Brookline v. Wellesley: Margo Madness

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In their 74-40 road win against Wellesley High, Brookline High showed how explosive they can be offensively. After jumping out to a 23-7 lead in the first, Brookline never let their foot off the gas and cruised to victory. Led by a lethal 1-2 punch in the backcourt that combined for 41 points, Brookline looks like a dangerous team come tournament time.</span> &nbsp; <strong>Player of the Game: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="343173" first="Margo" last="Mattes"] - Brookline - 5’9’’ - CG.- ’23</strong> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/E86D483D-D8DD-4277-A4D2-44021D57C718-scaled-crop-1916x1258-1644430019.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-386241" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/E86D483D-D8DD-4277-A4D2-44021D57C718-scaled-crop-1916x1258-1644430019-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Princeton commit opened up her full arsenal in the first quarter, filling the scoring column with buckets at all three levels. Mattes slashes with power, keeps the defense off-balance with her change of direction and speed, and is an excellent shot creator. Mattes’ athleticism was on full display on defense. She covered a lot of ground fast and had an impressive weak side rejection, showing how springy she is. I thought Mattes did a good job commanding the floor and controlling the game. She played with pace and was an impressive playmaker in transition. Mattes scored a game-high 23 points playing 3 quarters of the game. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Brookline Standouts: </strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-386237" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/IMG_0437-crop-1183x777-1644429884-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="299213" first="Geanna" last="Bryant"] - 5’7’’ - PG - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bryant was born to score. She scored 18 points, including 2 three-pointers, and attacked the rim aggressively. She utilizes the mid-range area well with pull-ups and floaters and is an elite finisher at the rim. She scored 18 points efficiently, but the degree of difficulty of all her shots were high. Bryant was finishing layups in traffic, sometimes over two bigger defenders, and she showed good body control while in the air, consistently finding ways to get the shot up.  </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="386234" first="Talia" last="Thompson"] - 5’8’’ - SF - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Thompson is an excellent athlete who impacted the game on both sides of the ball. She was active on defense and racked up many deflections in Brookline’s trap defense. Thompson also ran the floor well and benefited from [player_tooltip player_id="299213" first="Geanna" last="Bryant"] and [player_tooltip player_id="343173" first="Margo" last="Mattes"]’ playmaking in the halfcourt and transition with easy layup opportunities. Thompson also nailed a three-pointer towards the end of the game showing the ability to stretch the floor.  </span> &nbsp; <strong>Wellesley Standout: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="297259" first="Alli" last="Jones"] - 6’0’’ - SF/PF - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jones led Wellesley with 13 points and got whatever shot she wanted in the paint and from mid-range. The athletic combo forward can handle the ball on the perimeter and be a force on the block. Jones can shoot the three, but I liked her shot selection vs. Brookline as she turned down the long-range bombs for one-dribble mid-range pull-ups. Jones is a strong rebounder, a tough competitor, and played a good all-around game even with multiple defenders draped over her throughout the contest.</span>