Friday Night Fireworks (2/9/24)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the Post-season is rapidly approaching us, we still have a week or so left of regular season play. In the article below, we highlight five players that did a great job of standing out on Friday Night in their Varsity contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["758274"],"_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":"On Friday night, The Duchessne Cardinals beat Malcolm High School in a game that could only be described as the u0022The James Game.u0022 [player_tooltip player_id='758274' first='Jada' last='James'], starting PG/SG for the Cardinals, had her best outing of her high school career thus far at home. This was one of those games where James was unconscious from everywhere on the floor offensively, making 50% of her attempts throughout the ball game. She started off the contest on fire from three by hitting quite a few in the first half and that different slow down in the second. Whenever the Clippers would overplay her shot, she would get going down hill, creating something closer to the rim. In the end, the Cardinals won 44-37 and James ended with 23 points (8-16) and 3 rebounds. Ever since I had the chance to watch James compete prior to this season, I knew nights like this were possible but I thought it was going to take a little more time for her to get acclimated. It's promising that we are seeing this production early on in her career. If she continues to expand her game, she is going to put together a high school career to remember.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Amy Oltman","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Bellevue West ","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Whenever you hear about Bellevue West High School, you hear about their star PG or standout, starting SG's but a player that brings some positive play and attitude to the hardwood is Amy Oltman. Oltman would be described as a Guard that can come in and step up into whatever position is being asked of her. She is a natural Guard with her size but is always willing to get her hands dirty and make things happen for the teammates around her. Last night Bellevue West ended up winning their contest by 20 points and Oltman had a hand in that. She nailed two big three's from deep and made her presence known in more ways than one with her hustle and willing to adapt. This team has some ballers. We have covered most of them this season already and we aren't done yet. This is the type of group that could put together a Post-season run that they will never forget. If players like Oltman continue to hit big shots when the ball is rotated and they continue to grind on defenses, they are going to win a handful more games prior to this season coming to a close. There is just no other way to put it.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='865311' first='Hannah' last='Hilker']","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"O'Neil","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"The potential that I have seen this season out of Freshman, [player_tooltip player_id='865311' first='Hannah' last='Hilker'] has been impressive to say the least and she continued with that last night in her teams contest. Hilker is the definition of a SG. She is someone that displays feel and knowledge of the game at a higher rate than most for her age and I'm expecting that to continue moving forward. In last night's game, Hilker was scoring in bunches, rebounding at high rate, and defending like her life depended on it. In the end her team was just short of pulling out the victory but that didn't stop her from having the best stat line of the evening with 15 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 4 Steals, and 1 Block. When you take into consideration that is a Freshman Guard standing at 5'4, it's impressive. It makes me wonder what is she going to be able to put together over the next handful of years if she continues to get better. As for now though, this team is going to have Playoff's right around the corner. If they want to win some games, Hilker is going to be a major key in their success. From everything she has shown us so far, I'm confident that she can make things happen when the lights are the brightest but we will just have to wait and see.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["770632"],"_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='770632' first='Natalie' last='Wood'] and her Overton Eagles team recorded a victory on Friday night by a final score of 58-57 against The Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Mustangs. In this contest, Wood's recorded an important 12 points (6-11), 13 Rebounds, 1 Assist, and 1 Block. In a contest that was decide by 1 point, you can see as to why Wood's double-double was vital to her team's success. She may not have led her team in scoring or anything like that but she was easily her team's most efficient player from start to finish. She was handling her own matchup at a consistent rate, all while making sure that the others around her were doing the jobs that they were suppose to. The Eagles are currently sitting at 22-1 throughout their 23 games this winter. If they are going to continue on this memorable season,  Wood's is going to have to keep up this production. She is averaging a double-double on the season at 11 PPG - 10.7 RPG and that says it all.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["766591"],"_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='766591' first='Ellie' last='Morgan'] is another player that just makes it happen. Morgan is a 5'5 Guard, that puts up big numbers each night she takes the court. As of most recent, Morgan helped her Wood River team to another big victory on Friday night with a 3 point victory over Doniphan-Trumbull, 51-48. On a team and within a program that runs specific defenses to pressure their opponent, Morgan does a great job of forcing her opponents into bad choices as the top of that press. More times than not, she is helping a teammate trap the ball in the open court and that leads to a lot of turnovers in transition. I think that the best way to describes Morgan's actual play-style would be to say that she is good at several different things on the basketball court. She can do everything fundamentally well, while being able to stand out for either her production in scoring, rebounding, defending, or assisting. It just depends on the evening or how she is feeling at that time. With having only one more season to go after this one, I'm sure that she is going to go out and make the most of her opportunities moving forward. Just like she has been since Day 1 this season.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65c786eecdcc2"} /-->