Nate’s Game Notes: New London-Spicer vs. Rockford

<strong>ROCKFORD--</strong> We took our talents to Rockford to watch some Wright County Conference play between the Rockets and the Wildcats of New London-Spicer. The Wildcats won handily, but we wanted to break down some of their keys to winning and overall takeaways from players we watched from the game. <strong>KEYS TO THE GAME</strong> <ul> <li>The size difference of the Wildcats played key in the game as Rockford without a player taller than 5'10 struggled to collect boards over the mighty 21-1 Wildcats. Top rebounders were <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/ava-kraemer/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/ava-kraemer/">Ava Kraemer</a></a> </strong>(#139, 2021), <strong>Grace DeSchepper </strong>(2021) and <strong>Erin Kinsley </strong>(2021) in which <strong>Kinsley</strong> made rebounding look effortless with 6'2 frame and was the leading scorer with 15 points.</li> <li>The Wildcats were defensively sound and positioned themselves well enough on the court to create a large amount of turnovers from the Rockets. This trended mostly with the guard play of <strong>Mackenzie Rich </strong>(2021), captain <strong>Payton Mages </strong>(2020), and forward <strong>Emma Hanson</strong> (2021) who is also the Wildcats lead scorer and leader in the steals department on the year.</li> <li>The Wildcats were able to keep the Rockets leading scorer on the year,  <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-manthana/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-manthana/">Sydney Manthana</a></a> </strong>(#74, #2021) in check with 7 points. When you shut down a scorer that's averaging 18 points per game to their season low, their always a great chance you will win the ball game. <strong>Manthana </strong>was on a tear up to last night, averaging just under 22 points per game in her last four appearances.</li> </ul> <strong>Other Takeaways from Tuesday Night in Rockford</strong> <ul> <li>Although <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-manthana/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-manthana/">Sydney Manthana</a></a></strong> wasn't able to score like she's used to against the Wildcats, she did leave a great impression on Tuesday night in another category. The way she passes the ball around is remarkable as her passes are as crisp and with the best style, I've seen all season long in the near 60 teams I have watched thus far.</li> <li>Best Block of the game goes to <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/ava-cusciotta/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/ava-cusciotta/">Ava Cusciotta</a></a> </strong>(#50, 2022) of Rockford. Early in the first half, <strong>Cusciotta </strong>stuffed one of the 6'0+ bigs of New London-Spicer in a play that was heard loudly throughout the gym. <strong>Cusciotta</strong> showed us she has some leap in her 5'9 frame as that was a monster block.</li> <li>Handing out an award for <strong>Best Energy</strong> on the year. Most of the announcers I've heard this year bring an average energy when it comes to the starting lineups. Not in Rockford, as the announcer of the Rockets made you feel like you were watching Big Ten rivalry inside Williams Arena the way he announced the starters for the Rockets. Bravo to the Rockford Rockets for having the "Best Energy" from their starting lineups I've seen this year.</li> </ul> <strong>Rockford </strong>(15-7) will get back to back games against the Dreier coaching tree as they will head to <strong>Annandale </strong>(14-8) to take on the Cardinals on Friday night at 7:00 PM. <strong>New London-Spicer </strong>(21-1) will get a date also on Valentine's Day with the second best team in the Wright County Conference which is <strong>Watertown-Mayer </strong>(18-5) who features the strong scoring of <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/maggie-czinano/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/maggie-czinano/">Maggie Czinano</a></a></strong> (#17, 2021) who is scoring at will recently, with almost 30 points per game in her last two Wright County Conference games.