5 way-to-early POY candidates in the 5A/4A Tri-Valley League

The 5A/4A Tri-Valley League ended in a three-way tie, and those three teams — Berthoud, Erie and Holy Family — ended up driving into the lengthy depths of the 4A state postseason bracket. Eventually, Erie was knocked out by Berthoud in the Great Eight, Berthoud fell to Mullen in overtime in the semifinals and Holy Family was slated to play Mullen in the finals before the coronavirus led to the tournament cancellation .... all of that will have time to sink in. But heck, who can wait? Let’s take a sneak peek into next season. In this series, we will focus on a few 2020-21 player of the year candidates from some notable conferences around the state. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="95140" first="Breanna" last="Fowler"], 2021, PG, Berthoud</strong> [caption id="attachment_112066" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="95140" first="Breanna" last="Fowler"][/caption]Fowler averaged 14 points, four assists, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 steals this past year as the Spartans came achingly close at punching their ticket into the finals. Fowler was the second-leading scorer on that team to league POY [player_tooltip player_id="95030" first="Emily" last="Cavey"], who scored 17.2 PPG and had 6.9 RPG. Now without Cavey, and [player_tooltip player_id="115821" first="Celsey" last="Selland"], who rose into a double-double machine in the winter, more of the weight will likely fall on Fowler in 2020-21. And if her last six games are any forecast of how that’ll look ... expect cloudless skies, good air quality, and warm fronts that, with some understanding, can be considered pretty cool, too. Fowler ended her junior season, shooting above 50 percent in four of her final six games while averaging around 20 points. Against defending champ Mullen in the semifinals, she scored 21 as the Spartans fell just short. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="95135" first="Genevieve" last="Gudino"], 2021, G, Erie</strong> [caption id="attachment_148682" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="95135" first="Genevieve" last="Gudino"][/caption]One thing that might detract an Erie player from contending for the league’s player of the year honor is the whole self-vs.-team predicament, if you believe in that stuff. Like, how do stand out on a nightly basis with a roster loaded with talent? But Gudino still has the capability. She has the talent, has the smarts and proved last year when her name was still prevalent among the top players in 4A even with the likes of sophomore standouts in [player_tooltip player_id="117710" first="Grace" last="Moyers"] and [player_tooltip player_id="95176" first="Deb" last="Altshuler"] by her side. Overall, Gudino has been a threat on both ends of the court since she was with Holy Family as a freshman. Last year, her scoring was slightly less than her sophomore campaign (14.9-14.2 points per game), but her rebounds (4.8) and assists (3.2) were up. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="117710" first="Grace" last="Moyers"], 2022, G, Erie</strong> There’s a video on Twitter of [player_tooltip player_id="117710" first="Grace" last="Moyers"] hitting 18 3s in a row as she circles around the perimeter. It’s captioned by Jen Moyers, her mom, “20 in a row! Stubborn girl wouldn’t stop shooting so I missed the first two spots on video.” https://x.com/coachjenmoyers/status/1245415052968165384 Pretty lights out stuff. Moyers hit 68 3s as a sophomore and averaged 14.7 points per game. In one stretch during the year, she hit six 3s, then five, then eighth, then six. Eventually, she was named all-conference and to the first team all-region by BoCoPreps.com. She also was named to the all-sophomore team by Prep Girls Hoops. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116799" first="Kylie" last="Sanger"], 2021, SG, Windsor </strong> Sanger led Windsor in scoring as a junior, averaging 13.5 points per game. Three of the next four scoring leaders on that team were sophomores and are expected to return. That bodes well for the Wizards chances in improving on their 13-12 finish from this past year. And with more help, more veteran presence, Sanger may be able to find more space and hit at a higher clip in 2020-21, too. Getting to the line more for starters would go a long way as she went 67 of 80 (84 percent) from there in the winter. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116779" first="Alyssa" last="Wells"], 2021, SG, Holy Family</strong> [caption id="attachment_148681" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="116779" first="Alyssa" last="Wells"][/caption]Wells led the Tigers in scoring at 12.7 points per game and also averaged 3.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 steals. Coach Ron Rossi loves agile players who can contribute on both ends. And that’s what he’s got at the highest level with Wells. Last year, the junior was a threat from behind the perimeter, evident of her 55 3s. She also had nice touch around the rim. Defensively, though, she really shined. She helped the Tigers develop into one of the best defensive teams in Class 4A, allowing less than 37 points per game. At 5-10, she can guard any forward, and her agility and quickness, meanwhile, gives her an ability to stick with any guard, too.