Players to Watch: River Valley-South
In this article:
After a quick preview of the River Valley-North, we look to the River Valley-South. Last season, Regina Catholic won the conference with a 17-2 conference record and made a trip to the Wells Fargo Center, where they lost the state…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAfter a quick preview of the River Valley-North, we look to the River Valley-South. Last season, Regina Catholic won the conference with a 17-2 conference record and made a trip to the Wells Fargo Center, where they lost the state quarterfinal to Panorama. That said, let’s look at a few returners this season.
Highlights
The now sophomore at West Branch returns this season as the leading returning scorer in the conference. The 5-foot-10 wing has a smooth game and plays pragmatically. She doesn’t force anything. Palmer takes what the defense gives her and runs with it. The Bear has a ton of poise with the ball in her hands, especially when she’s in a pick-and-roll. I love her patience as the ball handler in P&R action. She doesn’t attack it at 100 miles per hour. She reacts to what the defense is doing to defend it.
After a runner-up finish in the conference and their leading scorer graduating, the Comets will look different this year. Hall is the lead returning scorer for a West Liberty team that went 16-3 in conference play a year ago. Like many talented small school kids, Hall is an excellent rebounder for her position, and it helps her team change defense into offense in a hurry. If the Comets continue their success this season, it will likely be down to Hall’s season.
The 5-foot-3 left-handed point guard led her team in scoring, a conference title, and a state tournament appearance last season. The Regina Catholic senior did an excellent job setting her teammates up to score last season. Gaarde recorded over five assists per game and had a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a junior. The Regal will take care of the ball, give her teammates opportunities to score, and compete again in her senior season.
Isabelle DeLong
The 5-foot-9 wing finished in the top-10 in scoring in the conference last season. The Durant junior scored over 12 points per game for a team that finished near the bottom of the River Valley-South. The then-sophomore was consistent in her performances. It’s not easy to consistently excel when teams walk into the gym, keying on you, and DeLong helped her team win five conference games a season ago, which isn’t a bad result by any means. This season, DeLong will continue to do what she does best and find ways to score the ball.