Thursday Night Across the State: Best Teammate Duos

Simply put, these teammates looked dynamic and unstoppable in their Thursday night matchups. The synergy they created lifted their whole teams, leading to key wins as the dog days of the season loom beyond the new years. Here were some of the best teammate duos from last night's action: <strong>Waupun: [player_tooltip player_id="155422" first="Abbie" last="Aalsma"] (2022 Guard, #10 Overall Prospect) and [player_tooltip player_id="209617" first="Kayl" last="Petersen"] (2024 Wing/Forward, #6 Overall Prospect)</strong> Aalsma and Petersen were playing at a different processing speed than their Kettle Moraine Lutheran opposition. They combined for 51 points and looked a step ahead of their matchups at all times. Their quick decision-making befuddled the KML defense, using their off-ball movement to get exactly the looks they wanted to while reacting precisely to double-teams and presses. Both were scoring at all three levels and worked together to get the other great looks. Both do so much work before they get the ball and have fundamentally sound intangibles that put them in scoring positions before they touch the ball. Against the Chargers, this was on full display. For Aalsma, a lot of this work was to set up her lightning-fast jumper. The senior guard has figured out how screening for others can get <em>her</em> more space. When pressed in halfcourt sets, she'd set off-ball down screens to confuse her defender into tagging the cutter, buying her an extra couple of feet of space. And for a shooter who needs as little time as she does to set up and release her jumper, this makes a world of difference. For Petersen, she compliments her great hands and footwork by not settling when posting up. While Kettle Moraine Lutheran tried to push her out as far as possible on post-up attempts, Petersen did so many small things--often in conjunction with Aalsma's cutting and movement--that allowed her to set up as deep as she wanted. And when she got to her spots, the speed with which she initiated her scoring action was too fast for the Chargers. Easy twos all night. And when the defense started collapsing on her, Aalsma consistently made the right cut to the basket and got a few bunnies herself. Textbook two-man game by the Warrior duo. <strong>Edgerton: Kate Gunderson (2022 Guard/Forward, Unranked) and [player_tooltip player_id="206699" first="Sylvia" last="Fox"] (2023 Guard, #36 Overall Prospect)</strong> Gunderson and Fox put on an incredibly entertaining yin-and-yang performance against Whitewater. Fox brought the on-ball explosion and relentless attacks on the rim, while Gunderson's off-ball movement, understanding of the offense, and tireless work rate stabilized Edgerton's offense. On the defensive end, Fox's on-ball pressure and ability to mirror her opposition sured up the perimeter and Gunderson's reactions on the interior and, well, everywhere else that made easy looks few and far between. It was immediately evident that Gunderson knows where everyone should be in Edgerton's offense. She's a constant ball mover who slings swing and skip passes all around the halfcourt set. This isn't to say that she was passive in any way against the Whippets. Her passing was rewarded by constant movement by her teammates, and oftentimes it was Gunderson's passing and relocation that led to open looks for her. She hit 4 first-half threes and they all came within the flow of the offense. Who assisted on three of these? Fox, who's as willing a passer as you'll find in a primary scorer. She was always looking to trade in a good shot for a great one, and that great shot often manifested as a Gunderson trey-ball. This passing forces defenses to play her for the pass, and when the defense softened, Fox's handles and burst to the rim took over. Her handle got low to the ground as she initiated her scoring motion, and her hesitation-into-right to left crossover combo got her to the rim at well. Both players complimented the other en route to a combined 37 point outing and the dub. <strong>McFarland: [player_tooltip player_id="209586" first="Teagan" last="Mallegni"] (2024 Wing/Forward, #2 Overall Prospect) and [player_tooltip player_id="337014" first="Ava" last="Dean"] (2024 Guard, #39 Overall Prospect</strong> Mallegni and Dean both love to score points. Not that they themselves need to be the ones scoring, though Thursday night against Clinton that was certainly the case. Both players execute and operate with a precision that makes it clear that they just want to score more points than the other team. They don't waste time, they aren't super flashy players, but they are essential to McFarland getting easy looks and winning games. The two sophomores also seem to have a kinetic connection with one another, always knowing where the other is and finding each other in great scoring positions. Off the opening tip, Mallegni tipped the ball directly (and intentionally) to Dean, who hit Mallegni on-time and on-target as she b-lined to the rim for the smooth lefty finish over a couple of defenders. On a baseline out of bounds box set--a classic action where the after the inbound, the inbounder (Mallegni) gets a pair of staggered pin-down screens with the hope of a clean three-point look--it was Dean's purpose and intention with all the details of the play that assisted Mallegni splashing a three. When McFarland ran the same play a few minutes later, the player in Dean's role didn't pop out as much, didn't get the right angle for the pass, and Clinton blew up the screens. While Mallegni and Dean are constantly showing their savviness, it helps that both can score from all three levels, Mallegni, in particular, being one of the most fluid scorers in the state, regardless of class. Mallegni in particular is so good at coming off of screens and setting her feet to score. On the aforementioned BLOB set, she shoulder-tagged her screeners and lost her defender in the process, setting up her silky J. In McFarland's halfcourt offense, she comes off of cross-screens with bad intentions, sealing off the inside block and going from receiving the pass to shooting in one motion. Dean's no slouch herself, constantly catching the defense off guard with her diagonal cuts and finding easy looks for herself around the blocks. The two combined for 41 and tore a respectable Clinton defense to shreds.