 points. The game was a nailbiter all first half with the teams being tied at 22 at the break. In the third quarter, Atlantic outscored the Fillies 17-7 and carried a ten-point lead into the fourth. Although, the hardworking effort from Shenandoah to come back and win, the Trojans prevailed by knocking down key free throws down the stretch to seal the eight-point victory. 

The Trojans came out of the gates quickly finding Brynn Lamp for a basket followed by Katrina Williams scoring down low as well. On the Shenandoah side, leading scorer Kalyn Scammen and Ava O’Rourke hit two threes in the final couple minutes of the first quarter to give the Fillies a 15-11 lead heading into the second quarter. 

In the second quarter, Atlantic continued to go back to their posts and went on a 7-0 run to begin the quarter. Shenandoah answered right back with five points including another three from Scammen. Foul trouble was an issue for Scammen as she picked up three first half fouls. This resulted in her having to sit a majority of the second half. It was a tie ballgame at halftime.

Atlantic got off to a red-hot start to begin the third quarter. Williams had a quick six points in the paint with solid post moves to get around the defender. Meanwhile, Brynn Lamp was able to maneuver her way to the basket twice and put up four points in the quarter. All the momentum was on the Trojans’ side as five different Trojans scored in the quarter. Down by as many as 12 in the quarter, Shenandoah began to play a little timid and put the defensive press on. Despite the foul trouble, Scammen played nearly the entire third quarter for the Fillies and scored four of the team’s seven points in the quarter. The Fillies didn’t have quite the amount of depth on the bench as the Trojans did. Shenandoah scored just four points off their bench all game. Junior Peyton McLaren capped off the 17-point third quarter with a two-point basket to go ahead 39-29 after three.

In the fourth, the defensive full court press began to rattle Atlantic. The Trojans began the quarter with back-to-back turnovers including the inability to inbound the ball with a five second call. The Fillies spaced the floor for Scammen as she hit second three-pointer of the night right away to begin the quarter. All of a sudden it was a two-point game late in the fourth.  Senior MaKenna Schroeder hit a big time three-pointer to keep the distance from Shenandoah to put Atlantic back up by five. Towards the final seconds, Shenandoah down two possessions had no other choice than to foul and send Atlantic to the free throw line. A perfect combined 4/4 from the line for McLaren and Schroeder iced the game for Atlantic. The Trojans improved to 5-5 with the victory.

Head Coach Dan Vargason complimented his team’s resilience

The gameplan was to utilize the posts with the size advantage for Atlantic.

Tonight was a major confidence boost.

The Trojans return to the floor Tuesday in a home game with Glenwood.

Iowa coach Ben McCollum hopes the home court is an advantage Saturday afternoon when the 25th ranked Hawkeyes return to Big Ten play by hosting UCLA. The Bruins are 10-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play while the the Hawkeyes are 11-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Attendance is up in McCollum’s first season as head coach. A year ago average home attendance was just over nine thousand, 100 fans per home game. So far this season it is just under 10 thousand, 400 fans and McCollum has been working to bring even more into Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Northern Iowa men roared back from a nine point first half deficit to beat Indiana State 75-66 in the McLeod Center, Thursday. Trey Campbell led four players in double figures with 18 points as the Panthers move to 3-0 in the Missouri Valley.

That’s UNI coach Ben Jacobson. The Panthers won the battle on the glass by outrebounding the Sycamores 35-22.

The 14th ranked Iowa Hawkeye women used a late 14-1 run to take command in an 86-76 win over 20th ranked Nebraska, Thursday. Sophomore guard Chit Chat Wright led the Hawkeyes with 24 points.

That’s Iowa coach Jan Jensen. Senior forward Hannah Stuelke had 21 points, 10 rebounds and was seven-of-seven at the line.

The Hawkeyes are 3-0 in the Big Ten.

A new challenge begins for the third ranked Iowa State men as they open Big-12 play at home on Friday night against West Virginia. The Cyclones enter league play with a record of 13-0.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger, who says the Cyclones are thrilled with the chance to open conference play at home.

West Virginia is 9-4 under first year coach Ross Hodge and the Mountaineers hang their hat on defense.

Otzelberger feels the leadership on the team has taken a step forward since Christmas break and feels good about their ability to handle the grind of a conference race.

After one game shy of the state tournament a season ago for the ACGC Boys’ Basketball team, the Chargers are experiencing some growing pains early in the season. ACGC is currently 2-4 on the year and have multiple freshmen coming off the bench and seeing valuable minutes. Head Coach Lance Kading says gaining experience is key for these underclassmen.

The Chargers lost three all-conference seniors last year in Payton Policky, Noah Kading and Jathan South, but ACGC does return the veteran leadership of seniors Joe Crawford and Thomas Skram. Both players are averaging roughly 17 points a game.

Kading says the team can improve in multiple areas in the game.

ACGC resumes their season on January 6th at Des Moines Christian.

The Iowa Hawkeyes finally broke through against a rated foe, Wednesday afternoon.

Gary Dolphin on the Hawkeye Network. The 23rd ranked Hawkeyes built a 21-3 advantage midway through the third quarter them held off a furious rally by 14th ranked Vanderbilt for a 34-27 win at the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa. The Hawkeyes snapped a 15-game losing skid to ranked opponents.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski passed for 212 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 54 yards and a score in being named the game’s most valuable player.

