Lakeside: D1 St. Johnsbury vs D1 St. Albans

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oof, what a close one! St. J sneaks out of BFA with the W, outlasting the fullcourt pressure and a late game surge. Lots of good stuff in this one so let's get right to it!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='592897' first='Anna' last='Ebert'], 5'8 G/W - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You've got to love seeing players develop! Ebert's comfortability and confidence is looking as high as ever, as evidenced by her fearless defense against BFA's top guard and sheer impact across the game with her rebounding, passing and scoring. Anna was in attack mode, getting to the rim constantly and finishing with nice feel inside or dishing it out, putting up 12 on the night. Ebert's two-way effort was a catalyst for St. J in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='645602' first='Cassidy' last='Kittredge'], 5'11 W - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A knockdown shooter and excellent floor spacer, Kittredge was dialed in against BFA. Cassidy's feel off the ball was on display as she intuitively floated into open space or attacked defensive holes, finagling passing angles for teammates, especially Wilkins, and loading right into her shot. Cassidy led all scorers with 23, lacing 3s and mid-range jumpers. Kittredge's hot shooting was key for the Hilltoppers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='579572' first='Hayden' last='Wilkins'], 5'8 G - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I get this sense watching Hayden that she's like a predator stalking prey; Wilkins' approach was to organize and distribute much of the game. But there were a few moments, particularly in the 4th and OT, where Hayden stepped up to hit big shots, almost as if that was the moment she was waiting for. Hayden contributed a steady 12 points off of a couple nice slashes, FTs, many assists, and two monster 3s late in the game. Just a winner. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='649625' first='Kaia' last='Anderson'], 5'9 W - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every team needs someone like Kaia; Anderson was so impactful with her swiss-army knife work. She was a diligent defender, forcing tough shots on the ball and rotating well to help when away from it. Plus, she rebounded at a high rate, pushed the tempo when it presented itself, initiated the offense a bit, and added a few buckets to the cause. Anderson plays winning basketball and that doesn't always put numbers in the box score. Love her approach and willingness to sacrifice. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='496182' first='Ruby' last='Dasaro'], 5'7 G - BFA St. Albans Class of 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talk about somebody who impacts every play, sheesh! Ruby was constantly in the mix. She was causing chaos on the perimeter with her pressure and reading of passing lanes, clawing for rebounds, and making plays in the open court. Dasaro's energy is unrelenting and her ability to get downhill + finish out of the pnr or in the open court had BFA rolling into OT. Ruby added 11-points, around five rebounds and probably five assists. Two-way tenacity. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='648143' first='Jade' last='Garceau'], 5'9 W/F - BFA St. Albans Class of 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jade just steadily kept plugging away. Garceau was involved in a lot of ball screen action, and her short rolls created nice scoring options for both herself and the ballhandler. Moreover, with her work in the fullcourt press, Jade caused a number of turnovers which turned into quick lays at the rim. Jade's versatile, inside/out defense, rebounding, and 12-points around the cup gave BFA a big boost as they almost toppled another top tier D1 foe. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cadence Lafferty, 5'8 G - BFA St. Albans Class of 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early on when BFA was struggling to find rhythm it was Cadence who gave them some juice. Lafferty hit multiple threes in the first quarter to bolster some scoring, and then hit another down the road to keep them chugging along. That opened up the floor for others, operating as a floor spacer and attacker of closeouts from there on out. On the defensive end, Cadence's length and ball pressure contributed to BFA's late game push. I like her approach. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Emma Harrison, 5'6 G - BFA St. Albans Class of 2027</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harrison stepped up big in the second half! Emma checked in a hit a 3 within seconds of being on the floor in the 3rd quarter. She continued to add on some buckets, hitting another 3 later in the frame. Then came the big one. With seconds left on the clock, Emma corralled an offensive rebound at the FT line and got a quick jumper off, beating the buzzer to send the game to OT. Harrison's a good little spark plug and is certainly cut from that gritty BFA cloth. She's one to keep an eye on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->