Class 2A – Region 4: 2022’s who can Breakout

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. We will continue to go through each region and aim to hit as many players as we can that we haven’t talked about previously. Here are five 2022’s who could be primed for big seasons. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129057" first="Reese" last="Johnson"] - Denver</strong> Following a loss to Dike-New Hartford in January, Denver was sitting at 8-6 overall. The Cyclones would win nine of their next 12, reaching the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A state tournament. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="129057" first="Reese" last="Johnson"] was a big reason for that successful run, leading the team with 10 points and almost six rebounds a night. Johnson shot just about 40 percent from the field and the 3-point line, making a team-high 44 triples. She finished with 267 points, 143 rebounds, 40 steals, 36 blocks and 34 assists. <strong>Lainy Thoren - Grundy Center</strong> Part of a trio of sophomores that scored over 700 points this past year for Grundy Center, Lainy Thoren finished with a team-high 264. Thoren, who played both inside and out, shot almost 40 percent from the floor, making 10 three-pointers. She also got to the free throw line 109 times, sinking 63 percent of those attempts. Along with her point total, Thoren added a Spartan-best 177 rebounds and 69 assists to go along with 44 steals and 25 blocks - which also paced the team. <strong>Maddie Hubka - West Fork</strong> With leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="134388" first="Emily" last="Caspers"] set to graduate, some of her production could fall onto the shoulders of sophomore Maddie Hubka. Hubka started all 23 games for the Warhawks this past year, scoring 93 points with a team-high 71 steals. She also added 60 assists to pace West Fork, making 11 three-pointers. <strong>Morgan Havens - South Hardin</strong> Just a 10th-grader, Morgan Havens made it very difficult to get to the paint this year against South Hardin. Havens recorded 28 blocks in 20 games, showing plenty of promise as an imposing figure over the next few years. She also tallied 79 rebounds for the Tigers, which ranked third overall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="163332" first="Bailey" last="Reding"] - Grundy Center</strong> Grundy Center won 16 games and advanced to the regional final before coming up short vs. Denver. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="163332" first="Bailey" last="Reding"] was part of a youth-dominated lineup, scoring almost 10 points with five rebounds per game. Reding shot 43 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 65 percent at the line. Reding also finished with 42 assists and 36 steals.