8 Under the Radar Players: 3A State Tournament
On Monday we will start the 2020 girls’ state tournament in Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena. There are a lot of star players in each class who have led their teams all season long but there are also players…
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Continue ReadingOn Monday we will start the 2020 girls’ state tournament in Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena. There are a lot of star players in each class who have led their teams all season long but there are also players who don’t get the recognition on each team that deserve it. Below I will be taking a look at an under the radar player on each team in the 3A state tournament.
Ali Maulsby – 2021 – Clear Lake
Clear Lake is a very potent offensive team with 10 players scoring more than 3.5 points a game. They are many different options and I think one who is very under the radar is Maulsby. She’s smart with the ball, she can shoot it well from the outside, and she handles it well. Percentage-wise she is the second-best shooter on this Clear Lake team and I don’t think she gets enough credit. Maulsby does everything well and sometimes I think that slips by the wayside when watching this team.
Joslyn Helgens – 2022 – Des Moines Christian
Helgens scores 4.7 points a game for Des Moines Christian as they are led by just two players who score in double digits. Helgens doesn’t shoot the ball from the outside much but is very efficient at scoring it on the inside. She averages close to two steals a game and for Des Moines Christian that is huge for what they look to do defensively. Helgens is not a household name but she doesn’t exactly what is needed of her and shoots the ball at a 57.5 percent rate.
Sophia Hoffmann – 2022 – Dike-New Hartford
Dike-New Hartford has a lot of flashy scorers and has leaned on them all season long. The fourth-leading scorer on the team is Hoffmann at 5.6 points a game. Hoffmann does really well at getting to the open spots on the floor to score the ball. Hoffmann contributes in other parts of the game too, not just scoring the ball. She averages 2.4 rebounds, assists, and steals a game showcasing her consistency among all parts of her game. She also turns the ball over just once a game showing how solid she is with the ball.
Allie West – 2020 – Red Oak
West scores 7.2 points a game but on this team that means that she is the fifth leading scorer on the team. She has the second-highest effective field goal percentage on the team and is the best free-throw shooter on the team. West stuffs the stat sheet almost every game as she pulls down 4.5 rebounds, she dishes off 2.3 assists, and grabs 2.4 steals a game. She is a high motor player who can kind of sit in the limelight due to the players around her. She is a big piece to the success of Red Oak.
Brianna Lingenfelter – 2020 – Jesup
This is a Jesup team that goes deep into their bench and the starters are the strength of their team. Lingenfelter is overlooked even though she is one of the starters and she scores 6.5 points a game even while having the second-best shooting percentage on the team. She is a high motor kid who does everything very solidly on the floor while only turning the ball over 1-2 times a game. She’s a great passer and is very willing to set her teammates up. I look for Lingenfelter to have a solid state tournament.
Katie Cooke – 2020 – Bishop Heelan
Cooke isn’t known as a player who can go out and score the ball at a high level even though she does score 10.2 points a game. I look at Cooke and I see a senior leader who helps her team weather a storm. She shoots the ball at a 37 percent rate and dishes off 1.7 assists a game. Cooke is very quick defensively allowing her to grab over two steals a game. Cooke is going to be a big factor in the run in the state tournament for Bishop Heelan, much like she has been the past four years.
Abi Zimmer – 2021 – North Polk
There are a couple of household names on this North Polk team that are heading to play Division I basketball and Division III basketball this upcoming year. Zimmer is a player on this team that rarely gets the credit that she deserves because she isn’t one to score 15 points a game. Zimmer is a calm, cool, and collected guard who scores 5.3 points a game and dishes off 2.5 assists a game. She is a tremendous glue player for this team and has the ability to really lockdown on the defensive end of the floor.
Anna Wohlers – 2021 – Assumption
Wohlers has primarily come off the bench this season but has gained eight starts. I think that shows you how regarded she is on this team if they trust her to start the game when needed. Wohlers is a junior who scores 6.4 points a game and grabs 3.7 rebounds for her team. This is a mark of a player who is generally always right around the basketball when she is on the floor. She shoots it well from behind the arc as she is north of 40 percent on the year from out there. Wohlers is one shooter who you can’t leave open. She’ll be heading to DePaul after next year to play softball.