Class 4A – Region 2: 2021’s Who Should be Valued by Colleges

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 2021’s who should be valued by colleges. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="131146" first="Josie" last="Fleischmann"] - Ballard</strong> After losing the opener, Ballard won 22 consecutive games, reaching the state tournament and earning a regional title. The Bombers will lean on returning talent such as [player_tooltip player_id="131146" first="Josie" last="Fleischmann"] to continue the strong run of success at the school. Fleischmann was the leading scorer as a junior, posting 11.5 points per game and 275 total. She shot over 47 percent from the field, 46 percent from the three-point line and 80 percent at the free throw stripe. Along with her scoring, Fleischmann also added 40 rebounds, 31 assists and 22 steals. She made a team-high 77 triples, which makes her the returning leader after finishing sixth in the state last year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="165005" first="Emma" last="Dighton"] - Boone</strong> Scoring and rebounding were top priorities for Boone’s [player_tooltip player_id="165005" first="Emma" last="Dighton"] last year. Dighton produced 263 points and 135 rebounds in 17 games, adding 42 assists and 26 steals. The guard led the Toreadors in scoring and rebounding, shooting 41 percent from the field and almost 30 percent from the three-point line. She also was among the Boone leaders with 21 made three-pointers and hit almost 75 percent of her 99 free throw attempts. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="165053" first="Mary" last="Yanga"] - Storm Lake</strong> Several new faces will be key to Storm Lake turning things around in 2020-21, and that includes Class of 2021’s [player_tooltip player_id="165053" first="Mary" last="Yanga"]. Yanga scored 187 points, shooting 44 percent from the field with 17 made three-pointers. She also contributed 100 rebounds, 23 steals, 21 blocks and 21 assists, making nearly 57 percent of her free throw tries. <strong>Leah Kasch - Webster City</strong> Career scoring leader [player_tooltip player_id="134352" first="Taylor" last="McKinney"] departs, and Webster City will need production from other players. Leah Kasch is in a prime position to step in and help fill that hole. Kasch came off the bench last season to score 103 points with 44 rebounds, 17 steals and 14 assists. She shot just under 40 percent from the floor and made seven three-pointers. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164975" first="Cassidy" last="Thompson"] - Ballard</strong> Along with [player_tooltip player_id="131146" first="Josie" last="Fleischmann"] and Minnesota State-commit [player_tooltip player_id="164941" first="Molly" last="Ihle"], Ballard has another Class of 2021 prospect in [player_tooltip player_id="164975" first="Cassidy" last="Thompson"]. Thompson posted 117 points and 90 rebounds last year, blocking a team-leading 59 shots. She also had 27 steals and 27 assists, shooting almost 40 percent from the field.