Players to Watch: Big Rivers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, Menomonie won the Big Rivers and ended up representing the conference at the state tournament, and represented the conference well. There are plenty of talented kids within the Big Rivers so let's talk about a few.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156059' first='Lily' last='Cayley']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eau Claire Memorial guard has a quick first step and is one of the most intelligent point guards in the state. She understands how to exploit defenses and utilize her quickness to beat slower post defenders to the rim and to create passing lanes when her screener rolls to the basket. Defensively, at the high school level, Cayley does an excellent job staying in front of her assignment. Her ability to jump passing lanes, and create live ball turnovers in general, will win her team games this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='342360' first='Eliana' last='Sheplee']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I always talk about how athletic Sheplee is, but what she does is ridiculous. The only thing I'll point out athletically is how she creates five feet of space from half court to the basket on pure speed alone. However, if I've given off an impression that her only trait is athleticism, I'll correct that now. She's improving every time I've seen her play. She understands her strengths and plays in a way that maximizes her chance to succeed. She has a strong base and uses that to plant and utilize a floater and rebounds well for a wing on the offensive end. She's a two-way player with the work ethic to get better and has gotten better since I learned about her last November.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='342359' first='Sam' last='Jacobsen']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nobody is as pure of a slashing wing as [player_tooltip player_id='342359' first='Sam' last='Jacobsen']. Every time I see her, she finds ways to slice through any defense and finish at the rim. In her time at Menomonie, Jacobsen has played some of the best defensive groups in the state. The rising junior has still managed to get to the basket and finish with both hands whenever she wants. She's a wing who knows what she wants to do and is confident enough to do her thing whenever her team needs her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='440846' first='Ella' last='Peters']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The River Falls native is a long, athletic, and dynamic wing. She covers a ton of ground defensively and has the versatility to defend multiple positions. That versatility carries over to the offensive end of the floor. She can attack recovering defenses on the weak side and knock down open perimeter jumpers. Unfortunately, she suffered an injury in late May that kept her out for the July viewing periods. However, if you're a small school coach looking for a versatile and athletic wing in the 2023 class, I suggest taking a trip to River Falls for a game this coming season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->