5 Takeaways: South Hamilton vs. North Polk
I took in the South Hamilton vs. North Polk game on Tuesday night. North Polk protected its home floor and rolled to an easy 60-17 victory. I came away with five takeaways from the big win for North Polk. Take…
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Continue ReadingI took in the South Hamilton vs. North Polk game on Tuesday night. North Polk protected its home floor and rolled to an easy 60-17 victory. I came away with five takeaways from the big win for North Polk. Take a look at them below.
Maggie Phipps is a stud
Phipps came out hot in the first half and knocked down six 3-pointers. She cooled off in the second half but not before she scored 25 first half points. Phipps is our second ranked player in the 2021 class and is currently committed to Drake. She’s already really skilled as a sophomore and is a really nice wing prospect. Great off of the catch and can rip off quite a few in a row. Versatile and can play a few different spots on the floor. This is a really solid North Polk team, and Phipps is going to be the leader for the next three years. With her at the helm the Comets are in good hands.
North Polk is set up for a run
North Polk has really all you want in a team to make a run in state. They have height and scoring with that height. Their guards are really solid ball handlers and they like to push it up the floor. North Polk is led by a swath of juniors and they should be really good again next year. This is definitely a team to keep an eye on for the next 2-3 years and potentially beyond.
South Hamilton struggled, and the future is cloudy
South Hamilton really struggled in this one as they only scored four points in the second half, all in the fourth quarter. This is a team that is going to struggle against pressure as there just aren’t any ball-handlers on this squad. They play a ton of upperclassmen so they are really thin of talent in the younger classes. It will be interesting to see where they are at in a few years.
South Hamilton is a gritty team
Even though they were easily outplayed, the South Hamilton squad never really backed down. They were flying onto the floor for loose balls and kept mixing it up inside. South Hamilton would never be a fun team to play because of how hard them make you work to track down those offensive and defensive rebounds. They showed a ton of hustle in this one.
The best player in the game may have been someone who didn’t score
I really liked the game of 5’6 junior point guard Alia Springer. She was able to get the ball moving and she rebounded the ball really well from the guard spot. Springer didn’t score but set up her teammates really well. She handed out four assists and also had three steals to combine with her nine rebounds. I really liked the motor that she played with and despite not scoring, I really liked her game.