Free Throw Killers
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Below I am going to highlight some of the players that do the best job of getting to the free throw line so far this season. Enjoy! Abbey Bence HEIGHT 5'9" POS SG CLASS 2023 Abbey Bence School: West Burlington…
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Continue ReadingBelow I am going to highlight some of the players that do the best job of getting to the free throw line so far this season. Enjoy!
Abbey Bence
Abbey Bence
Going into the break and coming out of it Abbey Bence is leading the state in free throw attempts AND makes so far this season. Bence, who has an interesting game, has been doing more this year then just shooting free throws as she has been leading her West Burlington high school team to an 8-1 record while averaging over 24 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.3 APG during this span. Bence comes in at around 5’9 but plays more of a forward/down-low position for her high school squad. I think that if she were to be in an other situation that she would be moved to the 3 position or even the 2 in certain spots. Something common among all of the players that I’ll name in this article is that all of them welcome contact and in most cases they seek it out while attacking the hoop. That is not any different in this case as Bence does a great job of getting near the hoop and finding contact to get herself to the line for a possible 3 point play. Moving forward teams will start to see this become a factor more and more throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.
Andrea Lopreato Andrea Lopreato 5’9″ | SF Mount Pleasant | 2023 IA enters this article as the player with the most free throw attempts and makes in the 4A class thus far this season and all while averaging 19.7 PPG, 13.9 RPG, and 2.4 APG. Lopreato has been doing a little bit of everything for her Mount Pleasant Panthers team, who has started this season with a 5-6 overall record going into break. For the Panthers the formula is simple and that is to play through the talents of Lopreato, let her do her thing and make the easy choices. From what I’ve seen so far this year with this team is that they seem to just over-think things a tad bit resulting in a turnover or steal because of their hesitation in those moments. If they were to just keep it simple, play through their star, and take what the defense gives them then I think this group can really surprise some teams as the playoffs approach. As it goes for Lopreato, I anticipate her to keep on killing it and her to stay consistent getting to the line through out the rest of the year.
Aubrey Kroymann Aubrey Kroymann 6’0″ | C Maquoketa | 2026 State IA is the only freshman to make the top 10 list in free throws attempted or made in the state and I think that moving forward over the next 3.5 years that she will be living at the line each night as she is a major problem for defenses inside the paint. Kroymann is a versatile forward/center that likes to post up whenever she has the opportunity and because of this it results in her getting fouled a lot and getting to the free-throw line. Something to also notice within this stat is how much it shows that her team shares the ball and trusts her near the hoop. The team she is on does a great job of moving, spacing the floor well, and letting their 4 and 5 post up when they have the chance. If someone goes to over-help with them in the post then they jus kick it out for a simple shot or reset for another post entry. The Maquoeta high school team that Kroymann plays for is going to have some real success coming up these next few years with the presence of herself along with other key freshman around her and I can’t wait to see that.
Highlights
Lydia Kriegel
Lydia Kriegel
Lydia Kriegel has been doing all she can for her Iowa Valley high school squad this season in attempts to lead them to the playoffs with momentum after a great year and so far, so good for the Tigers. The combo forward who has an outstanding work ethic, has made it to the line 69 times this season, making her one of the most frequent visitors to the free throw line in the state going into break. Kriegel has been a great addition in her post play this season for her Iowa Valley team as they have started out this year with an overall 8-2 record and with a lot of momentum coming out of break. Their next biggest test will be played this evening against a very tough North Mahaska team who comes into this contest ranked #12 in their class. If Kriegel can keep up the solid work of getting to the line and knocking down free throws than everything else will come easier to her other teammates on the floor.