GRIMES – Gladbrook-Reinbeck girls basketball senior standout Kennedy Brant had a few final chances to show out on the high school hardwood this season as a member of the Northeast squad during last Saturday’s (March 28) Iowa Basketball Coaches Association 2026 Pizza Ranch Senior All-Star Games at Dallas Center-Grimes High School.

The Northeast girls team won the showcase this year, knocking down 69-61 the Northwest team in the first round before capturing the championship with a defeat of the Southwest team, 50-46. In addition to Brant, the Northeast squad’s roster included Nakia Ollivierre (Waterloo), Kennedy Hermsen (Monticello), Courtney Franck (Mount Vernon), Aubrey Kelly (Benton Community), Karis Finley (Cedar Falls), Addison Frake (Cascade), Madden Wilson (Cedar Rapids Xavier Catholic), Rowan Jacobi (Springville), Brittany Bodensteiner (Waverly-Shell Rock), Brynlie Hadenfeldt (Cedar Rapids Prairie), and Grace Richter (Maquoketa Valley). The Northeast team was coached by Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Andy Courtney and Monticello’s Donnie Kremer.

In the opening round, 6-foot forward Brant scored a field goal for her team (defensive stats were unavailable as of press time), while Springville’s Rowan Jacobi – the Iowa Print Sports Writers Class 1A Player of the Year and All-Star tournament’s Most Outstanding Player – led the Northeast girls with 16 points. Jacobi has committed to South Dakota.

Brant saw more play time in the championship game, sinking two buckets. Fellow All-Star Karis Finley of Cedar Falls, a Drake University recruit, led the team’s charge to victory over the Southwest with 11 points.

Earlier this season, Brant announced on social media her official commitment to continue her academic and basketball careers at Wartburg College next school year.