Kirkwood Women's Basketball Celebrates Five All-Region Honorees
The ICCAC Women's Basketball Special Honors and All-Region selections were announced Monday after the region and district championships concluded last week.
NIACC won their way to a Region 11-B Championship behind five different All-Region selections. The Trojans produced three of the four special award winners as well.
Leading the way was ICCAC Player of the Year Reggi Spotts. A First Team All-Region selection last year, Spotts continued her dominant play, leading the NIACC Trojans through a tough conference schedule and earning another First Team All-Region selection. Spotts was one of the league's top scorers averaging 18.4 points per game, third in the conference, on 40.4% shooting. She scored fewer than 10 points in only one game all season and poured in 26 in the championship to secure the win for the Trojans. Her 68 3-pointers tied for first in the conference.
Spotts excelled on both ends of the floor. She recorded 85 steals, third in the conference, and moved into fifth on NIACC's all-time steals list. She also ranks fifth in points, sixth in three-pointers made, 15th in rebounds and 14th in assists in program history.
Spotts' teammate, ICCAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Region selection Ciara Seifert, added another special award honor for NIACC. The freshman from Rochester, Minn. wasted no time making her presence known, averaging a double-double with 11.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, which led the conference. She had a conference-high 22 rebounds in a game against Northeast on Jan. 17. Her 332 rebounds also led the conference and were 11 more than the second-place total.
Head coach Brad Vaught rounded out NIACC's special award winners by earning ICCAC Coach of the Year honors. Vaught led the Trojans to a 27-3 overall record and a 19-3 mark in conference play, along with back-to-back region championships and consecutive district championship game appearances. The Trojans received an automatic bid to the NJCAA National Tournament, marking their first qualification since 2020.
The final special award went to Marshalltown forward Kenijae Cherry, who was named ICCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Cherry was a problem for anyone trying to enter the paint. She led the conference in blocks with 84 (third in the NJCAA) and ranked fourth in rebounds with 281. On Dec. 17 against NIACC, Cherry recorded a season-high six blocks to solidify herself as one of the top defenders in the conference.
In addition to Spotts and Seifert, eight more players were honored on the All-Region First Team this season.
Central's Lexi Fiscus was on a tear all season for the Raiders, earning an ICCAC First Team All-Region selection. She led the conference in scoring at 20.3 points per game and produced five of the top 10 scoring performances in the ICCAC this season. Her best game came in the regular-season finale, when she filled up the stat sheet with 44 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and one block. Her 10 rebounds per game also ranked third in the conference.
| First Team All-Region | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 34 | Lexi Fiscus | Central Neb. | F | So. |
| 20 | Whitney Jensen | DMACC | G | So. |
| 5 | Asia Beale | Ellsworth | F | Fr. |
| 34 | Trista Ohlmeier | Iowa Central | F | Fr. |
| 11 | Zoey Wooten | Iowa Lakes | G | So. |
| 23 | Sydney Donaldson | Iowa Western | F | So. |
| 0 | Olivia Wren | Kirkwood | G | So. |
| 22 | Reggi Spotts | NIACC | G | So. |
| 34 | Ciara Seifert | NIACC | F/C | Fr. |
| 14 | Aaliyah Jones | Northeast | G | So. |
| Second Team All-Region | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 23 | Chloe Costello | DMACC | G | So. |
| 23 | Alivia Carr | DMACC | F | Fr. |
| 45 | Breeley Clayburg | DMACC | C | So. |
| 23 | Yaiza Soriano Balaguer | Ellsworth | F | Fr. |
| 32 | Shakani Murray | Iowa Central | G | Fr. |
| 5 | Shanya Glover | Iowa Lakes | G | Fr. |
| 5 | Aniyah Howard | Iowa Western | F | So. |
| 1 | Kennedy Blakely | Kirkwood | G | So. |
| 24 | Erianna Moeschter | Kirkwood | F | Fr. |
