Through the first few weeks, how wide is the gap between teams in girls basketball in Iowa?

As the season progresses, how wide will the gap grow between programs in girls basketball in Iowa

High School on SI

We talked earlier this year about the issues that are hurting the sport of girls basketball within not only the state of Iowa, but around the country. 

Now that the 2024-25 season has started, one of those concerns is already becoming a problem in a big way. 

As programs opted out of fielding a varsity team, we mentioned that the point-difference in all five classes in Iowa was one of the key reasons for girls not wanting to go out. Being humiliated in front of your friends and family members is not how you want to go about your high school days.

So instead, girls stopped going out and thus, teams were unable to field a roster to put a squad out on the court. 

Most teams have played anywhere between two to four or five games in the early going. 

In Class 5A, the biggest in Iowa in terms of size of schools, already has four schools with a point-difference of at least 30 points, including 40 by Bettendorf. 

The 4A group has 10 schools with at least 20 points including a high of 34.5 by Norwalk, which has played six games. In 3A, there are eight with 20 points or more, as Mediapolis leads the way at 39.5 points.

In 2A, there are four with 34-or-more and nine more with at least 20. Both Iowa City Regina and North Mahaska are over 40 points. In 1A, there are 10 with at least 22 including two over 30 led by North Linn and Mount Ayr.

That adds up to 45 schools in Iowa that have a point-difference of at least 20 points per game so far. 

Is this the only reason for a lack of schools taking to the court in Iowa for girls basketball? Of course not. 

It also is not always the fault of these teams who are just trying to win games and give their players a chance to shine. You cannot tell these quality teams to just stand there and let the shot clock run out, but there are ways to make the game not so bad by the end of it on the scoreboard.

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