Thursday Night Tip-Off: Starting Things Off Right

Thursday Night was the first night for most programs across the state of Nebraska to begin their 2024 - 2025 high school season. Check out which individuals stepped up and made a difference with their efforts for their Varsity squad throughout the night.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    On Thursday evening St. Mary's put together a very, very convincing win in their opener by winning the contest by 70+ points. In this win, the Senior leader that stood out above all on the hardwood was [player_tooltip player_id='1098004' first='Annabelle' last='Barlow']. Barlow is a 5'3 SG with a quick shot from deep, fast hands that leads to tons of active steals, and a smart type of play style. This is someone that can knock down several shots from the outside if need be but last night, she was getting everything going toward the basket. She finished with 18 points on 8-9 shooting from the field, also going 2-3 from the three throw line. I'll be following along with this group this Winter. They seem to have a big three that will be able to produce, so if they come prepared, who knows how far they could take things.     Lincoln Northeast High School didn't start of their season like they would have liked too last night, falling just short of victory. This whole contest wasn't totally a loss though. There were several players who stepped up and showed their worth. One being Junior PG/SG - [player_tooltip player_id='1097992' first='Paige' last='Perry']. Perry ended the contest with a team high 13 points on 5-10 shooting, while also dishing out 3 Assists and grabbing 4 Steals. Perry is going to be the leader for this team these next two years by the looks of it. She has a confident attitude out on the floor and others gravitate toward that as a leader in a lot of ways. If she keeps it up, I'm sure her production will stay consistent.     We have recently mentioned [player_tooltip player_id='882862' first='Alivia' last='Kuhn'] and what she might be able to bring to the Varsity floor for her Freshman season at Marian High School. Well in their opener, Kuhn did not disappoint. She finished the night with a game high of 30+ points on a some high percentage shooting from the outside. This is all just the start for someone like Kuhn. She has a next level skill set and if she keeps this up, she is going to be in the conversation for the #1 prospect out of her 2028 Class before the Spring time rolls around but I'm sure that she isn't worried about that. She seems more locked in on the here and now, which is probably the best mind-set for her to have at this point in time.     Someone who really did everything in her team's loss yesterday was [player_tooltip player_id='766705' first='Jaylee' last='Sobotka'] of Meridian High School. Sobotka put together a very impressive evening. She handled the paint, worked hard to beat her opponent down the floor each possession, and at the end, the numbers reflected all of that with 12 Points (5-13), 13 Rebounds, 3 Steals 3 Assists, and 1 Block. I'm not sure how Meridian is going to shape up on their year as a whole but if Sobotka keeps up with nights like this, she is going to be the topic of conversation more than once over the next couple of months across the state. That is for sure.     [player_tooltip player_id='1097997' first='Asia' last='Homma'] Of Hitchcock County High School didn't score the most points on the floor on Thursday night in her Varsity contest but she did register a pretty impressive stat line when it comes to the Rebounding department. Homma ended the evening, helping her team get a 6 point win, while scoring 1 point and grabbing 11 boards. As you can tell, Homma's job is certainly to control the paint and grab boards for her team this season and with the willingness she displays, she is going to thrive.     One of then only prospects to shoot 100% on the day, to start things off for the Winter season was Tatum Roskop of Arapahoe High School. Roskop is a 5'6 CG, that moves between the 2, 3 and the 4 spots. In her Varsity debut, she found a way to score a game-tying high of 16 points (7-7), while going 2-6 from the charity stripe. She did not attempt a three as she didn't need to within her team's offensive system. When you consider that the opposing team only recorded 34 total points, you can tell that this ball game was won on the defensive end. I'm not sure where they take it from here but this was definitely a great foot to start the season out on.     [player_tooltip player_id='316416' first='Parker' last='Christiansen'] demonstrated as to why she is a college basketball commit on Thursday night with her dominating performance for Waverly High School. Christiansen is a Forward with aura, great size, a soft touch on the ball, and balanced coordination. Those four things usually make her to be a tough guard and that couldn't have been more true with this performance. In their 7 point victory, she ended up with 24 total points. To put this in perspective, only 3 others scored from her team the entire game and the next highest on the team behind her was 10, proving as to why her performance was so vital in this situation.

Thursday Night was the first night for most programs across the state of Nebraska to begin their 2024 - 2025 high school season. Check out which individuals stepped up and made a difference with their efforts for their Varsity squad throughout the night.