Maxon earns All honors for NECC

NORFOLK — LCC grad Lorna Maxon picked up post-season as a member of the Northeast Community College women’s basketball team.

Maxon was named to the All Region Honorable Mention Team.

Iowa Western and Northeast were each allotted three First Team selections and two Honorable Mention selections after sharing the 2019-20 Regular Season Championship.

The two teams split their head-tohead matchups this season before Iowa Western won the Region XI Championship on Feb. 29.

Marshalltown earned two selections, one First Team and one Honorable Mention, after finishing in third place.

The First Team All-Region selections were headlined by Iowa Western’s sophomore guard, Sommer Blakemore.

A First Team selection a year ago, Blakemore was voted the ICCAC Division I Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.

Through the Regional Tournament, she averaged 12.4 points per game, shooting 40-percent from the field and 37-percent from three-point range.

Peripherally, she averaged 3.7 rebounds and three assists.

Also on First Team from Iowa Western were guards Jaiden Morris and Hayley Berfield. Morris was the teams leading scorer at 16.2 points per game. In conference play alone, Morris led the ICCAC at 22 points per game. Seven times she scored 20 or more points this season, with a season-high 23 against Marshalltown.

Berfield scored 8.8 points per game and was the team leader in steals (56) and second in three-pointers made (51) and assists (42).

Iowa Western’s head coach Lindsey Vande Hoef was named the Coach of the Year after leading her team to their second-straight Region XI Championship. With a record of 19-10, Iowa Western is looking to advance to the NJCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016-17.

Northeast put three players on the First Team as well.

The conference’s leading scorer and Norfolk native, Kyla Moore, a 2018-19 Honorable Mention selection, was the top selection for the Hawks. Moore averaged 16.2 points per game.

She scored a season-high 27 points against Central (Neb.) and 10 times scored 20+ points in a game. She was effective from the field, as she shot nearly 50% from the field and 41% from three.

Joining Moore on First Team were guard Beth Matas and forward Emina Hadzihusejnovic. Matas was the conference leader in three-pointers made (73) and scored 13.4 points per game. Six times she hit five or more threes in a game, twice hitting six.

Hadzihusejnovic led the conference in rebounding at 7.6 per game, and had the highest field goal percentage at 52.5%. She had five double-doubles this season while averaging 11.6 points per game.

Marshalltown’s Dana Stokes joins Blakemore as the only returning First Team selection. Stokes was the Tigers leading scorer at 12.2 points per game.