Stars of the Game: Willmar at Big Lake
BIG LAKE– Nate from Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota was very close to home in Big Lake tonight to watch the Hornets get a strong non-conference win over the Willmar Cardinals who were a strong 12-8 coming into their matchup against the…
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Continue ReadingBIG LAKE– Nate from Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota was very close to home in Big Lake tonight to watch the Hornets get a strong non-conference win over the Willmar Cardinals who were a strong 12-8 coming into their matchup against the bigger Hornets of Big Lake. See who caught my eye from Cardinals and the Hornets. This game had lots of talent to talk about from both sides!
Sam Christoffer, Guard, Willmar (2022)
Christoffer was an off the bench guard that provided a spark for the Cardinals especially in the first half. The biggest shot she hit was from the top of the key in which I fell for her poise because Big Lake couldn’t have defended that shot any better from the top of the key. Although a close loss, Christoffer was one I didn’t’ know about that I would consider an “under the radar” player to watch.
Reagan Sternquist, Forward, Big Lake (2020)
Although she fouled out late in the second half, Sternquist looked a lot better than the first performance I saw against Alexandria towards the start of the season. She was one my top “board collectors” I watched tonight and is one of two elusive forwards the Hornets possesses, one we will talk about here momentarily.
Katelyn Murphy, Guard, Willmar (2020)
Murphy went for the trifecta with her double digit scoring performance with hitting shots at the bucket, from mid range, and from outside. I would have liked to seen better rebounding efficiency from Murphy and the rest of the Cardinals, but I was still impressed with Murphy’s performance against the Hornets.
Madi Linbo, Guard, Willmar (2020)
The top board collector from the Cardinals was Lindbo. Not the biggest player at 5’8, but plays with an aggressive force with good determination on the floor. Also one of the Cardinals top performing players in my team points category as well.
Justena Cichy, Forward, Big Lake (2020)
Scratch my earlier take, there were three forwards from the Hornets that caught my and Cichy is the second of three Big Lake forwards we are going to talk about. Cichy won’t get any awards for her rebounding, but she will get one for her tough scoring in the post. Not the most flashy player you will ever see but has good finesse in the paint to score inside.
Mia Huberty, Guard, Big Lake (2021)
Huberty can score at will, we at Prep Girls Minnesota know that’s a fact but I have another take on Huberty. I was highly impressed with her movement without the ball. If you were a spectator at this one and blinked, you would miss her from one side of the floor to the opposite side of the floor just in a second. You could also see the flowing chemistry with the “give and go” her and our next forward perfect so well. Also has a very good all-around skill set as a definite “next level” guard out of Big Lake.
Caela Tighe, Forward, Big Lake (2021)
One thing I’ve learned this year in covering hoops is how versatile the many of the forwards are in Mississippi 8 Conference, and it’s really fun to watch with Caela Tighe in it. She offered versatility at a whole new level tonight. She has a very fluid outside shoot you don’t see from 6’1 bigs very often, she offers great length and rebounded well against the Cardinals smaller forwards that were all well under 6’0. She missed a double double by one rebound, but other than that was terrific all around the court.
Willmar (12-9) will get a very tough Central Lakes battle at home tomorrow night against Alexandria (15-5) who is currently ranked #10 in the latest 3A poll and features University of Mary commit Ella Grove who we saw earlier this season get a nice win at Big Lake by a good margin.
Big Lake (14-6) will get another Central Lakes Conference opponent on Thursday at home when St. Cloud Tech comes to The Nest and features in my opinion, one the top players in the city of St. Cloud has to offer in Genaya Murray (2020) who we saw play very well against Annandale at Breakdown USA’s Granite City Classic in St. Cloud with college coaches in attendance.