Rivalry Saturday: Mount Vernon Mustangs

Rivalry Saturday is one of the best ways to kick off the high school season. A big tournament on a college floor that pairs multiple top ranking teams throughout the state together for some hard fought competition. What more can you ask for? This season the middle day match-up was held between The Mount Vernon Mustangs and The Estherville Lincoln Central Midgets. [player_tooltip player_id='311389' first='Haylee' last='Stokes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='842545' first='Rylee' last='Yager'] for the Midget's kept them in the contest until the very end but the Mustangs ultimately came out victorious. In this piece we highlight the prospects from the Mustangs side of things and recap how they did from an individual standpoint.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    The more that I see [player_tooltip player_id='996522' first='Taylor' last='Franck'] compete, the more I love her play-style and overall game. In this contest Franck moved around the outside and did a ton of positive things to help her team win. She was playing as a pass first guard when she beat her defender off of the dribble, she was taking open shots when they presented themselves, she was running the team's offensive motion from the PG spot at times, and she was finishing plays at the rim through contact. There are a few specific prospects that you can attribute this win to on Saturday and [player_tooltip player_id='996522' first='Taylor' last='Franck'] is definitely in that conversation. Whenever the Mustangs needed something to happen, she capitalized and that is noteworthy. There is not a single doubt in my mind that TF is a collegiate level player. She could be a STEAL for a D3 or NAIA program, if that is her prerogative.     Courtney, much like her sister Taylor, moved all around the outside and produced in several different ways in their contest against ELC. Courtney had moments where she took important three pointers, she ran some offense, she facilitated for others, and she did a great job on defense of not getting beat to the basket. From what I witnessed, this is someone that is more-so going to be their primary ball-handler in big moments. That could obviously change before the season ends but for now, I don't see why you wouldn't trust her. This is someone that runs what the coaches want, she is a vocal leader to others around her, and she is intelligent. Those things usually lead to a lot of success on the court so as long as they trust the process, they should be just fine.     The lights out shooter for this program is [player_tooltip player_id='311380' first='Sydney' last='Huber'] and she did a thorough job of handling business on Saturday. Huber has a perfect shooting stroke off the catch with a mixture of great balance, coordination, footwork, and knowledge of when to let it go. During this contest whenever she let it go from deep, the net barely moved and that just speaks to how nice the shot attempt really was in those moments. Not to mention, this is someone that also does a really good job of being able to put it on the deck to get to another spot on the floor, if the defense decides to over-play her pump fake. Defensively, she was just as good. Huber recorded a few steals during this one, while also getting some tips/deflections as well. All in all, this was a great showing from a prospect who is primed to have a great season.     [player_tooltip player_id='957840' first='Savanna' last='Wright'] is going to be a star over these next 3.5 years on the high school floor. Wright is an edgy PG, that has a picture perfect handle, great passing ability, a beautiful shot release, and a willingness to compete with an edge. There were not many times yesterday where Wright came off the floor for long periods and that says something. It says that even though she is a Freshman, her coaches trust in her ability now and what she is going to become down the road. The two plays that really stood out about Wright to me were both offensively. In one moment Wright beat her defender off the dribble, came to two feet in the middle of the lane, and hit an open pass to the opposite corner for a wide open three pointer. The second was a play were Wright attacked her defender going left off the dribble into a step-back, baseline pull up jumper from about 15FT, which was all net. Just looking at those two plays and how Wright presents herself, you can tell that she is going to continue to get better and before you know it, she will be a name a lot of people across the Country might know about.     I have never seen [player_tooltip player_id='1092819' first='Eryn' last='Jackson'] compete prior to this event but she came in and showed some positives. Jackson came in off the bench and played the PG spot for her group for a few brief seconds in the first half. To follow, in the second half she came in again briefly, seeing some minutes at the 1 and at the 2 spot before eventually coming out again for one of the Mustangs starters. Jackson is a guard with some solid ability overall. She doesn't have any certain thing that stuck out to me so far but I'm sure over this season, she will start to see the floor more and more when her team might need her.     Having a 6'2 Center with a muscle mass, athletic ability, and a smart head on her shoulders might be the biggest advantage you can possess on the high school floor throughout Iowa this Winter. In this case, we are talking about The Mustangs post presence in Louisville Volleyball commit, [player_tooltip player_id='1005091' first='Chloe' last='Meester']. Meester has that size, soft touch, and agile coordination that all coaches love to see on the Varsity floor. Multiple times throughout this contest Meester received the ball in the post on a lob, she kept it high, and she finished with an easy score at the bucket. Their offense really did a great job of swinging the ball from side-to-side to make the defense move around and this opened up some wide open looks for Meester from their guards on the outside. Defensively, Meester was a terror in the lane for ELC. She blocked multiple shots and her presence alone played a factor in the willingness of the opposing team to drive or to get to the basket. This team could go all the way this season. If they want to accomplish that goal, Meester will have to be a main point, so it's nice to see her off to a great start for her Senior season.     [player_tooltip player_id='889729' first='Rylee' last='Rasmussen'] was one of the first and only prospects off of the Mount Vernon bench and she did a solid job of holding her own when she was on the floor. Rasmussen didn't have any crazy plays or stat lines but she came in and did her job. Which is all you can ask for as a coach. She took up space the middle, did a better than average job rebounding on both ends of the floor, she played physicality, and she didn't try to over-play in any certain way. This might not be the player that is going to put up huge numbers this year but if this team truly wants to make a State Title run, they are going to need all hands on deck and that includes Rasmussen. If Meester ever gets in for trouble this Winter, things will become a lot more interesting, so we will just have to see how each game continues to play out.

Rivalry Saturday is one of the best ways to kick off the high school season. A big tournament on a college floor that pairs multiple top ranking teams throughout the state together for some hard fought competition. What more can you ask for? This season the middle day match-up was held between The Mount Vernon Mustangs and The Estherville Lincoln Central Midgets. Haylee Stokes Haylee Stokes 5'6" | PG Estherville Lincoln Central | 2025 State IA and Rylee Yager Rylee Yager 5'9" | SF Estherville Lincoln Central | 2025 IA for the Midget's kept them in the contest until the very end but the Mustangs ultimately came out victorious. In this piece we highlight the prospects from the Mustangs side of things and recap how they did from an individual standpoint.