Sherwood/Sunset Game Breakdown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sherwood 53 - Sunset 35</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At the Bill Gabel Invitational, two teams from different leagues matched up in an exciting duel between Sherwood and Sunset. The story of the game was all revolved around 6'4" center [player_tooltip player_id='255263' first='Ava' last='Heiden'], a 2024 nationally acclaimed player who is set to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes after her prep career. Sherwood was on the Apollos from the get-go, applying lots of pressure in the form of their full-court trap. Offensively, they played an incredibly uptempo style that stressed pushing the ball up the floor to the open player. Sunset showed some scrappiness, fighting for loose balls and offensive rebounds inside the paint despite the presence of Sherwood's Heiden. At halftime Sherwood led 27-20. Despite their efforts, ultimately the second half was a different story as Sherwood continued to move the ball and apply pressure defensively in a winning effort 53-35. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='255263' first='Ava' last='Heiden'] stifled the Apollos with her tremendous size in the paint, scoring at will as well as her presence in the full-court trap, applying pressure on the in-bounder. Ava also displayed her newfound ability to shoot it from alongside the arc. Sherwood also had the talents of sharp-shooting Katie Sands, who provided an extra layer of scoring with her ability to sink it from the perimeter. Katlin Romig for the Bowmen was a quick-witted guard who knew how to slip past the defense for scores. Paige Bittner showed promise as an intuitive scorer alongside the wing whereas [player_tooltip player_id='256235' first='Sabrina' last='Flowers'] was the facilitator who could thread the needle as well as find ways to score herself. Tali Sander was another perimeter threat who provided as another perimeter shooter and slashing guard. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Apollos, [player_tooltip player_id='834129' first='Riley' last='Morris-Rexford'] was an athletic and high motor wing who garnered several offensive rebounders by her ability to crash the boards immediately, sprinting from all over the court to battle for extra possessions. Mia Phillippi, a down-hill guard for Sunset, showed fearlessness in her demeanor to get to the basket and create opportunities at the free-throw line. Hannah Lefler created as a shooter who also had prowess inside the perimeter as a three-level scorer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Scorers:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sherwood: Heiden 18, Romig 9, Sands 9, Flowers 5, Sander 5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sunset: Phillippi 9, Lefler 7, Morris-Rexford 5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->