Observations From Mt. De Sales At Pallotti

The IAAM has finally gotten their limited season underway and I was able to check out the Mt. De Sales Sailors visiting last year’s  A conference contender St. Vincent Pallotti. Both of these teams looked a little rusty to start the game which was to be expected. Pallotti went on a big second half run and pulled away for a 56-35 win. Here is what stood out to me... Pallotti lost a lot between graduations and transfers but they have some good young players and a new coach in Rashida Joiner. Senior leadership will come from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136439" first="Lauryn" last="Russell"]</strong> who signed with Lander University in the off season. <strong>Alicia Newell, 2024 Guard</strong> Alicia was all over the court and led the team in scoring. She has a solid handle and a nice first step so she was able get by defenders and finish in the paint. She ran the floor and created early offense in transition, either scoring herself or finding an open teammate. In the second half she showed off her range, hitting a couple of jumpers. <strong>Gabrielle Clary, 2024 Guard</strong> Gabrielle’s length stood out to me and she used it well on defense. She’s an exceptional on ball defender and I love the way she used her feet to keep the ball in front of her. She was very active with her hands, coming up with deflections in the passing lanes. She showed some versatility on offense, running the point at times and getting into the paint where she scored some buckets. Looking forward to seeing her again. Mount De Sales is a perennial B conference contender so I expect Coach Trish Armstrong to have this team competing at a high level in a few games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136454" first="Anya" last="Walker"], 2021 Point Guard</strong> It was really good to see Anya back on the court and all the way back from her ACL tear. She is a great kid and a solid player. She is a good decision maker with the ball who knows how to facilitate. On defense she is not afraid to strap up and make hustle plays. She looked real smooth on a step back jumper that she hit in the second half. Emma Wallace, 2022, Guard Emma showed off some nice ball handling and change of direction moves. She has a nice touch and made some driving layups though contact. &nbsp; &nbsp;