A postponement from earlier this season has set the stage for a battle royal in Class 2A girls basketball this week, as Panorama — ranked ninth — will visit sixth-rated Van Meter Monday.
The teams will go their separate ways Tuesday as Panorama host Madrid and Van Meter is visited by West Central Valley, but they will meet again Friday when the Panthers host the Bulldogs for a second West Central Conference squabble in five days.
Van Meter is 13-1 overall and sits atop the WCC standings at 10-0 while 14-1 Panorama is a game back at 10-1. The most interested observer may be Des Moines Christain, who is 9-6 overall but 8-2 in league play. DMC has split the season series with Panorama and has lost at Van Meter. The Lions will host the Bulldogs Feb. 7 and, depending on the outcome of the two games this week, may figure prominently in deciding conference honors.
Panorama averages 55.5 points per game against 50.9 for Van Meter, with the Panthers a much more effective rebounding team, clearing 33.5 boards per game to only 22.9 for the Bulldogs. Both teams are near the top in 2A at the foul line, with Van Meter sinking 68.2 percent to 71.2 percent for Panorama, although the Panthers are much more likely to toe the line, having attempted 288 free throws to 154 for the Bulldogs.
Panorama holds edges in total assists (172-152), steals (196-118) and blocks (43-31) but has been guilty of 181 turnovers to only 128 for Van Meter. Van Meter is 96-of-244 (39.3) on 3-point attempts while Panorama has hit 54-of-212 (25.5) behind the arc.
MacKenzie Roberts, a 5-9 senior, does it all for Van Meter. She averages 17.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per outing, both tops in the WCC. She is also 42-of-48 (87.5) at the foul line.
C.J. Jones is another threat. The 5-11 senior has, like Roberts, drained 29 3-pointers and is second on the team in scoring at 8.7 ppg.
Junior Devyn Kemble leads Panorama with a 14.9 ppg clip and is 64-of-74 (86.5) at the charity stripe. Kemble, a 5-6 forward, leads the team with 47 steals.
Point guard Bailey Beckman, a 5-4 sophomore, has also been key for the Panthers. She averages 14.6 points per contest and is 62-of-81 (76.5) at the line.
Both games will open girl/boy sets and will start at 6 p.m.
