Mississippi Valley Conference Preview: All Conference and MVP
As our next preview article about the Mississippi Valley Conference I am going to make my picks for All Conference players and even though the conference doesn’t name an MVP, I will make my selection. While it again does not…
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Continue ReadingAs our next preview article about the Mississippi Valley Conference I am going to make my picks for All Conference players and even though the conference doesn’t name an MVP, I will make my selection. While it again does not follow the format of the conference, I will name 5 All Conference players and pick an MVP as the 6th. Here we go.
- All Conference Selection, Clare Breden 5’6 Sophomore guard, Jerseyville. Clare returns as the leading scorer in the conference and is remarkably consistent. She can score at all levels and finishes well in the lane against bigger players. Clare has been working hard on her game in the summer and modeling herself and her moves off what she has seen other successful players using.
- All Conference Selection, Kourtland Tyus 5’6 Junior guard, Civic Memorial. Kourtland is one of the top point guards in Southern Illinois. She handles the ball well, sees the floor and can defend. She understands the system her coach wants run and entering the 3rd year of starting for the Lady Eagles she is ready to take on an even bigger role as a leader and a scorer.
- All Conference Selection, Ellie Brown a 5’6 Junior guard, Highland. Ellie is a consistent scorer for a top team and program that is always in the conference title mix. Ellie averaged over 12 points per game as a Sophomore and is looking to have a big junior season. If Ellie can become and even bigger threat from the 3 point line she will be almost impossible to stop. She can really hit the mid range jumper and finish in the lane consistently. Ellie is going to have to play a big role if Highland is going to take back the conference championship that CM has taken over the past few years.
- All Conference Selection, Ali Barisch a 5’7 Senior guard, Triad. Ali assumed the leadership role last season once Heather Rood went down with an injury and ended up leading Triad in scoring for the season. With Rood just getting cleared in September I believe the Ali will still be the leader and top option to start the season. Ali did a nice job of rebounding from her guard spot and can contribute in many ways besides her scoring. Triad is trying to pull itself up a level to compete for the conference title and I think a strong senior season from Barisch might be a big step in returning to the former glory.
- All Conference Selection, Abby Manns a 5’7 Junior wing player, Jerseyville. Abby is a stat stuffer. She will get 5-6 rebounds per game, 10-15 points, 2-3 assists and 2-3 steals per night. I think she might be best as a long armed defender that tends to really cause havoc on the ball. If Abby can improve her 3 point shot she will be very difficult to defend. She is a big key for Jerseyville as they fight for a top 2 spot in the final standings.
- MVP selection, Anna Hall a 5’11 Junior forward, Civic Memorial. Anna has started almost every game since she began her high school career for Civic Memorial as a freshman. She improved her stats to 10 points a just under 7 rebounds per game. She is also active as a defender in getting 2 steals per game. Anna is strong and very effective in the post on offense but has also been developing her skills from outside the lane on offense. I believe this additional skills set along with the graduation of the 2018 senior class will now challenge Hall to become the leader and have the “best player on the floor” mentality it takes to dominate the game. She will need to take the Lady Eagles for a ride a few times this year.
All 4 of the top teams in the conference have players capable of making an all conference list, but these players are those that I believe will really step up and lead their schools to the top of the heap come the end of the regular season.
Photo courtesy of the Advantage News