St. Paul Highland Park Outruns St. Paul Harding: Five Takeaways
Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota put some miles on today while Nate Wahl started his early afternoon at St. Paul Highland Park High School is one of his three games this Friday. This game started off tight, but then the Scots…
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Continue ReadingPrep Girls Hoops Minnesota put some miles on today while Nate Wahl started his early afternoon at St. Paul Highland Park High School is one of his three games this Friday. This game started off tight, but then the Scots of Highland Park took over as they wore down St. Paul Harding towards the end of the first half. These are my five takeaways from this St. Paul City Conference battle.
Guard Play Makes the Dream Work
Tiana Ellis/Highland Park (2020) was the top guard today between Scots and the Knights and gets my “Guard Player of the Game Award”. She has a good basketball IQ and has can be consistent from mid-range and long-range. She wore down the Harding defense with turnovers which was a problem for them all game long.
We ALMOST Had a Double-Double from the Harding Knights
Natalie Gasterland (2020) was two boards away from getting a double-double for Harding Knights this afternoon. She had the best size on the floor and was crucial in Harding’s rebounding efforts against the more athletic Scots of Highland Park. I think she can get better in the post and be more aggressive and has a good shot of getting another double-double this season. She gets my “Board Collector Award” from today’s afternoon game in St. Paul.
Young Potential for the Harding Knights
One player that stood out to me that had some bounce today was not even listed on the Varsity program roster for the St. Paul Harding Knights. Le’Asia Johnson (2023) was listed on the Knights C-Squad roster but played Varsity minutes this afternoon. She had a decent game for the Knights, but I think if she could develop a better jump shot, she could become a better player. I feel she gets about half as much as she could off the ground with her jumper which should improve with time as she’s just a sophomore.
Hustle Player of the Game
That nod goes to Morgan Jones (2021) of Highland Park. Jones played with a take the game over attitude at the end of the 1st half. She certainly plays with a chip on her shoulder and she showed that by scoring in double digits and was the top dog in the team points (ast, stl, blks) category and also a top rebounder for the Scots.
Play of the Game/Player of the Game
The best player in the game between St. Paul Harding and St. Paul Highland Park goes to Breyana Turner (2021) of Highland Park. Her 17 points led the way for the Scots to pull away in the 2nd half against a less aggressive Harding team. She also had the play of the game, where she dove for a loose ball, got it back, and tossed it to Anna Grundhoefer (2020) for a layup. Kudo to Turner for winning player of the game this afternoon in St. Paul.
St. Paul Highland Park (5-3) will play conference rival St. Paul Central (3-4) at Central on Tuesday, January 7th at 7 PM.
St. Paul Harding (2-6) will have a good chance to win on Tuesday, January 7th against the Hope Academy (0-8) on the road at 7 PM.