116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Regina clamps down on Grundy Center in a Class 2A regional-final triumph
Addie McLaughlin scores 24 points, Adalee Klein blocks seven shots and the Regals make their ninth state-tournament berth in the last 15 years
Feb. 25, 2026 10:21 pm, Updated: Feb. 25, 2026 11:07 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
VAN HORNE — Defense travels, the saying goes.
And it doesn’t have to graduate.
Eighth-ranked Iowa City Regina put the clamps on No. 7 Grundy Center, never trailed, and prevailed 47-36 in a Class 2A girls basketball regional final Wednesday night at Benton Community High School.
“Defense won us this game,” sophomore Addie McLaughlin said. “I’m so excited. I knew we could do this all along. We just had to put the pieces together.”
Regina (19-5) advances to state for the second consecutive year; it will face No. 2 Rock Valley (22-2) in a 2A quarterfinal at 10 a.m. next Wednesday.
The Regals were making their 14th regional-final appearance in the last 15 years. Nine of those postseason runs have borne state-tournament fruit.
McLaughlin posted 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists — “She’s a stud,” Coach Mary Rogers said — but give additional credit at the back end of the Regals’ defensive effort to Adalee Klein, who blocked seven shots to go along with seven points and eight boards.
“Mary gave us a really great scout, and we (played) it to a ‘T,’” Klein said. “My job is to be a helper. I stayed straight up and the ball came into my hands.”
Regina outrebounded Grundy Center (21-3) by a 22-6 margin in the second half, 38-23 for the game.
The Regals didn’t face a deficit all game, but didn’t open things up until the third quarter.
They led 16-12 at halftime before Grundy Center knotted it at 16-16 and 18-18.
McLaughlin hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 24-18 Regina lead, and it was 32-23 by the end of the quarter.
The Spartans cut a 12-point deficit to 39-33 on Kali Aldrich’s two free throws with 3:09 left in the game, but Regina’s Ella Keune answered with a 3-pointer (her only field goal of the game), which triggered an 8-0 run to put the result to bed.
“It wasn’t pretty, particularly in the first half,” Rogers said. “I told them, we’ve got to keep locking in.
“They played the way I asked them to. They bought in, and I’m so, so proud of them.
“We lost a lot of scoring from last year, but I’m super proud they’ve been able to carry that momentum forward.”
Maggie Sueppel added eight points for the Regals.
Aldrich led Grundy Center with 19.
McLaughlin’s 24 brings her within 20 points of the 1,000-point milestone. She has next week — and two more years — to get there.
Iowa City Regina 47, Grundy Center 36
Class 2A Regional Final, at Van Horne
IOWA CITY REGINA (47): Jada Wiltz 1-6 0-0 3, Ella Keune 2-4 0-0 5, Maggie Sueppel 4-7 0-0 8, Addie McLaughlin 8-22 5-6 24, Adalee Klein 3-6 1-6 7, Nora Wade 0-1 0-0 0, Sophie Wiltgen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 6-12 47.
GRUNDY CENTER (36): Maddy Hendershot 0-4 0-0 0, Kali Aldrich 7-15 2-3 19, Karlee Lynch 3-6 0-0 7, Caturella Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Ava Mundt 4-18 0-3 8, Raelyn Steinmeyer 0-2 0-0 0, Trinity Jirovsky 0-1 0-0 0, Erin Richtsmeier 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 2-6 36.
Iowa City Regina 9 7 16 15 — 47
Grundy Center 6 6 11 13 — 36
3-point goals: Regina 5-15 (Wiltz 1-3, Keune 1-2, McLaughlin 3-10), Grundy Center 4-11 (Hendershot 0-2, Aldrich 3-4, Lynch 1-1, Brown 0-1, Mundt 0-2, Steinmeyer 0-1). Team fouls: Regina 8, Grundy Center 13. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Regina 38 (Klein 8), Grundy Center 23 (three with 4). Assists: Regina 9 (McLaughlin 4), Grundy Center 6 (Mundt 3). Steals: Regina 5 (WIltz 3), Grundy Center 5 (Lynch 2). Turnovers: Regina 11, Grundy Center 10.
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters