Kee girls basketball team has season ended where all teams strive to be, falls to top-rated and eventual State Runner-Up Algona Bishop Garrigan in first round of State Tournament
Lady Hawks compete among the Class 1A elite at State Basketball Tournament ... Members of the Kee girls basketball team are pictured above with the trophy they received as a qualifier and competitor in the quarterfinal round of the Class 1A State Tournament held at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines during the first week of March. The Lady Hawks fell to top-rated, top-seeded and eventual State Runner-Up Algona Bishop Garrigan, 64-42, in the opening round of that season grand finale Wednesday afternoon, March 4 to have their 2025-2026 season brought to a close with a 17-8 record. Left to right - Front row: Manager Areona Claycomb, Maddie Martin, Josy Connelly, Evelynn Dibert, Layla Mathis, Rose Wheeler and Maddie Mauss; Back row: Head Coach Ben Wagner, Rylee Mudderman, Lillian Kolsrud, Elena Schulte, Grace Hornseth, Lilah Strong, Addison Winters, Morgan Mohn, and Assistant Coach Pat Wagner. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photos link on this webpage.
It had been eight seasons since the Kee girls basketball team had last played in the Class 1A State Basketball Tournament, and in that timeframe the first-round opponent the Lady Hawks faced in this season’s grand finale Wednesday, March 4 at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines had qualified to compete among that Class 1A elite in each of the last seven seasons. Returning four starters from last season’s State Tournament semifinals team and a couple seniors with four consecutive years of that State Tournament experience, the top-rated and top-seeded Algona Bishop Garrigan Bears used that experience and the many weapons in their arsenal that have gained them that experience to bring an early end to Kee’s third State Tournament appearance in program history with a 64-42 opening-round defeat.
“Bishop Garrigan just had too many weapons for us to keep up with,” Kee girls basketball head coach Ben Wagner shared in reflecting on his team’s opening-round State Tournament loss. “They had four players that they would rotate in off the bench to keep everyone fresh, and our six-girl rotation just couldn’t compete with that. They are a tremendous team with a lot of experience down there at the State Tournament.”
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