Monona Grove v. La Follette: Non-Conference Game of the Night
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Tuesday night I got the chance to see the best-unranked team in D1, Madison La Follette, go up against the best-unranked team in D2, Monona Grove. A physical and high-level competition throughout, the Lancers came out on top 71-65 in…
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Continue ReadingTuesday night I got the chance to see the best-unranked team in D1, Madison La Follette, go up against the best-unranked team in D2, Monona Grove. A physical and high-level competition throughout, the Lancers came out on top 71-65 in this non-conference matchup. The Silver Eagles did well to erase a 10 point half-time deficit in the opening minutes of the second frame, but La Follette’s veteran leaders outweighed the stellar play of MG stud (and future UW-Oshkosh Titan) Avery Poole Avery Poole 5'7" | PG Monona Grove | 2022 State WI . La Follette’s big 3 of Malia Green Malia Green 5'7" | SG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI , Demetria Prewitt Demetria Prewitt 5'7" | PG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI , and Aaliyah Smith Aaliyah Smith 5'5" | PG La Follette | 2022 State #19 Nation WI combined for 62 of the Lancers 71 points and all but 5 of their second-half points. It was truly a battle of the stars at Robert M. La Follette high school, let’s break down the best performers:
La Follette MVP: Aaliyah Smith Aaliyah Smith 5'5" | PG La Follette | 2022 State #19 Nation WI | Point Guard | Class of 2022 | #2 Overall Prospect
In just her second game of the season, Aaliyah Smith Aaliyah Smith 5'5" | PG La Follette | 2022 State #19 Nation WI went out and proved why she’s arguably the best Class of 2022 player in the state. Her explosion and creativity attacking the basket was uncontainable in isolation. MG often needed to load the paint with two or three help defenders to contain Smith’s onslaught on the rim. Using a combination of hesitations, crossovers, spins, and–most deadly–hop steps, Smith got to the rim at will. As the game progressed, this became an invitation to use the attention she drew as a way to create for her teammates. With under two minutes to go and La Follette leading by just three, Smith broke down her perimeter defender–which throughout the night was a rotating cast of nearly every Monona Grove player, coach, parent, and school administrator–and drew the help baseline help up and away from Demetria Prewitt Demetria Prewitt 5'7" | PG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI , who had cut from the corner to the low block. Smith rose, eyes on the opposite side corner, and dropped off a no-look dish to make it a two-possession game. This is just one, albeit the most important, example of Smith’s combination of flair and IQ as a distributor. Smith finished with a team-high 26 points, and when the Lancer offense stagnated, her ability to create magic out of a dead set changed the tide of the game back in favor of LF.
But what impressed me more than her scoring prowess was her leadership. The first half went smoothly, with LF building a 10 point lead before the break. In the second, when the momentum of the game began to swing back in Monona Grove’s favor after starting the half on a 10-0 run, it was Smith who rallied the troops and set them back in formation. When Alisha Gelfi wasn’t ready to shoot a wing three off a Smith dish, Smith got in her ear about it. With under five minutes to go, Smith got doubled and kicked it out to Gelfi again, and she hit a huge three down the stretch. When Alayna West got her 4th foul with 12 minutes to go and was clearly distraught, Smith was the first one telling her to keep her head up. And when it became obvious that the Silver Eagles couldn’t do anything to stop the Prewitt-Smith two-man game, it was Smith yelling “Meachie let’s run it!” time and time again. When your best player is your most vocal leader, good things happen. Though there were moments where Smith goes iso and the team ball watches, something that’ll change as the team gets used to having her back, La Follette doesn’t win this game unless Smith dominates and leads the way only she can.
Monona Grove MVP: Avery Poole Avery Poole 5'7" | PG Monona Grove | 2022 State WI | Combo Guard | Class of 2022 | #58 Overall Prospect
Poole led all scorers with 28 and a majority of those points came at the line. Her quick first step and tight handle caused routine confusion for La Follette defensively. Poole relentlessly attacked mismatches, switches, and defensive slip-ups, and while she didn’t hit a field goal in the first half, she got to the charity stripe eight times, hitting on seven. But in the second half–with the aforementioned West in foul trouble–Poole came alive. 21 points including four three-pointers and, again, going 7/8 from the line. Her range off of cuts and relocations became a serious issue for the Lancers, especially since she had established the threat of the drive in the first half. The rotating cast of defenders Poole faced each presented a unique mismatch for her, one that she would routinely exploit, showing her combination of IQ and short-range explosion. With smaller, quicker guards, she used hesitation and reset dribbles to create and attack space. With LF’s bigger defenders, she looked to round her drives and create unconventional driving angles to attack. Poole’s second half was a clinic on how to apply her specific skillset to exploit advantages and force the officials to make a call.
