Opening Weekend High School Evaluations: Part II

With the Iowa High School season kicking off on Friday night I was able to catch a game on Friday night and Saturday online. I was out-of-town but am excited to get back in the gym this week. I caught Dallas Center-Grimes at Ballard and Bishop Heelan at Unity Christian and saw four very talented teams. Below is Part II of our evaluations from the two games. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63580" first="Brooke" last="Loewe"] – 5’9 PG – 2022 – Ballard HS – Fort Hays State commit</strong> Loewe looked solid running the point for Ballard. She is a shifty guard who can get by her man but plays her best in transition. It was an off-night for her shooting the ball but she was able to still make an impact on the game. Read the passing lanes well as she grabbed a couple steals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129079" first="Kylie" last="Rigby"] – 5’7 PG – 2022 – Ballard HS – Loras commit</strong> I thought that Rigby did a solid job throughout the game of playing her role. She made quick decisions with the ball in her hands and was able to find the open man when she was on the floor. She moves her feet really well on defense allowing her to solidly Ballard’s defensive efforts. She’s going to have a really solid year for her team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246129" first="Josie" last="Lampe"] – 5’10 SF– 2024 – Dallas Center-Grimes HS</strong> Lampe was all over the floor on Friday night as she was making plays off the bench. She attacked the boards hard and make sure to get her hand on the ball as it came off the rim. Lampe made a few jumpers and showed that you have to cover her up. Really liked how hard she played and her length always makes things tough. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127617" first="Emma" last="Miner"] – 6’0 PF – 2023 – Dallas Center-Grimes HS – St. Thomas commit</strong> Miner is a really solid forward who can play both forward spots on the floor. She’s gotten a bit more versatile and has added some speed to her game. She makes life really tough on the defense because she can post up, drive the ball, or catch-and-shoot. She’s going to be one of the toughest covers in the state this year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246106" first="Vanessa" last="Bickford"] – 5’9 PG – 2024 – Dallas Center-Grimes HS</strong> Bickford has come a long way since her freshman season last year and she is a really good game manager. She does a great job at not making mistakes with the ball in her hands and has shown the ability to get her teammates involved. Good defender who uses her body around the rim really well to thwart any attempts by her man. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63023" first="Finley" last="Fitzgerald"] – 5’8 SF – 2023 – Dallas Center-Grimes HS</strong> Fitzgerald played really well off the bench today as she came in and made an instant impact on the boards. She gave a ton of effort on the evening on both sides of the floor. I thought that she was able to show a quicker step from last year and got to the rim well. Fitzgerald is going to be a very good glue piece off the bench capable of adding a few shots and rebounds each night. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127626" first="Gracie" last="Schoonhoven"] – 5’11 SF – 2023 – Unity Christian HS</strong> Schoonhoven is a very athletic wing who has the ability to put the ball on the floor and turn the corner with it. I was really impressed with her offensive effort and she is not just a scorer. Has a really good feel of the court when she has the ball in her hands. She’s a dynamic playmaker on both ends of the floor. <strong>Emma Byker – 5’11 SF – 2022 – Unity Christian HS</strong> Byker shot the ball when from range knocking down three 3-pointers in the game. She seemed very confident in her release and knocked down some big shots. I thought that her ability to make shots is going to really help this team this year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160570" first="Lauryn" last="Peck"] – 5’8 SG – 2023 – Bishop Heelan HS</strong> Peck proved herself to be a shot maker in this game. She made a huge shot to end the third quarter and was able to get her team in really good positions consistently. She can score the ball really well and showed that ability over and over in this one. She has a big junior season in store this year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246111" first="Brooklyn" last="Stanley"] – 5’8 PG – 2023 – Bishop Heelan HS</strong> Stanley went down with an injury early in the game but showed some nice flashes up until that point. She handled the ball well and showed some really nice court vision with the ball. Got her teammates in positions where they would capitalize on scoring opportunities. She will be a big key to Bishop Heelan’s run this year.