Spooky Teams: Spring A-Rival-Part 1

Photo: Anna Kitch

Bash Hudson

April 27, 2022 @ 08:04 PM

The Rivals finished 4-1 at Spooky Nook and dominated teams throughout the weekend. When you look at the roster, they are a star-studded cast with firepower at each position. I touched on how ’23 Rivals guard [player_tooltip player_id="267052" first="Oluchi" last="Okananwa"] found her groove at " Live! At The Nook," but she wasn’t the only one. The other 4 starters also had big weekends, and the team looks destined for a huge spring.   [player_tooltip player_id="266795" first="Kendall" last="Eddy"]| CG| 5’8’’| ’23 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-420270" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/F55F029C-6D80-47A1-B9F0-5E8588487A79-crop-1237x813-1651106426-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Eddy continues to win at an alarming rate and is one of the most significant factors in each victory. It is also worth mentioning that Eddy is playing the most consistent basketball of anyone in her class this spring. She is setting the tone with her effort and toughness on defense while facilitating at a high level. This spring, Eddy has been dynamic and controlling the game even when she isn’t scoring.   [player_tooltip player_id="267455" first="Mia" last="Mancini"] | PG| 5’7’’| ’23 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-420266" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/DDFFB821-BBEA-4E6E-8C0C-D7C010004A0A-crop-1365x897-1651105983-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Mancini continues to elevate her game and has shown no signs of slowing down. She is attacking the defense aggressively and making good decisions when drawing help defenders. Mancini was a lightning rod in transition, and kept the defense backpedaling on the break. The combination of her and Eddy in the backcourt is as scary as it gets, because both fill the secondary ball-handling/playmaker role effectively and can defend both guard positions.   [player_tooltip player_id="269260" first="Ashley" last="Dinges"] | 6’1’’| SF| ’24 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-420273" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/5374FE5B-3201-4643-A806-B1F317112588-crop-1242x816-1651106538-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> With the number of playmakers on the Rivals, Dinges constantly finds herself open on the perimeter, where she is automatic. The combination of long-range shooting and rebounding Dinges brings to the table meshes well with the rest of the talented Rivals roster. Dinges also does all the little things well. She opens up the guards with hard screens and is an elite cutter when off the ball.   [player_tooltip player_id="184020" first="Grace" last="Oliver"] | 6’1’’|PF| ’24 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-420258" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/EE969636-43CA-4997-8F80-24859E15B8C9-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1651105842-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> When I first saw Oliver at Spooky Nook, I immediately noticed how much stronger she looked. Her face-up and perimeter game were on point, too. Oliver had a few impressive drives from the high post and played well through contact. Defensively, Oliver’s versatility was eye-popping. She switched out on guards effortlessly on the perimeter and had the foot speed to stay in front of them for a period of time. She can protect the rim and be a disrupter on the wing, making Oliver arguably the Rivals most complete player on defense.