Midwest Kickoff, Part 5: Stock Raisers
Here are some girls who raised their profile with their play at the Midwest Kickoff on Saturday. First, the older girls who play 16 minute halves during the summer Center—Natalie Harmon, 5-10, Rise 11 Purple and Mankato West Scored 5…
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Continue ReadingHere are some girls who raised their profile with their play at the Midwest Kickoff on Saturday. First, the older girls who play 16 minute halves during the summer
Center—Natalie Harmon, 5-10, Rise 11 Purple and Mankato West
Scored 5 points with 2 boards, but she was playing against Monika Czinano and Jordan Ferrand, so she was giving away a lot of size and experience. She was active on the boards and she hit a 3.
Power Forward—Katie Lundeen, 5-9, Northern Lights 11 and Northwestern, WI
Her Northern Lights 11 were outgunned by Fury 2020 Blue but she was one of the top players on the court. Her team’s difficulties lay mostly in protecting the ball against the Fury’s pressure defense. If and when the Lights guards were able to get into their offense and get the ball to their wings, Lundeen was unstoppable. She made 4-of-6 FG and 7-of-8 FT. On the other hand, she was overpowered on the boards by the likes of Ysareia Chevre and Kaylie VanDerWerf.
Small Forward—Noelle Josephson, 5-10, Stars 11 DeSart and Anoka
Josephson is of course on the radar, but she surprised as the best offensive player on the floor vs. Rise 10th Purple. She scored off the bounce, she scored in transition, she scored on a back cut, she scored off the glass. The only thing I don’t remember is a proper jump shot. But her 13 points is a lot in this environment. She was also solid defensively and grabbed 6 boards.
Point Guard—Joey Batt, 5-5, Rise 10 Purple and New Ulm
Joey is a small but athletic point guard with a very high basketball IQ. Makes great decisions, is an outstanding floor leader and has excellent floor vision. She penetrated, she got to the FT line, she had 3 assists, a steal and 3 rebounds. She did get stuffed at the rim once and went 0-for-2 from long range. Still, she was easily the Rise’ top player.
Shooting Guard—Ashley Gustavson, 5-9, So Minn Fury 2018 Elite and Mankato West
Granted, she didn't face much of a defense. Still, she had a great shooting day—16 points in the 1st half alone on 6-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-3 3s, 3-of-3 2s and 2-of-3 FT. And, granted, she didn’t do a lot of other things. She is a scorer, and she excelled in that role.
6th Player—Alexa Garcia, 5-6, Crossfire 10th Smith and Andover
Came off the bench for the Crossfire and looked better than the starters, frankly—stronger overall and stronger with the ball, certainly. She hit her 1st shot, a 3, then missed 5, including 2s and 3s. Her shot is pretty flat. But, she was one of the Crossfire’s top rebounders with 5 despite her size. Also a persistent defender.