Milton Academy v. Governor’s: The Governor’s Ball

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Another day, another down to the wire finish! Saturday’s action between Milton Academy and Governor’s Academy was a competitive back and forth game that ended in a 3-point home victory for Governor’s Academy. Milton Academy missed an opportunity to send the game into overtime at the buzzer and lost 67-64. Below are the standouts from Saturday. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Player of the Game: </strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-363802" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/9F35BD64-AADD-4600-A670-23B95F0AA9CE-scaled-crop-1768x1161-1639320934-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="267115" first="Anique" last="St. Laurent"] - Governor’s Academy - 5’7’’ - PG - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">From start to finish, I thought St. Laurent was incredible. The high motor and energy floor general put on a show offensively, pouring in a game-high 24 points, including 5 three-pointers. St. Laurent also played the whole game, making her efforts more impressive. It said a lot about her mentality and conditioning when considering her game usage rate and minutes played. The ball was always in St. Laurent’s hands to make a play, and she delivered not just with her scoring but facilitating. Whether it be her entry passes to power forward [player_tooltip player_id="263928" first="Hayle" last="Thompson"] or assist to wing [player_tooltip player_id="263812" first="Amanda" last="Hill"] for a clutch three at the end, St. Laurent got it done. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Governor Academy Standout: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="363768" first="Gracie" last="Augustine"] - 5’9’’ - SF - ’25</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Augustine was the second-leading scorer for Governor’s Academy and had some big plays in the 4th quarter, which helped her team win. She was crucial on the glass and gave the team extra life on offense by giving them second chance opportunities down the stretch. As the game progressed, Augustine looked more comfortable and confident. She stepped out and hit a big mid-range jump shot down the stretch in the 4th, and it seems like Augustine will be an intricate part of her teams’ long-term success because of her versatility. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Milton Academy Standouts: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="183922" first="Sydnee" last="Hyacinthe"] - 5’7’’ - PG - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Hyacinthe led her team with 17 points and set the tone early with her outside shooting. Her release was so quick and she does not need a lot of space to shoot. Hyacinthe made many tough shots highly contested and got to the free-throw line a ton, converting 9 attempts. Hyacinthe controlled the tempo for Milton Academy and was a major part of why Milton Academy was in control for the majority of the game. </span> &nbsp; <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-363991" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/D3AD87AD-8591-4F02-812C-16E50ED57318-crop-1537x1010-1639357760-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="347922" first="Sanaa" last="Slayman"] - 5’9’’ - SF/PF - ’24</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Slayman is one of the most dynamic undersized power forwards I have seen in the early parts of this season. Her footwork is elite, and she kept the defense off-balance inside using an array of pivots and shot fakes to get her shot off clean. I liked Slayman’s versatility also. She would rip a rebound down and ignite the break with a hard push up the court in transition. She makes up for her lack of size with strength, toughness, and impeccable timing when blocking shots. Slayman was Milton Academy’s best all-around player from Saturday.  </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="363766" first="Lilly" last="Stoller"] - 5’9’’ - SF - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Stoller had an impactful and efficient 2nd half on offense picking up the scoring slack to help Milton Academy stay in the game. I liked how Stoller asserted herself all game long and earned herself multiple trips to the free-throw line. With 6 of her 12 points coming from the charity stripe, Stoller proved to be a handful for the defense and showed good body control and concentration when fouled, leading to a couple of and ones. </span>