Breakdown Fall League: Week 2 at Jefferson

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 2 of the Breakdown Fall League found me at Jefferson High School in Bloomington catching up with some new and old faces who were shaking off the rust and working out the kinks. Let's get to it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Forest Lake and Andover</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Led by seniors <strong>Nadia Skubitz</strong>, <strong>Sydney Cote</strong>, and <strong>Annie Buff</strong>, the Rangers have a nice combination of finesse and fire which makes them a fun team to watch. Against Andover on Sunday, the Rangers got up and down in a hurry knocking down threes in transition and attacking the paint. 5'5 junior guard <strong>Natalie Krutzig</strong> attacked the basket consistently and even showed us a couple back-to-the-basket post moves when she found a favorable match-up. The aforementioned Damon, Cote and Buff are technicians from beyond the arc but have no issue getting to the basket if they're run off the three-point line. I can't wait to see what this group can pull of this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andover is a team that is very intriguing and will make some noise. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='999561' first='Miera' last='Bobbe'] is a player after my own heart with how vocal she is on the court. Meira is the clear leader for the Huskies. In two games on Sunday she pushed pace and got the ball into the hands of the playmakers like <strong>Olivia Holmberg</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1209369' first='Kenley' last='Evers']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='992411' first='Kaitlyn' last='Kharin']. 6'2 [player_tooltip player_id='1005207' first='Myla' last='Evers'] ability to snatch a rebound off the glass and lead the break will make her a tough cover.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jordan and Champlin Park</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming off a 20-9 record and a trip to the section finals a year ago, Jordan is looking for another crack at it and are returning a bevy of firepower led by senior and leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='330744' first='Savannah' last='Borowicz'] (20 points per game) and [player_tooltip player_id='502602' first='Morgan' last='Staloch'] (19 ppg). On Sunday against the Rebels, the Jaguars were hitting on all cylinders whipping the ball around and getting everyone involved, including [player_tooltip player_id='815110' first='Olivia' last='Fynboh'], another double-figure scorer from a year ago on track to increase her role and productivity. Also looking good and poised for a bigger role this upcoming season is 8th grader [player_tooltip player_id='925046' first='Jordan' last='Staloch'], who first burst on the scene earlier this year at the University of St. Thomas elite camp. Junior guard <strong>Lydia Hagen</strong> and sophomore post <strong>Olivia Robinson</strong> will also be in the mix for a Jaguar squad looking to get over the hump and into the big dance come March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rebels are led by returning leading scorer, senior [player_tooltip player_id='722627' first='Savannah' last='Belongia'], <strong>Erin Kaluza</strong> and <strong>Briar Carr</strong>. Behind them are a slew of up-and-coming players who will be thrust into the lions den that is the Northwest Suburban conference. Sophomore guard <strong>London Patterson</strong> is lighting quick and gets from end to end in a blink of an eye. Belongia provides the veteran leadership, outside shooting and a will to compete. When it looked like the Jaguars were pulling away, the Rebels turned up the heat on defense that led to stops to get them back into the game. Jordan eventually pulled away, but Champlin proved that will not be an easy out if they compete on the defensive end like they did in the second half against the Jaguars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lakeville South and St. Paul Como Park</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's hard to imagine the Cougars having more success than they experienced a year ago, but with how they played together against Como on Sunday, it's not as far fetched as one may think. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='339143' first='Danielle' last='Coleman'] looks so poised and ready to lead this group to another section finals with hopes of a different outcome this time around. Crisp passing, timely shooting and selfless play from everyone who stepped on the court on Sunday makes this group as scary as they come. While [player_tooltip player_id='478365' first='Audrey' last='Schmidtke'] was making it rain from outside, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1135986' first='Aubrey' last='Beauchamp']</strong> covered a lot of ground on both ends of the court, whether it was slithering through the defense for a bucket at the rim or crashing the boards for a rebound. [player_tooltip player_id='992426' first='Piper' last='Ohnstad'] is a gamer who gets better every time I see her. Senior <strong>Tina Murdock</strong> is another outside shooting threat who will keep the defense honest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Como plays fast, in your face, and did I mention fast? Como will go as seniors [player_tooltip player_id='921685' first='Makyia' last='Kenney'] and [player_tooltip player_id='531697' first='Cecelia' last='Davis'] go. They are a nice one-two punch with Kenny attacking the paint and Davis living behind the 3-point line. Sophomores <strong>Naijiona Shaw</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='923678' first='Ahmani' last='Crump'] put constant pressure on the defense attacking the basketball at a breakneck pace. Defensively, these two play just as fast and physical as they do on offense with Crump being a tenacious on-ball defender. Speaking of Crump, she has clearly been working on her outside shot as she knocked down her fair share of mid-range jumpers to keep the defense honest. Lakeville South just had too much firepower for Como to overcome, but they certainly weren't pushovers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->