Player Of The Week – Week 9 (Jan. 22nd – Jan. 28th)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we tip off the girls high school season throughout Iowa, there are going to be a few new articles/evaluations that we publish every week during the season, that we have not done recently in the past. One of those articles being our MVP Of The Week and Players Of The Week.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The MVP Of The Week is an individual that displayed what it means to put on a major performance/s for their perspective squad throughout the week. Someone who came out firing on all cylinders and dominated in more ways than one on the hardwood while putting up an eye-opening stat line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Players Of The Week are other individuals that were in consideration for the MVP of the week but fell just short in the end when taking into consideration all outlying factors.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!&nbsp;</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>MVP Of The Week</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["246099"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/23/24 @ Marion - 28 Points (10-15), 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 3 TO'su003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/26/24 @ CPU - 21 Points (8-15), 7 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 TO'su003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/27/24 vs Regina Catholic - 40 Points (14-21), 11 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 TO'su003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernThis past week was just one of those stretches where [player_tooltip player_id='246099' first='Callie' last='Levin'] couldn't miss. There is a phenomenon that occurs on the hardwood at times that is very hard to explain. Just like when you are in u0022your zoneu0022, you space out what is going on around you while still producing at an insanely high level in whatever you are doing. I like to call it u0022being unconsciousu0022 and that is what we have happening here. Levin has been unconscious this week. She has had some impressive offensive games over her career but none more impressive than her contest last night at home against Regina Catholic. In this one, she finished the game with a career high 40 Points, 11 Rebounds, 4 Assists, and 3 Steals. Anytime someone puts up a 40-piece, it's noteworthy. Especially when it was against a Top 5 team in the 2A Class. I'm not going to go into specifics here but as you can imagine, Levin was doing more of her usual and scoring at all three levels at Will. This is a contest where no one could matchup with Levin and she is was well aware of that. The end of the season is quickly approaching and for Solon to have their best player firing on all cylinders like this, is a great sign moving forward for Coach Smith and the Spartans.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65b6a3108c554"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players Of The Week</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["342167"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/22/24 @ Elk Point-Jefferson - 35 Points (12-21), 4 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 3 Steals, 4 TO'su003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernMakenzie Hughes started off this past week by putting on a shooting CLINIC from behind the three point line during her teams contest against Elk Point-Jefferson High School. During this game, Hughes scored 35 points while going 9-14 from three point land. Hughes is talented as you can tell. She is a Junior, that is ranked in the Top 100 of her 2026 Class with some room to grow over the next season and a half. The Westerners are sitting with a 9-5 record at the moment and the main reason for that is the play of Hughes. She is currently averaging 22 PPG on the season, while the next highest player is averaging 8. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Every team needs a true leader and that's what Hughes is to the Westerns. If they want to win, she is going to be the one leading them in more ways than one. As for what the future may hold for Hughes, I'm not too sure. She is a solid talent and she understands the game. In the correct collegiate system, I think she could make some things happen.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["595152"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/23/24 vs Exira-EHK - 24 Points (11-16), 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block, 7 TO'su003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernThe Coon Rapids Bayard Crusaders are currently a Top 15 ranking team throughout the state in their perspective Class this season and they are proving to each opponent every night as to why. The Crusaders have 3-4 prospects that make a difference in some form every game, helping them put together a 13-4 record so far this season. One of those prospects and a main leader in most of their statistical categories is [player_tooltip player_id='595152' first='Malia' last='Clayburg']. On Tuesday night, Clayburg put together an impressive game. She scored 24 Points, grabbed 8 Rebounds, dished out 4 Assists, created 3 Turnovers, and recorded 1 Block. In this effort, her team ended up winning the game by 27 points and everyone that saw the floor, had some success. Clayburg is only a Sophomore at this point with a promising future ahead of herself if she stays dedicated. She obviously has some sort of motor and skill that translates to the high school floor, the question over time will be if she can translate that stuff to the collegiate level. Personally I think it's possible but we will have to see how things play out.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["609545"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/23/24 vs Beckman Catholic - 29 Points (9-17), 4 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals, 4 TO'su003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernOn Tuesday evening the Monticello Panthers hosted Beckman Catholic and ended up winning to defend their home court. In this contest, the leading scorer of the game was SG, [player_tooltip player_id='609545' first='Kennedy' last='Hermsen']. Hermsen is a player out of the 2026 Class that has a promising future as it pertains to basketball. She is someone that is very good at shooting from all over the floor off of both the catch or the dribble. In this specific game, Hermsen ended with 29 Points on 9-17 shooting, including being 5-12 from behind the line. This Panthers team is very well coached and very good at what they do. If they are going to want to stay successful come Playoff time, Hermsen is going to have to be a big part of their run. If she can efficiently shoot the ball from the arc once others create for her, this team is going to be very hard to stop. They still have a few more regular season games to come but once the Post-season is upon us, that's when things get real and we are going to see who the real players are.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["311367"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/23/24 vs Beckman Catholic - 23 Points (8-17), 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 8 Steals, 2 TO's u003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernThe counter-part to Hermsen on her Panthers team is [player_tooltip player_id='311367' first='Jayden' last='Kuper']. Kuper is the post presence for Monticello and she has been a highly regarded recruit out of her 2025 Class for a few years now. There is a lot I could say about her game but the easiest way to describe how she plays is with two words, physical and smart. Don't get me wrong - she has size, moves well without the ball, and she does a great job of creating something out of nothing when things break down. I've also noticed that she impacts the game in so many ways that if she isn't score at a high rate throughout a contest, she makes up for it in a number of different ways, production-wise. This Panthers team is set up for another memorable Post season. If everyone on this team takes care of their specific job, there is a chance that we will be seeing this group in Des Moines at the State Tournament at the end of February but who knows.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["592183"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cemu003e1/25/24 vs Dunkerton - 32 Points (15-21), 13 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steal, 2 TO'su003c/emu003eu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003ernSumner-Fredericksburg lost a close battle with Dunkerton High School the other night, 63-67. In this loss, [player_tooltip player_id='592183' first='Isabelle' last='Elliot'] had a HUGE game for the Cougars. She ended the contest registering 32 points on 15-21, along with 13 Rebounds, 2 Assists, and 1 Steal. To say that Elliot is needed by her team is an understatement. If this group wants to dominate their opponent and have success throughout a ball-game, Elliot needs to be a big part of it and this game is a perfect example as to why. She ended this one scoring the ball at a very efficient rate and that has been the case all season long. When you break down the actual play-style of Elliot, it makes sense why she is successful. She has natural height paired with an extremely high motor and raw athleticism. If you don't believe me, you can just ask the coach of the UNI women's Volleyball team because that is where she is committed to play after her Senior year comes to end.  All in all, the Cougars have the ability to put together a run over these next few weeks but Elliot is going to have to be her normal-self and others will need to step up.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65b6a3108c6fc"} /-->