Winter Tip Off Top Performers

Yesterday I was out at the Winter Tip Off presented by Johnston High School and Prep Girls Hoops. It was a good day of basketball and we had seven matchups that featured ranked teams including a nightcap of 1A #2 Bishop Garrigan and 3A #1 West Lyon and then 4A #1 Glenwood and 5A #1 Johnston. Below, I take a look at the top performers coming out of the event. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246154" first="Addy" last="Johnson"] - 6’0 PF - 2024 - Westwood HS</strong> Johnson was great for Westwood on the morning. She showed the ability to stretch the floor and was also able to convert at a high level at the free throw line. She’s an athletic forward who can stretch the floor and shoot the ball well as evidenced by knocking down two 3-pointers. Really good rebounder as well who high points the ball really well off the rim. She scored 19 points on the morning including 11 in the first half. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="314095" first="Lindsey" last="Davis"] - 5’7 W - 2024 - Nodaway Valley</strong> Davis was a bright spot for Nodaway Valley in the morning game as she really turned it on in the second half. She’s a really good shooter who can knock down multiple shots in a row. She knocked down three 3-pointers in a row at one point in the second half that got her team back in the game. Davis handles the ball well and can initiate the offense for her team at a high level. I think that she’s gotten a lot more confident getting into her shot. <strong>Taylor Drent - 6’0 W - 2022 - Sioux City East</strong> Drent played really well for Sioux City East as she scored 18 points in the game. She’s a wing who can really do it all on the floor. She’s strong with the ball and showed the ability to score on multiple levels. Drent has a great size and strength combination and utilizes it well. She can play on the block or play on the outside and knock down 3-pointers. She knocked down three shots from behind the arc in the second half spurring her team off to a big lead. Drent showed a quick burst of speed and the ability to get to the rim off of the dribble. She'll definitely see her name in our updated 2022 rankings. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128996" first="Ava" last="Hawthorne"] - 5’10 PG - 2022 - Gilbert - Drake commit</strong> Hawthorne was defended really well by Sioux City East and was forced to do a lot of her scoring off the bounce. She still scored 17 points, none of which came at the line, which is a testament to her shot making ability. I thought that she did a great job of getting to rim but also creating separation for herself to make shots from deep. Hawthorne is a very unselfish player who looks to get teammates involved early and often. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63577" first="Meredith" last="Rieker"] - 5’10 SG - 2022 - Valley - Missouri Western State commit</strong> Rieker was excellent for Valley and turned it on in the second half. She scored a team high 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half. She made two 3-pointers in the 3rd quarter that push Valley’s lead out and gave them a comfortable spot. I thought that Rieker played really well on defense as well and was able to cause some some havoc with her quick hands. I thought it was one of the more complete games I’ve seen from her. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129016" first="Macy" last="Daufeldt"] - 6’0 SF - 2022 - West Liberty - Drake commit (volleyball)</strong> Daufeldt was one of the best athletes in the building on Saturday. She played really well on the defensive end and showed a really good basketball IQ on both ends of the floor. Elevates really well on her shot and finishes through contact at the rim extremely well. She is a great leader on the floor and you could tell that she really just enjoyed playing the game. If she wasn’t a stud on the volleyball court I think that she would have had a very bright future on the hardwood. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63063" first="Liza" last="Schaffer"] - 5’6 G - 2023 - North Polk</strong> Schaffer was one of the most efficient players on the day as she knocked down 10-of-11 shots from the floor for 20 points. She has grown a ton as a player over the past year and is very adept at filling space and making plays with the ball. I thought that she cut to the basket extremely well and was not forcing shots that were not there. I came away very impressed with her body control going to the rim as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246099" first="Callie" last="Levin"] - 5’9 PG - 2024 - Solon - Iowa commit</strong> Levin is a really solid piece for Solon and she’s the player that the offense runs through. I thought that North Polk did a fairly good job defending her but she still ended up scoring 23 points. She plays as hard as she can every time she steps on the floor and is fluidly athletic and quick in every direction. Great burst of speed with the ball in her hands. She missed some shots that she likely normally makes but all in all I thought that she played well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127617" first="Emma" last="Miner"] 6’0 F - 2023 - Dallas Center-Grimes - St. Thomas commit</strong> Miner was extremely good against Benton as she led all scorers with 16 points. I thought that she did a really nice job of letting the game come to get and not forcing up shots. She was able to get into the paint effectively and score the ball as well in post up situations. Miner is a really tough player who showed her ability to play at a very high level. Showed some really good IQ with the ball and on the defensive end as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246117" first="Emma" last="Townsley"] - 5’7 G - 2023 - Benton</strong> Townsley played a really efficient game for Benton on Saturday as she was 3-of-4 for nine points in the game. I thought that she played to her strengths really well and was very confident with the ball in her hands. She has the ability to find teammates quickly and puts them in good spots to score the ball. Her defense really impressed me on the day as she was a lot better laterally than I had remembered. Townsley has improved quite a bit over the last year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="314105" first="Abbie" last="Capesius"] - 5’7 SG - 2024 - Bishop Garrigan</strong> Capesius was very opportunistic in the game against West Lyon. With a lot of attention on other players, Capesius made some really nice plays. She cuts to the rim really well and was able to finish once she got there. I thought that she could have been even a little more aggressive with her shot as at times she could have had some open looks. Capesius showed the ability to rebound the ball at a high rate from the guard spot pulling down six of them. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63568" first="Brooklyn" last="Meyer"] - 6’2 PF - 2022 - West Lyon - South Dakota State commit</strong> Meyer was excellent on the defensive end against Crooks. West Lyon gave her some help in the front but if she got it, Meyer made it tough on her to score the ball. Meyer finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds which is an excellent line for the effort she put forth. She did go 10-of-12 at the free throw line but was earning her trips there. Showed a really nice looking mid-range jumper. Meyer had a big chance to prove herself against one of the best 2023’s in the country, and she passed the test with flying colors. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63558" first="Jenna" last="Hopp"] - 5’11 SG - 2023 - Glenwood</strong><strong> - South Dakota State commit</strong> Hopp was great for Glenwood once she got settled in. Johnston tried to key in on her and she still dropped 26 points in the game. She can score in so many different ways and has gotten a lot better even over this time last year. She played with the ball in her hands more than I had ever seen her and looked very comfortable with it. Hopp doesn’t try to force much and only had three turnovers against a swarming defense. Good rebounder from the guard spot as well. She had one of the best performances on the day. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246121" first="Aili" last="Tanke"] - 2024 - Johnston - Iowa State commit</strong> Tanke decided to save the best performance for the last game of the day against the #1 team in 4A. With the Iowa State staff in the crowd, Tanke dropped 33 points and did it with ease. She was firing on all cylinders as she was getting to the rim, hitting in the mid-range, and knocked down a ton of threes. She shot 13-of-16 from the floor and was 6-for-8 from behind the arc. Tanke also did not have a turnover in the game showing her ability to be highly efficient. I think this performance cemented her spot as the top sophomore in the state.