It was commonly assumed that Shelby Hembera's scoring average would dip a little this season now that Cedar Valley Christian has a much stronger basketball team, but that has not been the case so far.

Hembera's scoring average has actually climbed from 33.2 points last year to 34.0 this season through eight games.

Hembera's rebounding average has dropped from 16.4 per game last season to 14.6, but she still leads the state in scoring and rebounding by comfortable margins in both departments. She led the state in scoring and rebounding as a junior last year as well.

The big change at Cedar Valley Christian this season has been in the won/loss column. The Huskies have a 6-2 record heading into the new year after finishing with a 1-21 mark last season.

Hembera obviously leads all Metro players in scoring with her 34.0 average. Amanda Ollinger, who is the process of transferring from Jefferson to Linn-Mar, ranks second among Metro players at 17.8 points per game. Ollinger also ranks second in Metro rebounding at 11.8 per game.

Olivia Usher of Prairie leads Metro girls basketball players in assists (37) and Sydney Hayden of Kennedy is tops in 3-pointers (20).

In Metro boys basketball, there is a tight race in the scoring derby among four players heading into the new year. Nic Uhlir of Linn-Mar has a slight lead at 17.3 points per game, followed by Craig Engle of Marion (17.0), Adam McDermott of Xavier (17.0) and Jordan Bohannon of Linn-Mar (16.7).

Keegan Moore of Washington has the Metro rebounding lead at 9.2 per game. Engle leads in assists (26) and 3-pointers (18).

GIRLS SCORING

G-Pts-Avg

Shelby Hembera, CV Christian           8-272-34.0
Amanda Ollinger, Jefferson              8-142-17.8
Lela Sellers, Kennedy                      9-136-15.1
Stephanie Botkin, Kennedy              9-127-14.1
Chloe Rice, Marion                         9-110-12.2
Lizzy Bailey, Xavier                          8-97-12.1
Morgan Breitbach, Xavier                 8-96-12.0
Kennedy Dighton, Jefferson             9-96-10.7
Amanda Sahm, Marion                    9-96-10.7
Kandis O’Donnell, Washington         8-83-10.4

REBOUNDING

G-Reb-Avg

Shelby Hembera, CV Christian          8-117-14.6
Amanda Ollinger, Jefferson             8-94-11.8
Stephanie Botkin, Kennedy             9-612-6.8
Nikita Sharma, Linn-Mar                 7-45-6.4
Michalyn Mohr, Marion                  9-56-6.2
Megahan Joens, Xavier                  8-43-5.4
Kamryn Finley, Linn-Mar                7-37-5.3
Amanda Sahm, Marion                  9-47-5.2
Kennedy Dighton, Jefferson           9-45-5.0
Maggie Cach, CV Christian             8-40-5.0

ASSISTS

Olivia Usher, Prairie                       37
Lela Sellers, Kennedy                     27
Avery Guy, Jefferson                      26
Morgan Breitbach, Xavier                25
Maggie Cach, CV Christian       24
Shelby Hembera, CV Christian           23
Sydney Hayden, Kennedy                23
Courtney Squires, Washington          22
Kennedy Dighton, Jefferson             20
Chloe Rice, Marion                         18

3-POINT GOALS

Sydney Hayden, Kennedy           20
Kylie Wise, Jefferson                      15
Amanda Ollinger, Jefferson             14
Olivia Montague, Linn-Mar              14
Megan Murphy, Linn-Mar                13
Avery Guy, Jefferson                      12
Lizzy Bailey, Xavier                        12
Emma Slagle, CV Christian              11
Lela Sellers, Kennedy                     10

BOYS SCORING

G-Points-Avg

Nic Uhlir, Linn-Mar                       6-104-17.3
Craig Engle, Marion                      8-136-17.0
Adam McDermott, Xavier               4-68-17.0
Jordan Bohannon, Linn-Mar           6-100-16.7
Brendon Manning, Kennedy           6-84-14.0
Calvin Winker, Xavier                    5-57-11.4
Bryton Heisler, Kennedy                5-54-10.8
Travis Geels, CV Christian              6-64-10.7
Cole Murdock, Kennedy                6-63-10.5
Drake Brewster, Kennedy              6-59-9.8

REBOUNDING

G-Reb-Avg

Keegan Moore, Washington            5-46-9.2
Maurice Arrington, Washington       5-37-7.4
Devin Quinn, Marion                     8-55-6.9
Tom Scroggs, CV Christian             6-40-6.7
Brendon Manning, Kennedy           6-40-6.7
Adam McDermott, Xavier               4-25-6.3
Ben Boldt, Prairie                         6-36-6.0
Laveechie Williams, Washington     5-25-5.0
Trevor Noble, Linn-Mar                 6-29-4.8
Mike Scroggs, CV Christian            6-29-4.8

ASSISTS

Craig Engle, Marion                       26
Zach Daniels, Kennedy                   24
Jordan Bohannon, Linn-Mar            20
Cole Murdock, Kennedy                 20
Max Drahos, Prairie                         6
Terrence Williams, Marion              16
Cal Clark, Prairie                           15
Jacob Manderscheid, Marion           14
Keion Wills, Washington                14
Nic Uhlir, Linn-Mar                        12
Hunter Strait, Washington              12
Travis Geels, CV Christian               12

3-POINT GOALS

Craig Engle, Marion                      18
Jordan Bohannon, Linn-Mar           17
Nic Uhlir, Linn-Mar                       14
Adam McDermott, Xavier               12
Cole Murdock, Kennedy                11
Cal Clark, Prairie                           10
Zach Daniels, Kennedy                    9
Mitch Lorenz, Prairie                       9
Steven Kramer, Washington             8
Bryton Heisler, Kennedy                  7