Heart of Illinois – Tournament Review

I spoke with Head Coach <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Riley Gardner and asked her about her busy week in Indianapolis from July 5th-12th and who stood out for Heart of Illinois.</span> <strong>16u/17u</strong> Overall Record 11-1 <ul> <li>Riley Jenkins. Galesburg High School. 5’8 2021 - Riley played well all week. She pushed the tempo constantly, excelled on defense and was knocking down the 3 ball.  Coach Gardener called her a "problem for the opposition".</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="78772" first="Katie" last="Krupa"]. Morton High School. 2022 - The Harvard commit played great during her time in Indy.  She defended very well and filled the box scores.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Delaney Cook. Peoria Christian High School. 5’9 2022 - Delaney is super athletic and that showed all week.  She was the best defender for HOI.  She knocked down big three after big three and got to the basket well.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Ella Lune. Brimfield High School. 6’0 2022 - Ella used her long length that she brings to the game to dominate the boards.  She was also using her post moves, including her counter moves that she has been working on, to dominate down low.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="124863" first="Maya" last="Osborn"]. Marshall High School. 2022 - Maya brought great energy and intensity to the team all week, sparking the team when she was on the floor and cheering them when she was off it.  She was knocking down threes and her defense got better every game.  Her court vision was also a bright spot for her all week.</li> </ul> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>16u</strong></span> The 16u squad finished .500 on the week playing some very good competition. <ul> <li>Ashley Jones. Abingdon-Avon High School. 2022 - Ashley was the 16u go to player all week.  She just found ways to score.  She was getting to the rim and hitting the 3 ball all tournament.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Deamber Smith. Peoria High School. 2022 - The team’s point guard, Deamber was super aggressive all week.  Her excellent court vision and awareness shined as she was setting her teammates up well.  She constantly drew the defense in as she drove and then kicked out to open teammate after open teammate</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Durbin Thomas. Mahomet-Seymour High School. 2023 - Durbin’s athleticism and quickness was on point in Indianapolis.  She was also knocking down the 3 ball at a good rate.</li> </ul> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>15u</strong></span> Overall Record Session 1 USJN 2-3 Overall Record Session 2 Nike TOC 4-1 <ul> <li>Sophia Remmel. Dunlap High School. 2023 - Sophia stepped up in Indy and played a lot of point guard for HOI.  Normally a 2 guard, she filled in at the point and played great.  She was making jumpers and getting to the rim all week.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Tatym Lamprecht. East Peoria High School. 2023 - A smooth player, Tatym can score in bunches quickly  She scored from every level with a good 3 ball, solid mid-range game and aggressively attacking the rim.</li> </ul> <strong>14u</strong> First two tournaments of the season for 14u Overall Record at Nike TOC 6-0 Overall Record at Lynwood, IL July 17-19  4-0 <ul> <li>Mya Wardle. 2024 - A super consistent player who has unreal speed, Mya had a great couple of tournaments.  Her speed and handles allows her to grab a rebound and go coast to coast and score.  She has improved a lot this summer.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Alayah Sprattling. 2024 - A crafty guard, Alaya has high upside.  When her handles are tight and on point, she can go by anyone and get anywhere on the court.  She also showed potential to become a lock down defender.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Izzy Vandeschraaf. 2024</li> <li>Kiarra Kilgore. 2024</li> </ul> Izzy and Kiarra are two players that added much needed flexibility to the court in both tournaments.  They both can play the post, but can also guard anyone on the floor.  They can knock down the 3 ball, a pull up jumper or score down low in the post.  When they were on the floor, the team was able to switch more on D and create match-up issues.  When they are guarded by a post, they will attack and drive to the rim blowing by their opponent. Heart of Illinois will be playing in the Windy City Classic from July 24th-26th.