Tony Takes: The best of week 8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A new year is upon us, but the grind is the same. I was able to take in a few games live, others online, but at the end of the day I'm looking to highlight top performances from the highly ranked to those flying under the radar. Another week in the books. Let's get it! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">DeLaSalle Islanders</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This squad is loaded with talent. Out front you have the very shifty and crafty [player_tooltip player_id='296527' first='Aneisha' last='Scott'](pictured above) patrolling the perimeter along with [player_tooltip player_id='478363' first='Maddy' last='Blaylark'], who possesses one of the best midrange games in the state. In the trenches you have [player_tooltip player_id='595567' first='Jordyn' last='Johnson'], [player_tooltip player_id='339167' first='Erianna' last='Moeschter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='396421' first='Dilan' last='Tubbs'] to round out the starting 5. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Islanders got their week started with an impressive win versus conference foe St. Anthony. Early on, the Huskies did a great job digging down on Johnson and Tubbs, not allowing them to catch and finish without bodies coming from every angle. The Huskies held an early lead thanks to their swarming team defense and early offense from senior <strong>Meghan Pryzbilla</strong> and junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='339192' first='Leilani' last='Abraham']. As with most great teams, the Islanders adjusted. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first adjustment was moving Moeschter to the block and she reeled off 6 of her 13 points in quick succession. Blaylark, who had been fairly quiet in the early going, knocked down consecutive 3-point bombs helping open things up and Johnson took a break from the physical play in the post and knocked down 2 trey balls to break the game open. In a blink of an eye the lead had ballooned to 44-27 at the half. With the Huskies now having to cover the perimeter, Johnson and Tubbs went to work in the post to start the 2nd half and pretty much broke the will of the pesky Huskies squad. The Islanders would go on to win in convincing fashion, 80-51. The beauty of this win is that their leader [player_tooltip player_id='296527' first='Aneisha' last='Scott'] had no problem deferring and watching other teammates succeed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DeLaSalle also took care of business on Friday knocking off Bloomington Kennedy 61-35, led by Scott and Blaylark scoring 18 and 15 respectively. Coming off the bench in the regular rotation are juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1177890' first='Taylor' last='Starks']</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='339148' first='Mya' last='McNeil'] and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='667778' first='Laila' last='Moses']. Starks provides the ability to guard all five knocked down a shot from beyond the arc against the the Huskies, which is just icing on the cake. McNeil is another shooter/slasher who can fill it up if you don't account for her, and Moses provides more size and a nice outside shot. The Islanders have reeled off nine consecutives wins after dropping back-to-back games in December to powerhouses Minnehaha Academy and Hopkins. DeLaSalle has an embarrassment of riches and if they play their cards right, will be a major player in deciding Class 3A in March. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PLAYERS WE LIKED</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">[player_tooltip player_id='595556' first='Katherine' last='Boulanger'] <strong>–</strong> forward, New Prague</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Boulanger had quite the week, averaging just under 28 points per game in wins over Rochester John Marshal and Bloomington Jefferson. Boulanger is fairly new to the Prep Girls Hoops scene but has hit the ground running. She plays both sides of the ball with vigor and doesn't stop until the whistle blows. Offensively she doesn't just settle for the 3 ball as against John Marshall, a defender closed out a bit overzealous, Boulanger gave a nice ball fake, took one dribble into a nice midrange pull-up jumper. She finished with 22 against JM with teammate, [player_tooltip player_id='595199' first='Maya' last='Kilian'], the 18th-ranked prospect in the 2027 class chipping in 20 to help New Prague to a 70-57 win. New Prague is now sitting at 10-2 through Wednesday and playing really good basketball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">[player_tooltip player_id='773429' first='Maddie' last='Sundberg'] <strong>–</strong> guard, Roseville</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's no surprise to anyone that the Raiders go as do-it-all guard [player_tooltip player_id='215968' first='Kendall' last='Barnes'] and sharp-shooting [player_tooltip player_id='657023' first='Analaya' last='Salanoa'] goes, but when you can get a 20-point plus performance from another option, lets go!! Enter sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='773429' first='Maddie' last='Sundberg']</strong>. She was tasked with checking [player_tooltip player_id='361359' first='Suraya' last='Hodges'] of Cretin-Durham Hall, who had a monster game herself, notching a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double. With the shooters Roseville has had grace the court in the past, I'm not sure if Sundberg broke any records, but knocking down 7 three-point shots in a single game is a feat in itself. Sundberg would go on to score 21 points matching Barnes' output to help the Raiders knock off Cretin 76-61. Salanoa is another outside shooting sniper and she chipped in 18 of her own. Roseville only had one game last week, but the Raiders are sitting at 9-2 for season picking up wins over Osseo and Stillwater this week to increase their winning streak to four games. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">[player_tooltip player_id='662404' first='Emerson' last='Johnson'] <strong>–</strong> guard, Eden Prairie</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eden Prairie is off to an impressive 13-1 start, largely due to the phenomenal play of juniors [player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'], [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'], [player_tooltip player_id='396426' first='Vanessa' last='Jordan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='595568' first='Ella' last='Hardwick']. Against Waconia last week, Johnson was a huge part of a big 2nd half that saw the Eagles outscore Waconia 48-26 after only leading at the break 33-31. Johnson scored 12 of her 14 points in the 2nd half doing it from everywhere on the court whether in transition or knocking down consecutive threes to help Eden Prairie pull away and snuff out any opportunity to let the Wildcats hang around. Johnson was also a factor on the defensive end forcing Waconia into a slew of turnovers that led to transition buckets for the Eagles. Eden Prairie will need this sort of production from Johnson in the upcoming weeks as they start Lake Conference play and will have their mettle tested with games against Hopkins, Wayzata, STMA and Minnetonka in consecutive weeks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->