MIAA Team To Watch: #8 East Bridgewater Vikings

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The MIAA D3 Tournament has many top teams remaining, but I think one, in particular, can pull off an upset. The #8 Seed East Bridgewater Vikings have a tough matchup ahead of them against #1 Medway.  However,after watching the Vikings play against Bellingham last week and seeing the personnel up close, I think they have the pieces to win Friday night. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="309494" first="Phoebe" last="Katilus"] - 6’0’’ - PF - ’23</strong> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/0D4D66E9-15E0-45CA-9587-FE5BE5EBE2FE-scaled-crop-1852x1216-1647004452.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-399237" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/0D4D66E9-15E0-45CA-9587-FE5BE5EBE2FE-scaled-crop-1852x1216-1647004452-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Katilus was the Player of the Game after a convincing win vs. Bellingham, leading the way with 17 points and was unstoppable around the basket. She dominated the short corner of Belinngham’s zone defense and was all over the glass. Katilus followed that performance with 23 points and 17 rebounds against #9 Old Rochester. Katilus has been a double-double machine all season long, and stock has gone through the roof this winter. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="184039" first="Sophie" last="Bradbury"] - 5’8’’ - CG - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bradbury has the tools and skills to drop 15+ a game as she did in the Vikings win over Old Rochester (16 points). What Bradbury also brings to the table is strong, versatile defense. Her ability to guard multiple positions and be a factor in the passing lanes sparks the Vikings’ fast breaks. Bradbury is also a good shot-blocking guard and has been a consistent two-way player for East Bridgewater. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263887" first="Allie" last="Pechulis"] - 5’9’’ - SF - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Pechulis has had a solid year, and her efforts landed her a spot on the South Shore League All-Star. She is valuable in the Vikings lineup because she can impact the game without monopolizing the basketball. She is a great catch-and-shoot wing from the outside and defends at a high level. Against Bellingham, the lefty wing finished with 10 points, including 2 from downtown. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="399241" first="Haley" last="Murphy"] - 5’7’’ - SG - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">You cannot leave Murphy open on the perimeter, or she will gladly make you pay. She has a nice shooting stroke and had 3 three-pointers in the Vikings blowout win against Bellingham. Murphy’s ability to stretch the floor makes her extremely dangerous when teams sit in a zone. When teams go man, Murphy’s sniping ability opens up the floor for Bradbury to slash and gives Katilus more room inside to operate. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="399242" first="Erin" last="Condon"] - 5’4’’ - PG - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Condon isn’t the scorer or playmaker that the teammates aforementioned are but what she brings the Vikings on defense is very valuable. She is an athletic guard whose lateral quickness gives opposing ball-handlers fits. I look at Condon as an x-factor for East Bridgewater because of her aggressive and tenacious play defensively. She has the athletic ability to slow down and put pressure on the Medway backcourt.</span>