La Follette Underrated Contributor: Alayna West | Guard/Wing | Class of 2024 | Unranked
This game would not have been as close as it ended up had West’s physical, deny defense was not penalized by the whistle. As the primary defender on Poole, West didn’t relent a single field goal in the first half. Her length, lateral quickness, and special understanding was La Follette’s ace in the hole when it came to matching up against MG’s star. This has been a consistent theme for West all season long, she’s consistently matched up against the opposing team’s best guard and time and time again has risen to the occasion of squaring up against some of the best guards in the state.
Offensively, there were flashes of some exciting scoring ability off the dribble. She opened her account in this one with a nifty up-and-under move around the basket and followed it up on the next play with a step-back midrange look. She showed comfort attacking space off the bounce with her jumper, but also wasn’t afraid to bang down-low–especially important considering some of the bodies that the Lancers were missing. Learning from some of the best perimeter creators in the league in Prewitt and Smith also helps. West keeps showing that she could be a special player down the road, a great sign for LF down the road.
Monona Grove Underrated Contributor: Taylor Moreau Taylor Moreau 5'8" | CG Monona Grove | 2023 WI | Guard | #90 Overall Prospect
In a sluggish first half from Monona Grove, it was Moreau who provided a breath of life for the Silver Eagles. Her timely threes help keep MG competitive despite their inability to get quality looks in the first frame. She was the perfect safety valve for a Lancer defensive gameplan keyed in on Poole and Emily Clevidence Emily Clevidence 5'8" | PG Monona Grove | 2022 State WI . Her movement and subtle shifts–from wing to corner to top of the key–complimented Poole and Clevidence’s dribble-drive initiation and took the air out of a ruckus La Follette court. Primarily a catch-and-shoot threat, Moreau impressed with her consistency and readiness in a physical, intense environment.
X-Factor: Demetria Prewitt Demetria Prewitt 5'7" | PG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI | La Follette | Guard/Wing/Forward | Class of 2022 | #15 Overall Prospect
Prewitt played the best two-way game on the court last night. Her versatility saw her playing all five positions for short-handed La Follette, the kind of performance that should be lauded outside of just the boxscore. Not that she wasn’t a stat-stuffer as well, finishing with 23 points and a handful of assists. Her ability to get downhill has always been her calling card, but she’s demonstrated great strides as a creator in the heart of the lane as well, reacting to the defensive coverage Monona Grove was implementing by finding open cutters and the occasional outside shooter. Her touch around the basket was as impressive as ever, absorbing contact while finishing softly or adjusting in mid-air to avoid rim protectors. When she was designated to off-ball roles, the precision and timing of her cutting complemented Aaliyah Smith Aaliyah Smith 5'5" | PG La Follette | 2022 State #19 Nation WI ’s driving ability. But what impressed me most was her shooting touch. She went 5/6 from the free-throw line and hit two step-back three-pointers, the latter of which was the dagger that put the Silver Eagles away.
And defensively, she was just as versatile and important. She guarded one through five and became Poole’s primary defender down the stretch. Her full-deny defense against Poole in the closing seconds forced Monona Grove to look elsewhere for buckets, leading to three missed three-point attempts, one of which being an airball. She gets into her stance quickly and absorbs contact at a high level without sacrificing balance. She got caught a couple of times not being where she needed to be as a helper, but this was largely due to her matchup against Poole. Prewitt continued her campaign as one of the best all-around players in the Big 8, and the Lancers absolutely needed her production to get the much-desired win over MG.
One Last Note: Lancer senior Malia Green Malia Green 5'7" | SG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI is now just one game away from breaking the school’s all-time three-point record. She played a great game in her own right, halting Monona Grove’s scoring onslaught to start the second half and hitting a series of big shots down the stretch.