Leading Dimers For the WDA Conference

Everyone always acknowledges the shooter when the ball goes in, but what about the transactions that happen before. Let’s talk about the screen that was set or the movement off the ball to the ball handler passing off to the shooter for the shot. Assist leaders and playmakers are slowly becoming something less talked about in the basketball world when in fact the entirety of basketball should revolve around them. In this article, we’ll go over the top 5 assist leaders from the WDA conference and break down how each player distributes the ball and why they are in fact in this list. Amya Gourneau – TMCHS – (5’8/SF/2023) – Starting off our list is WDA conference’s current leading scorer Amya Gourneau. Amya when she’s not being a scoring threat still has her hands deep within Turtle Mountains point contribution. Amya has really good court vision and is great at drawing defenders in with double teams when she drives to the hoop. She looks for the easy dump offs or drive and kick passes to set her teammates up. Gourneau tallies a double-double this year with 22 points and 11 assists playing Dickinson. Amya currently averages 5.1 assists per contest tying for first place with Ella Falk Ella Falk 5'10" | SG Jamestown | 2023 State ND . Ella Falk Ella Falk 5'10" | SG Jamestown | 2023 State ND - Jamestown - (5’10/SG/2023) - Second on our list and tied for first in the WDA conference for assists is Ella Falk Ella Falk 5'10" | SG Jamestown | 2023 State ND . Ella doesn’t have extra flair to her game, but honestly is a solid all around basketball performer. She doesn’t force shots or even passes. When its not there she retreats and resets the offensive flow. Falk is that steady rock for Jamestown and in my opinion a hidden talent for the next level. This year Falk tallied a double-double with 11 points and 12 assists against Dickinson. Ella currently averages 5.1 assists per contest tying for first place with Amya Gourneau. Piper Harris Piper Harris 5'4" | PG Mandan | 2022 State ND - Mandan - (5’4/PG/2022) - Technically coming in second on our list is Piper Harris Piper Harris 5'4" | PG Mandan | 2022 State ND . Piper is exactly what you would think of a modern day point guard. A guard that plays with a lot of grit and determination and isn’t afraid to attack the hoop. I think Harris excels most when she’s in the pick n roll situation in getting down hill and finding the open man weather that’s the roller or the girl that’s repositioned on the perimeter for a kick out. Piper has put up some remarkable box scores one being this year against Minot which read 7 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. A little more of everything there and her box shows a triple-double. Harris may be undersized, but there’s a lot of desire within her. Maya Aguilar Maya Aguilar 5'9" | SG Minot | 2023 State ND - Minot - (5’9/SG/2023) - An athlete that isn’t mentioned enough here is Maya Aguilar Maya Aguilar 5'9" | SG Minot | 2023 State ND . She’s a player that isn’t just a great complimentary player, but has the potential to truly be something bigger. Minot has a great surplus of young, hungry athletes that in my opinion have figured out something special for this year. Maya tallied 7 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists this year against St. Mary’s. Aguilar is the type of player that goes out and does what is needed on the court. She can be a scoring option for Minot, but doesn’t stress the issue knowing fellow teammates Maggie Fricke Maggie Fricke 5'7" | PG Minot | 2025 ND , Avery Lunde Avery Lunde 5'7" | SG Minot | 2024 State ND and Lee Lee Bell have that category wrapped up. Aguilar knows her role on the team and is methodically patient. She’s truly the glue that keeps the Minot team rolling through the 22’ season. Bergan Kinnebrew Bergan Kinnebrew 5'11" | CG Bismarck Century | 2023 State ND – Century – (5’11/SG/2023) - Lastly, but certainly not least on our list is Bergan Kinnebrew Bergan Kinnebrew 5'11" | CG Bismarck Century | 2023 State ND . Bergan is slowly making her name a household one. Not only does she average 17.5 points a game, but also 3.4 assists per game and 3.1 steals a game which we’ll cover on a later cookie monster segment. Kinnebrew has done nothing, but exceed expectations this year. Century needed another player to step up and they surely got it. This year Bergan tallied a box score of 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Kinnebrew is a walking box score stuffer and it’ll be interesting to see how she progressive through the rest of this year and what she has in store for her senior year next season.