Iowa loses 27 seniors from this year’s team, including three members of a standout offensive line.

Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea says the Commodores made too many mistakes and the Hawkeyes made them pay.

The Commodores finish 10-3. It was the school’s first 10-win season.

Gronowski was the key as the Hawkeyes finish 9-4. It is the sixth time they have won nine or more games in the last 10 full seasons.

Iowa outgained Vanderbilt 167-51 on the ground and the offense answered every time the Commodores got to within a score.

Vandy star quarterback Diego Pavia was 25-of-38 for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He was also sacked five times by the Hawkeyes and senior linebacker Karson Sharar had two of them.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head football coach Jimmy Rogers has announced the position coach assistants for his first season with the program.

Rogers previously announced that Jesse Bobbit, his defensive coordinator at Washington State and South Dakota State, will join the Cyclones in the same role.

Bobbit’s group includes three other defensive staffers from Washington State as well as former Toledo Co-Defensive Coordinator Ross Watson.

“I’m thrilled to be able to keep our defensive group together and add Ross Watson to the mix,” Rogers said. “I know what this group is about and have no doubt that their attention to detail, intensity and culture setting will allow us to be competitive from the start.”

The following coaches have agreed to join Rogers’ staff as preparation begins for the 135^th season in program history:

Mike Banks – Cornerbacks – Full Bio

Banks played a key role in helping Washington State’s defense rank among the nation’s Top 15 teams in passing defense, allowing just 174.4 passing yards per game. The University Park, Illinois native also worked with Rogers at South Dakota State in a similar capacity with the 2024 Jackrabbit defense finishing fifth in FCS in total defense and registering 14 interceptions. He helped develop First Team All-American Dalys Beanum in 2024, while on the other side Colby Humphrey was a second team all-conference pick. He also spent time at his alma mater, Illinois State, and produced another All-American while the Redbirds made the FCS Playoffs twice, including the quarterfinals in 2019.

Jalon Bibbs – Defensive Line – Full Bio

Bibbs has worked alongside Rogers at both Washington State and South Dakota State and helped form those defenses into two of the best nationally at their respective levels. His defensive linemen helped Washington State compile 31 sacks last season, while being outstanding in specialty situations. The Cougars ranked seventh nationally in fourth down conversion defense (.333) and 11th in red zone defense (.727). Defensive end Isaac Terrell had seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss and was the nation’s 19^th-ranked edge defender by PFF during the regular season. The Phoenix, Arizona native was on SDSU’s staff in 2023 during the Jacks’ FCS National Championship run. In his two seasons at SDSU, seven of eight starting defensive linemen earned all-conference accolades, while one was an All-American and another a freshman All-American.

Pete Menage – Safeties – Full Bio

Menage joins the Cyclone coaching staff after being on Rogers’ staff at both Washington State and South Dakota State as safeties coach. The 2025 Washington State squad allowed just 20.2 points per game, including just 12.7 points over the course of the season’s final eight regular season games. He was in charge of the same position group at SDSU when the team won the 2023 FCS National Championship and reached the semifinals in 2024. The Rock Rapids, Iowa native’s safety group intercepted 14 passes in his two-year stint with the Jackrabbits.

Ross Watson – SAM Linebackers/Nickelbacks/Defensive Pass Game Coordinator – Full Bio

Watson, a Youngstown, Ohio native, spent the last 10 seasons at Toledo, serving as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the Rockets since 2020. His 2025 defense had nine players honored as All-MAC selections, including his two starting safeties Braden Awls and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, both first-team picks. The 2025 Rockets ranked third nationally in total defense (247.8 ypg), while also finishing top five in passing efficiency, tackles for loss and red zone defense. In 10 seasons at UT, the team reached nine bowl games and won the MAC in 2017.

The Atlantic Boys Basketball team is seeking to have a stronger second half of the season after a 2-5 start to the 2025-2026 campaign. Heading into the break, the Trojans are facing a three-game skid. Head Coach Dalton Franken says he’s looking for more full game efforts as the season continues.

Franken sees the improvements that need to be made, especially in key areas.

The Trojans are led by the senior duo of Gavin McLaren and Kale Jensen who are both averaging at least 10 points a game. Franken says those two have been leading heavily both on and off the floor.

Atlantic continues their season Friday, January 2nd in Shenandoah.

The 23rd ranked Iowa Hawkeyes will play 14th ranked Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa on Wednesday. It will be Iowa’s sixth appearance in the game that used to be known as the Outback Bowl.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who feels the Hawkeyes have had a good week of practice.

The chore for the Hawkeye defense is to contain Vanderbilt quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia, who is the nation’s top dual threat.

Ferentz says Pavia is a big play threat on every snap.

Vanderbilt is 10-2 and narrowly missed a spot in the college football playoff. Commodore coach Clark Lea has led his Alma mater to its first ever 10-win season.

Lea says his team is looking forward to the challenge.

The Hawkeyes are 8-4. It will be an 11 o’clock kickoff in Raymond James Stadium.