There was a lot of balance on basketball court for the Council Bluffs girls squads this season.

Lewis Central finished with a 15-9 mark, the best in the city. Thomas Jefferson finished 9-13 and went 3-2 in city games topping L.C., St. Albert and Abraham Lincoln during the course of the year.

The Lynx finished 7-16, a big jump from a 2-20 season a year ago, and won two games over the Jackets, including the postseason meeting between the schools.

St. Albert fielded a pretty young squad and finished the year 2-16, while Iowa School for the Deaf wrapped up its season by earning a third-place finish at the Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Tournament.

Once again the Daily Nonpareil recognized the city's top basketball players with the selection of the All-City Team.

Here is a closer look at this year's All-City selections.

First Team

Lewis Central's Mallory Husz carried a big load of pressure on to the basketball court this winter. The sophomore was the Titans' key returner from last season's state tournament trip and made a big switch from a forward to a post position.

Husz finished with nearly a double-double for the season with 13.3 points and nine rebounds per game. She also led the Titans with three assists, 4.1 steals and 2.16 blocks per game.

The St. Albert offense ran through senior Gina Assmann this season. Assmann averaged 14 points per game and finished her career 14th in all-time scoring and eighth in career steals in school history, which is saying a lot with the Saintes proud tradition.

It was her speed that made a huge difference for the Saintes as Assmann was second in the city with 69 steals (3.8 per game). She also dished out 52 assists (2.9 per game) and made 70-percent of her free throws.

Abraham Lincoln really improved as the season went along as the team built up some momentum heading into the off-season. A big reason for the team's success was junior Sarah Milner.

Milner led the Lynx with 11.27 points per game as she shot nearly 40-percent from the floor.

She also led the team with seven rebounds, 1.77 assists and was second with 2.14 steals per game.

Thomas Jefferson junior Jen Swotek really emerged as one of the area's top scorers this season. The 5-foot-7 guard led the city with an average of 15.36 points per game, even while battling an illness down the stretch. Swotek was second on the team with 4.82 rebounds and 2.23 assists per contest for T.J.

While Swotek picked up the scoring, senior Val Robinson ran the show at T.J.

Robinson, who earns a repeat spot on the All-City First Team, scored 7.5 points per game and doled out a team-high 2.36 assists. That's just a small measure of what the 5-foot-1 Robinson brings to the table, however. The scrappy Robinson's heart and gutsy attitude make her a favorite of coaches and teammates.

Second Team

St. Albert's Aileen Mooney teamed with Assmann to make a solid one-two punch. The senior finished with an average of 10.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Thomas Jefferson senior Ashtyn Neill completed her prep career with another fine season for the Jackets. Neill finished third on T.J. with an average of 3.09 points per game and added 4.22 rebounds, 1.73 assists per game for the Lady Jackets.

Abraham Lincoln's Stacie Brazeal had a strong senior season for the Lynx, averaging 6.45 points and six rebounds per game.

Lewis Central returns 85 percent of its scoring next season with Diana Mescher and Megan Higgins joining Husz as returners next season.

Mescher was solid in the post for L.C., averaging six points and 5.5 rebounds and shooting 47-percent from the floor.

Higgins was second on the team with 8.4 points per game and added 4.3 rebounds per contest for the Titans.

HONORABLE MENTION

Abraham Lincoln: Brittany Ridenour.

Iowa Deaf: Kiley Peterson, Cassandra Case, Meredith Kassal.

Lewis Central: Sarah Higgins.

St. Albert: Krista Kennebeck.

Thomas Jefferson: Sarah King, Samantha Flowers.

Jeff DeLuca - Daily Nonpareil - 04.16.06