Players to Watch: North Iowa Cedar-East
The next conference to get looked at is the North Iowa Cedar-East. Last season, this conference had separation, with every team finishing two games apart from the groups above and below them in the standings. Jesup ended up with the…
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Continue ReadingThe next conference to get looked at is the North Iowa Cedar-East. Last season, this conference had separation, with every team finishing two games apart from the groups above and below them in the standings. Jesup ended up with the conference championship with an undefeated 8-0 record in conference play. However, loads of seniors graduated from this conference, so there’s bound to be some shakeup.
Laney Pilcher
Jesup’s 5-foot-7 senior is an impact player for the J-Hawks. As a junior, Pilcher was the third-leading scorer in the conference and second-leading scorer on her team, with 15.3 points per contest. Pilcher is an active defender who gets her hands on the ball and creates multiple on-ball turnovers per game. Last season, the J-Hawk averaged four steals per game, and since she tends to defend lead guards, that likely led to easy transition points.
Isabelle Elliot
The 6-foot multi-sport athlete from Sumner-Fredricksburg played a prominent role for the Cougars last season. Elliot is an athletic big who can move her feet on the perimeter. The Cougar grabbed over seven rebounds per game but will likely need to increase that number without Morgan Brandt. Elliot is an effective rebounder on both ends of the floor with a near-even split of her offensive and defensive rebounding. The more she rebounds offensively, the better season the Cougars will have.
Reagan Sorensen
The 5-foot-4 guard led Union Community with 9.8 points per game last season. The junior had a high usage role as a sophomore. She had to score and create with volume to put the Knights in a position to win games. Although the numbers may not support it, I believe that Sorensen is a better shooter than she showed last season. Her jumper is stable, and she can repeat the motion when she shoots the ball. The Knights may not jump into contending for the conference, but Sorensen will force teams to take the Knights seriously when preparing to match up with them.
Saela Steege
The 5-foot-6 freshman could be the x-factor in the entire conference this season. Steege shot nearly 40% from the 3-point line as a freshman and came off the bench in all but one game last season. She didn’t have to do much as a freshman but excelled with her minutes last season. This season that’ll change with graduations and Steege showing what she’s capable of on the floor. This season could be a big one for the Cougar.