Essex County Tournament First Round Standouts Pt. 1

On Saturday, the first round of games for the Essex County Tournament were held as the top 16 seeds after the preliminary rounds faced off. We saw some fantastic basketball played on the day as a whole, but here are some standouts from the day’s action. <strong>Sanaa Hayes (Fr.) - 5-11 SF/SG, Newark Central</strong> Hayes has instantly become an impact player in her freshman season for Newark Central. She has all the tools and raw talent to become an excellent forward, from her interior presence on offense to her agility and ability to change the game on defense. We've already seen her do a great job at creating space for herself close to the basket. Hayes finishes strong at the rim and that intensity comes out when she's battling for rebounds often. Her box-out technique closes off opponents so that she can grab the board and her wingspan allows her to get to shots more often and intercept passes regularly. <strong>Halle Aschenbach (Sr.) - 5-4 PG, West Essex</strong> Ashenbach is your typical catch-and-shoot perimeter guard, but she's one of the best at it in the region. Most of her game comes from three-pointers, but she's able to create her own shot off the dribble as much as she can from receiving a pass. Her best shooting spots are on the wing, where she can get that off-ball movement going to separate from an opponent and drain a shot. Having that dual-threat ability as a shooting guard gives her more flexibility and makes her presence on the court that much more important. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134637" first="Triniti" last="Haskins"] (Sr.) - 5-10 SG, East Orange</strong> Haskins is one of the best pure scorers in the region and the state, which was shown on full display against Millburn. Her game is a combination of outside shooting and dribble penetration into the lane. She'll pull up from three when she gets a good look, but if that shot isn't there, she'll weave through defenders and look for the contact or finish strong at the basket. Haskins is a confident shooter and that's translated to all parts of her game, whether that be hauling in rebounds or disrupting offensive schemes of opponents to get easy scoring opportunities going the other way. <strong>Rachel Lutsky (Sr.) - 5-3 PG/SG, Millburn</strong> Lutsky just reached 100 career made three-pointers in her career this week, and her perimeter shooting has a been a great recipe for her overall success. She's one to utilize screens to get open looks, but it's her court awareness that allows her to recognize and capitalize on said openings. Roughly a third of her scoring comes from three, with the remainder coming from a great scoring combo of midrange shooting and interior play. We've seen her just as active on the defensive end, getting good positioning to intercept passes or cause a deflection to force opponents to reset and rethink their offensive schemes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="325183" first="Dagny" last="Slomack"] (So.) - PG/SG, Newark Academy</strong> Slomack is in the midst of a breakout season for Newark Academy after quick glimpses of what type of player she can become as a freshman. She's a consistent scorer from all spots on the floor and can shoot the three efficiently and effectively. Her scoring output is very impressive in just her sophomore season, but when you look at other parts of her game, she's steadily improving. Slomack has been a very active player on the glass and might stand out most when on defense. She's consistently forcing bad possessions for opponents and makes them pay on the fast break. <strong>Anna Green (So.) - G/F, Nutley</strong> Green saw little floor time as a freshman, but now in her sophomore year, she's taken full advantage of her new role as a starter. As the season has progressed, Green has found her offensive game and is a reliable facilitator for Nutley. We've seen her expand her range more from the perimeter and comfortably haul in multiple rebounds a game. She's a great passer and can slot a pass through an open lane to a teammate for a clean look. Green is quickly finding that she's as big of a defensive threat as she is an offensive one. That's a storyline to follow for her the rest of the way.