MMU Holiday Tournament Championship: D1 MMU vs D2 NCU

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dive in and find out who showed out at the MMU Holiday Tournament Championship! Let's go!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='975815' first='Maysa' last='Long'], 5'11 F - Mount Mansfield Union H.S. Class of 2027</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the course of this tournament, Maysa has become a favorite of mine to watch. She impacted every play; her hustle on the boards, both offensively and defensively, reeled in so many possessions and second chance points for MMU. She finished well on both sides of the rim, passed instinctively against collapsing defenses, and moved intuitively around the paint. And defensively she's been rock solid both in the paint and on switches. Maysa went for 16-points and 13 boards in this one; she's got that extra gear in her. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='645675' first='Meghan' last='Thompson'], 5'9 G - Mount Mansfield Union H.S. Class of 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The bucket-getter kept pace in the final, going for 16 off of a variety of looks. Thompson's off-ball movement on out-of-bounds plays landed her a couple threes. Plus, she attacked closeouts and defensive gaps, finding success in the short range and at the rim. Her defense was consistently solid, rarely giving anyone much of an edge. Plus, she nabbed a few rebounds. Meghan's offensive firepower created a couple of clutch buckets in the final minute, putting MMU over the top. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='630359' first='Delilah' last='Locher'], 5'6 G - Mount Mansfield Union H.S. Class of 2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dee is that ultra-reliable two-way lead guard who can come in and take care of business. Her facilitation had MMU organized in the halfcourt, and in transition Locher consistently made good reads to feed teammates as they flashed into open space. On the defensive end, Locher was aggressive and measured at the same time as she hounded ballhandlers and forced tough decisions. A dynamic PG who loves to make plays for others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='649624' first='Brianna' last='Brownell'], 5'9 W - Mount Mansfield Union H.S. Class of 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the things that makes Brianna so solid is her willingness to do the dirty work. Brownell was all over the glass, collecting loose balls, and doing the little things offensively to make MMU click. Her help and weak side defense kept NCU's top players stifled for the most part, and on the other end she moved the ball well, set solid screens, and slashed + distributed as she sought to make the simple play. Fundamental. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='645601' first='Sabine' last='Brueck'], 5'8 G - North Country Union H.S. Class of 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a patience and a resilience to Sabine's game. Down 13 halfway through the 3rd, Brueck just kept on plugging away. For the rest of the game, Sabine led with defense that caused turnovers, captured rebounds, and made plays in transition and distributed in the halfcourt, finding a way to help NCU claw back. While NCU came up just short, this game from Sabine and NCU proved that they can play with the top of D1. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='649622' first='Maya' last='Auger'], 5'8 G - North Country Union H.S. Class of 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took some time to find the groove, but partway through the third quarter something caught. A bit of rhythm came to Maya; she knocked down a couple treys, found a couple dimes off of slashes and in transition, and helped the Falcons bring a double-digit deficit down to a one possession game. Auger collected a few rebounds on both ends too, keeping momentum. That connective work continued into the 4th, finding more assists on slashes. Maya and Sabine had NCU on the brink, but the rhythm came a little too late. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->