Smoky Valley at Halstead : Takeaways and Standouts

The 2-2 Smoky Valley Vikings travelled to the 5-0 Halstead Dragons Tuesday night for a Central Kansas League contest. Halstead entered the game ranked #7 in class 3A. Both are young teams. Halstead does not have a senior on the roster. Smoky Valley has four on the roster but only two see substantial floor time. [caption id="attachment_128325" align="alignright" width="300"] Halstead's Josie Engel, left, and Karenna Gerber, right, ready to rebound while Smoky Valley's Kaylie Ryan, left, and Ellie Brumbaugh, look on.[/caption] Halstead opened the game with a 5-0 run, led 14-4 after one quarter, and were never seriously threatened. The Dragons cruised to a 45-24 victory behind a steady half court man-to-man defense and a deliberate offense. The Vikings employed a 2-3 zone that more than allowed perimeter shots to be able to collapse on Halstead power forward Karena Gerber. Halstead consistently passed up quality perimeter shot opportunities to either get the ball inside to Gerber or to hit a basket cutter. Smoky Valley Vikings <h2>Three Takeaways</h2> Turnovers - In a four point first quarter alone the Vikings had nine turnovers. Aside for a stretch in seven point second quarter in which the team held Halstead to seven as well, turnovers off ill-advised drives and poor passing likely saw the Vikings end with 25 at the minimum. The primary ball-handlers must keep the ball in their hands, they must execute better, and they must make pass better. When the wrong people had the ball in their hands on the perimeter Halstead ate them up. Scoring - The Vikings have players with some ability to score. Those players need more touches and touches in places where they can score. Improved passing in the half court would help substantially. Play to strength, the bigs - The Vikings have a group of six bigs 5'9" - 6'0" on the team, five who suited for the game. Only one is a senior. Two led the team in scoring with six points apiece. As a group they scored 14 of the team's 24 points. All saw time. All of them have the ability to score but in different ways and two are especially active on the boards. Guard play to get them the ball must improve for this team to have success. A four win team a year ago, this team is on the rise. <h2>Key Players</h2> [caption id="attachment_128335" align="alignleft" width="159"] Smoky Valley 2022 Avery VanDerWege.[/caption] Ellie Brumbaugh, 5’3”, PG, 2021, NR – Brumbaugh is the team's best ball handler. She showed three point range and interest in beating people off the bounce. She also has solid hand speed to pick a pocket. Would like to see her show she can run the team, including improving decision making in half court offense. Breanna Priddy, 5'9", PF, 2022 – Competes hard inside on both ends of the floor. Good 12' shooting ability. Team's best rebounder. Runs well in transition. Decent quicks to help on dribble drives. Avery VanDerWege, 5'5", SG, 2022, NR – VanDerWege can get off a three point shot very quickly off the catch. Her ability to score from the perimeter will make the inside players more effective. [caption id="attachment_128332" align="alignleft" width="160"] Smoky Valley 2022 Abby Rose.[/caption] Abby Rose, 6'0", SF, 2022, NR – Rose has good transition speed and the quickest feet of the bigs on the offensive end. Needs more touches to take advantage of her inside game creativity. Improvement on the defensive end needs to begin with using her quickness to cut cutters and slow up dribble drives. Halstead Dragons <h3>Three Takeaways </h3> Patient on Offense - Especially because the team's overall strength is in their guard depth, the Dragons are patient on offense. They are, however, prone to standing around. They can be overly deliberate as they were with Smoky Valley's 2-3 zone. The Vikings gave the outside shot, the Dragons passed on great shots repeatedly. The Vikings game the Dragons their closest game of the young season next to Bennington's 15 point loss. How their offense operates in early January when they face league rivals Hillsboro (5-1) and 4-2 Hesston (4-2) will be telling. Hillsboro is ranked #10 in class 2A. Without Gerber on the floor - Halstead's Gerber is the only player on the roster over 5'8". Against a big team like Smoky Valley, that lack of size changes they way the can play defense and challenge for rebounds. Scoring - Except for one 70 point game the Dragons have scored between 40 and 50 points every game. With their firepower they could easily be averaging closer to 55. <h4>Key Players</h4> [caption id="attachment_128318" align="alignleft" width="160"] Halstead's 2023 Kaleigh O'Brien.[/caption] Hailey Kelley, 5'8", G/F, 2021, NR – Very fast in transition. Good athlete and shooter who would use a greener light to shoot or get to the basket. Long limbed and able to help with interior defense. Has a good head and shoulder fake on the perimeter, would like to see more of her ball skills. Kaleigh O'Brien, 5'9", G, 2021, #16 – The most active player on the floor. Has three point range and strong handles. Tends to sub for Gerber in middle defensively when Gerber is out. <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/karenna-gerber/">Karenna Gerber</a>, 6'0", PF, 2021, #14 – Finally in the flow of things offensively Gerber showed the diversity and strength that has her rated as one of the top juniors in the state. She used interior moves to score on three surrounding Vikings, hit a three from the wing, and got to the rim off the bounce. She also solidly led a two-on-one break for an assist and competed and rebounded inside strongly. [caption id="attachment_128238" align="alignleft" width="160"] Halstead 2020 point guard Haley Lewis shoots a corner three against Smoky Valley.[/caption] Josie Engel, 5'7", G, 2021, NR – Engel's ability as a three point shooter off the catch is strong as she finished with three makes. Haley Lewis, 5'0", PG, 2021, NR – One of three players able to consistently create her own shot. Is effective at attacking the basket with both hands. Quick hands defensively, she is always a steal threat. Has the speed to go end-to-end with the ball and finish when defended. All-around improvement in her game is noticeable after playing for Next Level Eclipse over the summer. Featured Image: Smoky Valley 2022 Breanna Priddy is trapped by Halstead's 2021 Hailey Kelley, right, and an another unidentified Dragon.