Most Intriguing Match-Up’s Of Week 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week this season I will be posting my top 2 or 3 games of the week that I can't wait see wether it be because of a certain player matchup or team matchup. Week 2 of the season is as follows:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>#1: Johnston VS Cedar Rapids-Prairie </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Johnston Dragons tip off their season tonight at home vs Cedar Rapids-Prairie. The Dragons, who are coming off of a 5A state championship, return a lot of talent to remind at that top spot to start this year. Prairie brings in a new coach with good basketball experience as well as a great young core of players that run deep. In their first game of the season they stomped their competition, winning by 34 points at the end of the contest. This match up is more intriguing because of all the young talent that will be displayed. There are key freshman coming in on both sides to help their programs compete that are real game changers, some of these players being [player_tooltip player_id='557354' first='Jenica' last='Lewis'] for the Dragons and [player_tooltip player_id='502228' first='Brynlie' last='Hadenfeldt'] for the Hawks. It will be fun to watch these teams compete but in the end I have the team with home court advantage taking the win in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='557354' first='Jenica' last='Lewis'] ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12123","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Johnston ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Pure Prep ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='557354' first='Jenica' last='Lewis'] comes into this season with the most u0022hypeu0022 behind her name in the state of Iowa after being nationally ranked during her middle school years. Currently she is ranked in the top 15 players in the class of 2026 according to ESPN and several other sources. Lewis is a 5'10 point guard that can flat out play any guard position well. She holds the ability to shoot the ball efficiently from deep, she can handle and dribble her way out of most situations, and she can pass with the best of them.  I can't wait to see what the Johnston backcourt will do this year while having two of the top ranked players at their positions in Lewis and [player_tooltip player_id='246121' first='Aili' last='Tanke'], who is an Iowa State women's basketball commit and the #1 ranked played in the class of 2024 in Iowa. If these two can get on the same page early, they will find themselves in another state championship game with a good chance of winning it all again.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["502160"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='502228' first='Brynlie' last='Hadenfeldt'] steps into her freshman year as a big piece to the success of the Prairie Hawks as their season progresses. Hadenfeldt is a versatile forward who can expand the floor and make a jump shot when needed. She is a player with a solid base, good balance, calculated footwork, and plays off of two feet near the rim. During this season I can see her stepping up into a bigger role for this squad as she shows what she can really do as time goes on. After looking over the stats of game 1, the Hawks did a great job of sharing the ball and giving equal offensive opportunities to their major players. When they get into a tougher contest, somewhere later in the season, it'll be interesting to see who gets more of the offensive responsibly in big situations. By the end of her high school career I can see Hadenfeldt becoming a big name and generating a lot of interest from some high level colleges.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6384fd3d72ba4"} /--> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>#2: Tipton VS Monticello </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tipton plays host to the Monticello Panthers on Tuesday night in a conference matchup of two interesting teams to start the 22'-23' season. Tipton, who started out their season with a big time 49-25 win, will continue with this momentum against a very good returning Monticello team in hopes of beating the Panthers for the first since 2008. The Panthers will be at a disadvantage in this game to start for two main reasons in my opinion. The first being that they are playing away and the second being that this is their first game of the season. For a team to get a feel for each other in a real game setting, while starting the year on the road can be challenging and create problems. It'll be nice to see if the young core of Monticello can pick up from where they left off a year ago under the leadership of [player_tooltip player_id='311367' first='Jayden' last='Kuper'] and a few others.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["311367"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='311367' first='Jayden' last='Kuper'] returns for her sophomore year as the force that drives this young core of the Monticello Panthers. Coming off of a great AAU season with [program_tooltip program_id='715980' first='Team' last='Iowa'] and working hard in her time off, she is ready to show everyone what she is able to do and how she has expanded her game. Kuper is a multi-skilled forward with a big base and good moves near the basket. She can score and rebound very well next to the hoop while having nice touch on the ball. She can pass off of the catch or the dribble and knows when to set a good screen for the quicker guards around her outside the arc. By the time she gets to the college level, she will be a really good 3 guard that can come in and make an instant impact in a successful program. She will start this journey once again tomorrow night as she looks to show the conference that she is one of the best combo forwards around.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6384fd3d72c74"} /--> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>#3: Ankeny VS Johnston</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ankeny will host the Johnston Dragons on Friday evening at home. The Dragons, who will be coming off of a challenging first week, will look to cap off week 1 with a convincing win against the Ankeny Hawks. Ankeny who won their first game 60-43 over a solid Cedar Falls squad returns a lot of experience from last season in attempts to make this one special. With the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='311376' first='Savannah' last='Gage'] scoring the ball, Jasmine Moser rebounding, [player_tooltip player_id='63055' first='Jenna' last='Pitz'] dishing out some nasty assists, and freshman star [player_tooltip player_id='342205' first='Jayla' last='Williams'], it will be tough for teams to match up with them, but in this match up they will be the under dog going into it. Both teams having a younger more inexperienced core, along with just starting the season, will make this one interesting in the long run as they could meet again down the road on the way to the state playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["63055"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='63055' first='Jenna' last='Pitz'] returns for her senior year for one more ride with the Hawks as they try to do it big this year and make it a season to remember. Pitz, while being a good scorer is a great passer of the basketball for her teammates, showing that in their first game where she recorded 7 assists for her squad while also scoring 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals, making her the most consistent on her team across all categories in game 1 on the season. With the roster that this team has along with Pitz as their leader, they could really go some places once the playoffs begin. It will be an extremely competitive conference this year on the girls side and I can't wait to see how it plays out for everyone. No matter the outcome, we are going to be watching some great games during this 22'-23' season throughout all classes.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6384fd3d72cc7"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["342205"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='342205' first='Jayla' last='Williams'] had an impressive start to her freshman year for Ankeny High School in their win scoring 12 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, snagging 6 steals, and making 1 block. Williams comes into this season as a highly rated player throughout the entire country because of her size, athleticism, and skillset for her age. She is a versatile guard who can change a program the moment she steps on the floor. She was given the most shot attempts in her teams first contest of the year, as they are trying to work the ball inside to out while they run offense. After taking visits to some big name schools such as Iowa and Michigan already, it'll be interesting to see who else steps into the mix as time goes on. By the end of her senior season it could very well be a situation where she can play for anyone she would like to at the college level.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-638515b4b730e"} /-->