| 15 | Zaria Falls | NIACC | G | Fr. |
| 25 | Aweng Akoi | Northeast | F | Fr. |
| Third Team All-Region | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 1 | Jordan Valley | DMACC | PG | Fr. |
| 10 | Claudia Sanz Dorange | Ellsworth | G | So. |
| 12 | Ashlin Jacobsen | Iowa Central | G | So. |
| 4 | Bra'ja Torry | Kirkwood | G | Fr. |
| 20 | Madison Stowater | Kirkwood | G | So. |
| 3 | Shenell Stewart | Marshalltown | G | So. |
| 22 | Kenijae Cherry | Marshalltown | F | So. |
| 3 | Peyton Meincke | NIACC | F | Fr. |
| 10 | Jana Lopez | Northeast | G/F | Fr. |
| 2 | Mia Stokes | Southeastern | G | Fr. |
| All-Defensive Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | College | Pos. | Class |
| 20 | Whitney Jensen | DMACC | G | So. |
| 34 | Trista Ohlmeier | Iowa Central | F | Fr. |
| 11 | Zoey Wooten | Iowa Lakes | G | So. |
| 22 | Kenijae Cherry | Marshalltown | F | So. |
| 34 | Ciara Seifert | NIACC | F/C | Fr. |
Player of the Year: Reggi Spotts, NIACC
Coach of the Year: Brad Vaught, NIACC
Newcomer of the Year: Ciara Seifert, NIACC
Defensive Player of the Year: Kenijae Cherry, Marshalltown
DMACC won the Region 11-A Tournament behind strong play from ICCAC First Team All-Region selection Whitney Jensen. The guard averaged 11 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Her 84 steals and 33 blocks ranked fourth and third in the conference, respectively. She also found her way onto the All-Defensive Team.
Freshman Ellsworth forward Asia Beale also earned a First Team All-Region selection. Beale averaged 12.8 points per game on 47.1% shooting while adding 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. After not having a First Team All-Region selection since the 2017-18 season, Ellsworth now has selections in back-to-back seasons (Marin Agustsdottir, Ella Sharar in 2024-25).
Freshman Trista Ohlmeier wasted no time as well, earning a First Team All-Region selection. The Iowa Central forward dominated all season, averaging 13.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 56 blocks, numbers that placed her among the top five in the conference. Her best game of the season came in Iowa Central's first conference game against Northeast, when she totaled 32 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks while fully introducing herself to the rest of the conference. Olhmeier was named to the All-Defensive time as well.
Iowa Lakes guard Zoey Wooten impressed all season for the Lakers, earning a First Team All-Region selection. Wooten was an excellent two-way guard, averaging 14.3 points per game, fourth in the conference, while disrupting opponents on the other end with a conference-best 94 steals. Her most impressive showing came against Southeastern, where she displayed her combo-guard ability with 29 points and five steals.
Iowa Western forward Sydney Donaldson earned a First Team All-Region selection through strong play all season for the Reivers. Donaldson averaged 13.1 points per game while shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc. She finished with 68 3-pointers, tying for the conference lead and solidifying herself as one of the top long-range threats in the ICCAC.
After being named to the Second Team All-Region last year, Kirkwood guard Olivia Wren elevated her game this season and earned a First Team All-Region selection. Wren's bread and butter was her shooting. She shot 37.9% from beyond the arc, best in the conference, and ranked among the top 10 scorers at 12.1 points per game. She lit up Central on Jan. 31 with six 3-pointers in a nearly 50-point win.
Rounding out the First Team All-Region selections was Northeast guard Aaliyah Jones. Her 19.5 points per game ranked second in the conference. She was dominant at getting to the free-throw line, totaling 129 made free throws while shooting 82.2%. Her best game came against Iowa Western on Dec. 10, when she scored 35 points on 46.2% shooting and grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds. She also had a game with eight steals, contributing to her season total of 74 and proving she is one of the better two-way players in the conference.
