Raccoon River Review: Gilbert

Following my take on Carlisle in their matchup vs. Gilbert, I had to follow up and show some love to the standouts from the Gilbert Tigers. Currenly ranked 11th in Class 4A, Gilbert has a variety of experienced players with the flexibility to score at all three levels. Who showed up vs. Carlisle? Read along to find out.    After watching her shine on Friday, I can confidently say Abby Patel is an unturned stone in Class 4A. The 5'9" guard has a solid handle, plays extremely efficient basketball, thrives through contact, and is an all-around hooper. Patel showed her range in a number of ways on Friday including while relocating off of a backpedal, and on a kickout from the lane. Additionally, she found success at the rim by outpacing defenders and finishing through contact. Despite Patel's thin frame, she does not let fouls deter her finish. Patel finished the game with 23 points (including a perfect 9/9 from the FT line), 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.     I liked watching [player_tooltip player_id='940993' first='Mollie' last='Schnormeier'] more and more as the game went on - she just kept getting better. Schnormeier has a very quick trigger, one of the quickest I've seen in a while, and knocked down two three pointers on Friday. She runs the floor well in too and looked very comfortable finishing coast to coast in transition. Additionally she has great touch on her passes. Late in the game when Gilbert needed a bucket, Mollie looped a pass perfectly over the defense to a rolling teammate for two. She finished the night with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal, and in my opinion provided the juice Gilbert needed late-game to keep it close until the final buzzer.     [player_tooltip player_id='833964' first='Kayla' last='Rash'] did a lot of little things right for the Tigers on Friday. Rash really impressed me from the start with her ability to read the defense - if her defender tried to deny, she backdoored to the rim. If she had her defender on her back, she curled around into the open space in the lane. Slowing down and reading your defense can be challenging at the high school level and I think Rash has a knack for it as just a sophomore. With the ball in her hands, Rash's biggest strength is her speed. She is lightning quick with the ball and left Carlisle players on their heels multiple times in the game. She also showed poise and range by hitting a big three with 22 seconds left in the game.     Henningsen was another player for Gilbert that got better as the game went on - she was at her best when the game was close in the fourth quarter. Henningsen is a slasher who can finish on both sides of the lane, has a flashy spin move that got the bench on its feet, and does a really good job finding space and creating separation after she sets screens. The power forward also hit a contested three pointer with ease. You can count on Henningsen to hit the boards hard too - averaging almost 9 boards per game, she finished her night on Friday with 10, along with 6 points and a block.

Following my take on Carlisle in their matchup vs. Gilbert, I had to follow up and show some love to the standouts from the Gilbert Tigers. Currenly ranked 11th in Class 4A, Gilbert has a variety of experienced players with the flexibility to score at all three levels. Who showed up vs. Carlisle? Read along to find out.