Leading Cookie Monsters’ For the WDA Conference

Last week we took a look at some of the top dimers from the WDA conference. This week we’ll reverse the roles and look at some of the top defensive stoppers from the conference and leading stealers. Some new faces, but some old ones on the list as well. Let’s get into it! <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/logan-nissley/"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="100419" first="Logan" last="Nissley"]</span></a> – Century – (6’0/SF/2023) – Starting off our list is old reliable [player_tooltip player_id="100419" first="Logan" last="Nissley"]. Logan tops a lot of our articles in being top 5 for the scoring leaders, rebounding leaders, and now steal leader. She’s an athlete with many hats and traits that can flat out play ball. She’s a true defender that can guard 1-4 consistently on any night. Currently she leads the league with 3.7 steals a game being the ultimate defensive threat for Century. <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/peyton-neumiller/"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="196272" first="Peyton" last="Neumiller"]</span></a> – Bismarck High – (5’10/SG/2023) – Coming in a close second is [player_tooltip player_id="196272" first="Peyton" last="Neumiller"] on our list. Neumiller is an excellent on ball defender that locks down the opposing teams best player/scorer. This year she did a fantastic job slowing down [player_tooltip player_id="219714" first="Avery" last="Lunde"] of Minot to 13 points on 3 of 8 shooting to get Bismarck a munch needed win. What makes Neumiller so special defensively is she’s long, lengthy and laterally inclined in moving her feet to beat the opposing offensive player to the spot on the floor. An additional note is she was able to hold [player_tooltip player_id="377821" first="Amya" last="Gourneau"] the current scoring leader to 13 points on 4 of 18 shooting from the field. If those two stat lines don’t impress you enough I encourage you to watch her live in action. <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/342164/"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="342164" first="Maggie" last="Fricke"]</span></a> – Minot – (5’7/SG/2026) – The only 8th grader on our list, Fricke continues to impress us every time she steps on the court. Not only is Maggie a walking bucket, but she gets stops on the other side of the court as well. Currently Fricke averages 3.2 steals a game tying her for 3rd with [player_tooltip player_id="207790" first="Faith" last="Eberle"] of Mandan. I won’t hype up Fricke too much, but to all the readers you got to watch this kid play. Only then will you fully understand how young and talented this Minot program truly is. [player_tooltip player_id="207790" first="Faith" last="Eberle"] - Mandan - (5’6/SG/2022) - [player_tooltip player_id="207790" first="Faith" last="Eberle"] ties with [player_tooltip player_id="342164" first="Maggie" last="Fricke"] for 3rd place on our cookie monster list. To put it short and sweet Faith is a very consistent player on both sides of the court. A player that isn’t going to take too many risks, but rather strategically play the game. This year she had a big job in trying to slow down [player_tooltip player_id="100419" first="Logan" last="Nissley"] of Century which Eberle was able to do too a certain degree. Nissley still did her usual thing of going for 18 points, but shot 6 of 15 from the field. Some could describe this as a moral victory in a sense for Faith. None the less, faith is a top defender in the WDA which in my opinion she’s not given enough love for. Emily Ash - Dickinson - (5’6/SG/2023) - Lastly on our list is Emily Ash from Dickinson. With a rough season in the progress for the Midgets there’s a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. For instance they’ll return all but 3 players on their Varsity roster and 3rd leading scorer Emily Ash whose a defensive menace. Ash excels at finding holes and gaps within the offense and prying on lose ball deflections in taking the ball the other way down the court. She’s fast and laterally quick enough to catch and get in front of ball handlers and has great footwork for maneuvering around screens. If you don’t have Ash on your radar you need to re-evaluate your list.