Story byWHBF DavenportNick CouzinMon, February 23, 2026 at 5:03 AM UTC·2 min readThe road to Des Moines is becoming a familiar one for Maquoketa girls basketball. For the second straight season, the Cardinals are headed back to the state tournament — and this time, they’re bringing experience, confidence, and unfinished business with them. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLeading the charge is the senior “Big Five” — Aubrey Kroymann, Cora Widel, Maelyn Kluever, Justice Armbruster, and Kendall Kuhlman — a battle-tested core that has grown together and now returns to the biggest stage in Iowa high school basketball. After last year’s run to state, the group didn’t just want to get back. They wanted more.“We can definitely use it as a motivator,” Widel said. “We didn’t get to where we wanted to be last year.