Stretch Run Report: Riverside at Hiawatha

This evening I poured myself a couple cups of Joe and caught the feed for the homestanding class 3A, #6 ranked Hiawatha Red Hawks (12-3) and the class 2A Riverside Cyclones (8-7).  It was the second meeting between the Big Seven League foes. Hiawatha took the early January meeting by 14 points.  Catching the game feed was especially enjoyable because I had not seen either team play prior to tonight. A quick game summary. The teams exchanged leads during the first half a few times leading through the end of first quarter, which ended tied at 11.  A pile of turnovers plagued the Cyclones in the second quarter, resulting in a Red Hawk 27-18 half time lead. Hiawatha extended the lead heading into the fourth quarter and led by as much as 20 early in the final stanza. The Cyclones closed to within 10 with just under 4 minutes to go but unfortunately they picked up fouls late to extend the game and ended up losing by 14 points again, 57-43.  Below is a report on players for both teams who will be key for the teams to make runs to the state tournaments. <h2><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hiawatha</span></h2> [player_tooltip player_id="260049" first="Lakyn" last="Leupold"], 5’10", PF, 2022 - Leupold's impact can be understated, especially when other teammates are drawing attention with their scoring. She led the team in rebounding with seven, blocked a shot, only had a couple turnovers, and knocked down all three free throws. <strong>Darcy Lierz</strong>, 5’8", SG, 2023 - Lierz's ability to jump passing lanes and go end-to-end off rebounds generated several transition baskets.  Finishing with 16 points, she showed speed with the ball and the ability to finish at speed.  She also showed the athleticism to split defenders off an interior spin move. [player_tooltip player_id="125010" first="Clara" last="Lindstrom"], 5’7", SF/SG, 2022 - Lindstrom understands how to score in a variety of situations. She is effective posting up other guards on the block, scoring in transition with speed and control, getting into the lane off the wing dribble, and at punishing defenders with her three ball.  Lindstrom has a nice baby hook, uses the glass well, and is a walking three point play (6/6 from the line). <strong>Sarah Madsen</strong>, 5’11", PF, 2022 - By my count Madsen collected six blocked shots.  Not a shot blocker per se, Madsen slides into position well and has a solid build to stand her ground straight up.  She challenges shots without fouling as well.  Where Madsen hurts teams is in her transition passing and positioning and with her perimeter shooting. <h2><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Riverside</span></h2> [player_tooltip player_id="300794" first="Taylor" last="Weishaar"], 6’2", C, 2024 - Weishaar shot nearly as many free throws as the Red Hawks did as a team, going 11/13. Tallying 25 points she also pulled down a dozen boards, split evenly between offensive and defensive.  In a class loaded with quality bigs Weishaar has the potential to be among the best in the state. She does a lot of things well. She can score around the basket in a variety of ways, can hit the mid-range shot, has coordination to turn well in transition to catch and finish, and boxes on both ends of the floor. Easy to overlook is her defensive quickness. She repeatedly stopped baseline drives when defending on the wing, moved well on ball reversals, and helped well from the weak side. I would like to see her use the glass better. <strong>Tynigha Ewing</strong>, 5’4", CG, 2022 - Ewing hurts teams with her quick hands and speed with the ball.  She and her back court mate Studer easily carved up the Red Hawk press with the dribble when they got a seam to split.  I would like to see her be a half step quicker defending in the half court and do so with more physicality.  She also needs to show herself to be a perimeter threat. <strong>Zoey Hayes</strong>, 5’4", SG, 2022 - A big reason why the Cyclones cut the fourth quarter Red Hawk lead in half, Hayes is easily the best perimeter shooter on the team.  She canned a pair of threes in that run.  Hayes should be used primarily in that position to free up the Red Hawk bigs to work inside and her speeding teammates Ewing and Studer to work in space. <strong>Halle Studer</strong>, 5’4", PG, 2024 - While Studer can get out of control with in transition she is the team's best ball handler.  She and Ewing can slice up opposing full court defenses with the dribble.  They both would be that much more effective if the team's passing limited the dribbles and enabled their speed to be on the receiving end of transition scores. Studer is very quick off the bounce but also uses her quicks to close out well on the perimeter and prevent basket drives. A three point threat, she has a swift release. &nbsp;