Souhegan v. Bow: JT’s Shot

Tuesday night, Bow High School opened up their season against Souhegan High. Bows’ team defense was excellent all game, giving up only 17 points to a Souhegan squad who was coming off a win in which they scored 70 points. The final score was 51-17, and below were the players who impressed me the most. <strong>Player of the Game: </strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-364918" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/A67B6327-09CD-4B73-9118-9FDFC778D940-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1639579438-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="299627" first="Juliette" last="Tarsa"] - Bow - 5’8’’ - SG - ’24</strong> Tarsa came off the bench and ignited Bows’ offense scoring 8 of her team’s 22 first-half points. What was most impressive with Tarsa was how she was scoring. Known more for her slashing and finishing, Tarsa did most of her damage with her smooth lefty jump shot. Her shooting off the dribble has improved so much the last few months, making Tarsa the ultimate scoring threat from anywhere on the court. The consistency and fluidity of her jumper combined with crafty ball-handling kept the defense off balance leading to a game-high 18 points. <strong>Bow Standouts: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="364905" first="Alex" last="Larrabee"] - 6’1’’ - PF - ’23</strong> Larabee’s energy was contagious, and she was very disruptive on defense, forcing Souhegan to turn the ball over multiple times in the backcourt. She is a tremendous athlete who can cover a ton of ground and defend multiple positions. Larrabee was one of two players to finish in double figures Tuesday night with 11 points, with most of her production coming in the post and free-throw line. She will be a matchup problem for any team competing against her. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="364907" first="Madison" last="Speckman"] - 5’9’’ - SG - ’22</strong> The senior guard was impactful on both sides of the ball. Her defense in the halfcourt was stifling. Speckman was constantly in the passing lanes, forcing turnovers by aggressively denying the ball. In the second half, Speckman showed more of her offensive game. Finishing with 8 points, Speckman did a good job pushing the ball out in transition and knifed through the defense multiple times to score using change of pace and direction as her guide to success. I was also impressed with her decision-making in pick-and-roll action. Speckman set up the roller with accurate bounce passes repeatedly. Speckman, all-around, was solid. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="364903" first="Bella" last="LaPerle"] - 5’2’’ - CG - ’23</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="364902" first="Lyndsey" last="LaPerle"] - 5’2’’ - CG - ’23</strong> The twin sister backcourt of Bella and [player_tooltip player_id="364902" first="Lyndsey" last="LaPerle"] only scored a combined 2 points but had the biggest responsibility of the night. They had to find a way to neutralize Souhegan’s two leading scorers, [player_tooltip player_id="364904" first="Kate" last="Canavan"] and [player_tooltip player_id="364908" first="Caitlin" last="Cooper"]. Canavan and Cooper were coming off a game where they combined for 47 total points, and the LaPerle sisters limited them to 8 Tuesday night. They were relentless on defense. The Laperle’s were gritty and in their opponents’ face the full length of the court. They forced 10-second violations, rushed skip passes, and frustrated every player they defended. The twins set the tone all night long, and it trickled down to the rest of the team.