More State Tournament Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today, we're continuing to reflect on the events in Des Moines as teams competed for state titles in five different classes. I want to continue to highlight some people who excelled and helped their team advance and compete for a state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='878157' first='Maryn' last='Bixby']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bixby brought a different dimension to the Wolverines' offense, which led to teams not packing the paint in a zone. Bixby's shooting forced defenses to stay honest, and with her size, she still shot over any contest that came her way. I loved how consistent Bixby was all week. Bixby also liked to leak out when opposing teams took 3-pointers, and because of [player_tooltip player_id='314094' first='Payton' last='Petersen']'s strength and vision, she earned a few layups on leak-outs from Petersen's rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Afton Schlumbohm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>She's not the first person that comes to mind when people think of Central Lyon, but she was as important as anyone. Every team the Lions played tried to bring immense ball pressure, and she usually found ways around that pressure. After she broke free of that pressure, Schlumbohm would take advantage of the numerical advantages she created and make the right pass at the right time to help her team get easy baskets. The lead guard also grabbed every loose rebound that hit the floor and wasn't afraid to push the tempo when she liked what she saw in transition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abbie Capisieus</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bishop Garrigan guard is not the first person on scouting reports, but she was scrappy and played a significant role in the 1A state title game. As [player_tooltip player_id='63019' first='Audi' last='Crooks'] was getting hit all night and [player_tooltip player_id='63033' first='Molly' last='Joyce'] got pressured the length of the court, Capesius found 12 rebounds in the game that earned the Lions a state title. The guard's ability to end the Mustangs' offensive possessions was critical, and she was a part of that all game long. Capisieus also earned five assists in that game, which came from getting [player_tooltip player_id='63019' first='Audi' last='Crooks'] the ball, but she was steady all week for Bishop Garrigan.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='246117' first='Emma' last='Townsley']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Benton guard played an off-ball role all week but bent the defense whenever she caught the ball on the weak side. Townsley had the attention of teams, and when she had the ball, you could tell they had an idea of what she wanted to do, but most of the time, it didn't matter. She did a good job creating for her teammates by attacking the middle of the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->