Players to Watch: North Central
Today, we’re looking at the North Central Conference. Last season, Clear Lake went undefeated in conference play and played in a region championship game against Estherville Lincoln Center, where their season ended. However, this season the Lions lost a handful…
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Continue ReadingToday, we’re looking at the North Central Conference. Last season, Clear Lake went undefeated in conference play and played in a region championship game against Estherville Lincoln Center, where their season ended. However, this season the Lions lost a handful of talented seniors, so the standings at the end of the year could look different than they did last year.
Morgan Mann Morgan Mann 5'7" | SG Humboldt | 2025 State IA
The 5-foot-9 rising sophomore left a mark on the conference as a freshman. Mann was the second leading scorer in the conference last season, and her success is repeatable. She’s a good athlete and has more explosion off the dribble than you’d expect. The Wildcat is also crafty around the basket. She can step through traffic, keep her balance, and finish with both hands around the basket. Mann also balanced her ability to attack the basket with her 38.8% shooting from behind the 3-point line. She has a balanced game.
Lexie Lane
Although Lane may not play on the most competitive team in the conference, she does an excellent job excelling with what’s around her. The 5-foot-10 wing is an athlete and excels in multiple sports. She moves well laterally and has the size and length to excel on the defensive end of the floor. She also manages to create a handful of turnovers per game. Last season, she averaged 3.4 steals per game for Clarion-Goldfield Dows.
Jordan Mayland
Clear Lake’s 5-foot-5 guard led the North Central Conference in assists, with 3.6 per game. The best part about her creation is how she takes care of the ball. Mayland has an over 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. That means that Mayland will maximize every possession that the Lions have, and in the macro, that makes this team dangerous again next season. She may not look to score the ball much, but teams need to guard her closely. Otherwise, she will pick them apart with her playmaking.
Sharar is an interesting case. The rising junior is good around the basket and shows she has good touch by shooting 83% from the free-throw line, but she doesn’t necessarily dominate. What she did dominate in the conference was rebounding. Last season, Sharar led the conference in rebounding with 8.3 per game. The 6-foot wing also got involved defensively. Sharar averaged over a steal and half a block per game last season. She’s athletic enough where that number should climb over the next few seasons.