As we look for other ways to cover prospects we thought it would be beneficial to cover players in a way that allows us to cover those we don’t write much about. We will be using the region’s from last season as they were constructed.
Obviously, these regions will change into next season but for these stories it was the easiest way to divide players and teams as equally as possible.
We will be writing a series of three stories for each region in the state and the categories are as follows: 2023’s to put on Your Radar, 2022’s who can Breakout, and 2021’s Who Should be Valued by Colleges.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164962" first="Taya" last="Tucker"] - Maquoketa Valley</strong>
Among players set to return in the region, Maquoketa Valley’s [player_tooltip player_id="164962" first="Taya" last="Tucker"] is the leader in points, rebounds and steals among several other categories.
Tucker helped the Wildcats go 17-5 this past year before a tough eight-point loss to Denver. She averaged 15 points and eight rebounds a night, shooting 44 percent from the field.
Of her 8.4 boards, nearly four of them came on the offensive end each night. Tucker also had 88 steals, 37 assists and 21 blocks.
<strong>Jessica Carolan - Hudson</strong>
Hudson started the season 11-2 before hitting a bit of a rough patch down the road, including an exit from the postseason.
Senior-to-be Jessica Carolan will look to learn from that experience as she is one of four players with starting experience set to return.
Carolan scored 178 points with 85 rebounds, 50 assists, 37 steals and 14 blocks this past year. She shot 44 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free throw line.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164958" first="Ella" last="Imler"] - Maquoketa Valley</strong>
A youth-dominated team this past year, Maquoketa Valley put forth a strong season, winning 17 games. [player_tooltip player_id="164958" first="Ella" last="Imler"] a junior, was part of that group.
Imler made a team-high 45 three-pointers, finishing with 327 points, 104 assists, 99 rebounds and 54 steals. She ranked second on the team in scoring, first in assists, second in steals and third in rebounds.
<strong>Makenzie Fessler - West Fork</strong>
The role of leader will be on the shoulders of Makenzie Fessler of West Fork next winter.
Fessler returns after scoring 171 points with a team-leading 71 steals. She also had 71 rebounds, 48 assists and sank 16 three-pointers.
With an improvement in her shooting percentages, Fessler could be the leading scorer for the Warhawks as a senior.
<strong>Hailey Diersen - South Hamilton</strong>
With one more year to play as a prep, Hailey Diersen could be primed for her best season to date for South Hamilton.
Diersen is coming off a junior campaign that saw her record a team-high 133 rebounds, adding 73 points, 24 blocks, 19 steals and 17 assists.
