Players to Watch: Mississippi Valley-Mississippi
In this article:
Last season in the Mississippi Valley-Mississippi, five teams were within three games of the top spot in the conference. Iowa City won the conference title with an 11-4 record and was one of the best teams in the state. However,…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingLast season in the Mississippi Valley-Mississippi, five teams were within three games of the top spot in the conference. Iowa City won the conference title with an 11-4 record and was one of the best teams in the state. However, there’s loads of talent all over this conference. Let’s look at a few of the kids within the Mississippi Valley-Mississippi.
Kelsey Joens Kelsey Joens 5'10" | SG West Liberty | 2023 State IA
The 5-foot-10 Iowa State commit is a lethal shooter with a knack for getting to the free-throw line. However, I’m impressed with how well she took care of the ball while being able to make plays on the offensive end. Not many players have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio at this level, let alone players who aren’t particularly ball-dominant. The Little Hawk was the second leading scorer in the conference last season with 21.3 points per game and showed no signs of slowing down heading into her senior season.
Jasmine Barney Jasmine Barney 5'7" | PG Cedar Falls | 2023 State IA
The Minnesota-Mankato commit was a high-usage guard who found ways to get her hands on the ball. The Lightning guard displayed her ability to get her teammates involved consistently while not turning the ball much. Barney’s ability with the ball also forces defenders to respect her ability to get to the basket and creates opportunities to take open shots from the perimeter. She’s no slouch shooting 36% from behind the 3-point line, so I expect some big games from Barney this season.
Taylor Brunson Taylor Brunson 5'6" | SG Linn-Mar | 2023 State IA
Brunson plays with an incredibly high motor, and she results because she’s always in control. She earned nearly three steals per game last season, which created multiple easy-scoring opportunities directly from her forced turnover. The Linn-Mar Lion was the fifth leading scorer in the conference with 13.6 points per game in her junior season. She’s used to the high school game and will make winning plays at the end of games this season to help her team win.
Zoe Kennedy
The Linn-Mar guard finished fourth in assists last season in the conference with 4.1 per game in her junior season. She had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio last season and was efficient in scoring herself. She shot from the 3-point and free-throw lines at a high level. Kennedy used that to manipulate the defense with her threat to attack the basket and pull up with her jumper. The rising senior is a threat to take over games with her playmaking or scoring at the high school level.