Midwest Central vs. Lewistown: 6 key takeaways

LEWISTOWN - Lewistown and Midwest Central have deep postseason runs in mind and each provided a good test in non-conference play. Lewistown's fullcourt pressure set the pace from the get-go and was relentless in an 83-61 win over Midwest Central on Thursday. The game was closer than the score represents due to the Indians' (6-0) quick ability to score out of its press. The Indians reached the Elite Eight in Class 1A last season and return their core. Midwest Central also returns its core after a Sweet Sixteen appearance in Class 2A. Here are six takeaways from the game. 1. Lewistown's relentless fullcourt press is suffocating. The Indians pressured from the opening tip, which allowed them to open a 14-point run. They not only have the speed but are long in passing lanes with their 1-2-2 press. Sydney Shaeffer (2020) gets a lot of deflections and steals out of the press and Anna Heffren (2020) can use her speed to recover when she gets beat. "Our defense did what it was supposed to, apply defensive pressure, get up and after it and wear them down in the second half," Lewistown coach Greg Bennett said. Lewistown forced five Midwest Central turnovers in the first quarter and held a 25-14 lead after eight minutes before the Raiders settled in through the next two quarters and went to work against the 2-3 zone after breaking the press. 2. Anna Heffren and Mady Harper are as good as it gets at point guard. Heffren had a career night. She scored the first six points of the game and, with her first free throw in the first quarter, crossed the 1,000-point mark for her career. The junior finished with 35 points on 14-of-25 shooting, mostly on drives though she has the ability to shoot from the perimeter. She now has 1,028 career points. [caption id="attachment_19248" align="alignright" width="300"] Lewistown's Anna Heffren scored her 1,000th career point on a free-throw in the first quarter. (Aaron Ferguson)[/caption] She is the pace-setter for Lewistown on both ends of the court. Her speed allows her to get by most defenders on drives but on Thursday she had to work harder to free herself up. But at 5-foot-6 she gets in great position to scrap for offensive rebounds and putbacks. "They're relentless and that's what Anna does," Midwest Central coach Eric Weaver said. "They're good because her motor doesn't stop." Mady Harper (2020) has been playing basketball at a high level since middle school, when she played on the boys team at Delavan because there weren't enough girls to play. She is one of the highest-IQ players on the floor and has a nose for the ball. The 5-foot-7 Harper has the ability to apply at any level in college, though size may hurt her at the highest level. Her ball-handling skills and court vision are unmatched and stand out at the small-school level. She can pull-up from the logo and knock down a shot or drive and make adjustments to finish tough layups through contact. Even with her shot struggling Thursday, she scored a team-high 17 points while shooting 4-for-11 and missing all six 3-point attempts. Most importantly, she has a knack of making plays defensively, despite her height. Harper went after the ball any chance she got and came away with three blocks, two steals and eight rebounds (five defensive). "For Harper trying to steal the ball every time it's near her and for us to only have nine turnovers, it's great," Bennett said. "Harper is one of the best players in the state." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVLCK2UzSBE 3. Megan Teal is Midwest Central's defensive stopper. When the Raiders need a stop or to shut down a specific player, Megan Teal (2019) draws the assignment. She applied fullcourt pressure on an island against Anna Heffren, which limited Heffren's ability to score with the ball. At 5-foot-8 she has a longer wingspan and makes passing or getting a shot off difficult. Lewistown did a good job of screening and getting switches to free Heffren up in their halfcourt sets. 4. Unmatched chemistry will take Lewistown as far as it wants. It's not often that an entire team of players stays together throughout the summer, but Lewistown does. The Indians went to two AAU tournaments - one in Wisconsin and one at Southeast Missouri State - and won them both. They love playing with each other and it shows on the court. Lewistown's offensive sets flow smoothly with everyone knowing where they need to be. Often times, Indians ball-handlers will anticipate where a player is supposed to be and make passes to that spot for open looks. The Indians will even run the classic "Elevator Doors" set to free up their 3-point shooters. 5. Unsung heroes will play a big part in postseason play. Both teams returned the core of their squads from last year's deep postseason runs. Each want to go further and have complementary pieces to make it happen. For Midwest Central, Annah Miller (2020) will be a difference maker in the post. Even in an up-tempo game on Thursday, her height at 5-foot-11 allowed her to shoot over shorter defenders. She was 6-for-10 from the floor with 12 points and four rebounds. By the time the season ends, 6-foot-2 freshman Alexa Kerley (2022) could also provide key minutes. The Raiders received solid contributions from Emily Hilst (2020) off the bench, who was 2-for-4 from 3-point range, collecting four rebounds and an assist. She shot the ball with confidence and made appropriate passes in the flow of the offense. Taylor Smith (2020) struggled early offensively but knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, one to close the first half and another to open the second half, to cut Lewistown's lead to nine. She finished with six points on 2-for-7 shooting (2-for-5 on 3-pointers). Lewistown's Hannah Burdess (2019) is an impressive shooter and was perfect to start the game before missing her fourth, and final shot. She had 11 points and five rebounds while, at 5-foot-11, being called upon to battle in the post defensively. Baylee Mayberry (2019) was incredibly efficient, scoring 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting, and moved the ball offensively with five assists. Carli Heffren (2020) was the only Indian to struggle shooting the ball from the perimeter (1-for-6 on 3-pointers), but not for a lack of confidence. She will be key in a sixth-man role for Lewistown, especially if she gets shots to fall. Paige Bennett (2019) was 1-for-5 from the floor but impacted the game with her rebounding and defense. It will be interesting to see how Macy Mikulich (2022) develops throughout the season. She played key minutes in a reserve role, missing a pair of shots but did grab three rebounds. 6. Lewistown's sharpshooting is backbreaking. It helps to shoot on your own rims every day, sure, but Lewistown has shown in the past they can go into different gyms and hit backbreaking 3-pointers. On Thursday, the team was 10-for-21 from 3-point range, highlighted by Shaeffer's 4-for-5 and Burdess' 3-for-4 nights. The Indians get open looks and knock them down in big moments. Midwest Central trimmed a 14-point deficit to six (25-19) in the second quarter before Hannah Burdess hit a key trey to stretch the lead to double digits. Then in the third quarter, Miller hit a low-post shot to trim it to 44-37 but a pair of Schaeffer treys stretched the lead to 13. Immediately following Schaeffer's buckets was a 6-point run by the Raiders, only to be answered by another Burdess 3-pointer. Lines of the night Midwest Central Mady Harper (Jr., G, 5-foot-7) - 17 points (4-11/1-6/8-9) with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals Megan Teal (Sr., G, 5-foot-8) - 16 points (6-15/1-4/3-4) with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block Annah Miller (Jr., C, 5-foot-11) - 14 points (6-10/0-1/2-4) with 4 rebounds Lewistown Anna Heffren (Jr., G, 5-foot-6) - 35 points (14-25/1-3/6-6) with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals Sydney Shaeffer (Jr., G, 5-foot-8) - 20 points (7-10/4-5/2-4) with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal Baylee Mayberry (Sr., G, 5-foot-8) - 11 points (5-6/1-1/0-0) with 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal The two teams will not meet in the postseason but could get matched up in the Beardstown Lady Tigers Classic after Christmas.