AA Game of the Week - Bismarck Upsets Mandan

Bismarck high came into [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last=''] and beat the Braves in what can only be described as a dog-fight. [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last=''] was without star Ziah Greybull, and her presence was sorely missed. They struggled to handle the Demon's full-court press and had a hard time developing any flow on the offensive side. Give Coach Shetler credit, he has his team playing hard and has two big WDA victories with the win at [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last=''] and beating Legacy earlier this season. [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last=''] never gave up and had chances at the end to win with a handful of shots just not dropping. The WDA gets more interesting each week!   [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last='']    Coach Copas was searching his bench to try and find a spark throughout the game and found freshmen Sierra and Hadley Harris. Sierra is a quick guard that was able to bring some energy and help handle the ball, something her team desperately needed. She didn't shy away from the moment and did a nice job of complimenting her teammates on both sides of the ball. She had a key steal for a basket towards the end of the game that helped put her team in position to win.     Sarah showed her leadership on Tuesday and did a nice job of taking on a bigger role in the ball-handling department. I was impressed with her in the press and I thought she did a pretty good job with her decision making on the offensive side. She had two really nice ball-screen refusal plays to the baseline, one for a layup and one for a shooting foul. She competed hard all night and is a quality player for the Braves.     Hadley may be small, but she played mighty on Tuesday. She was another spark off of the bench and hit a big time three-point basket that was part of a 5-0 run to put [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last=''] back in a position to win. She moves very well and is a tenacious defender. She looks like she is going to have room to grow physically going forward, but moves like someone who deserves to be out on the varsity floor.     Sapphire is a great role player for the Braves, averaging 8.5 points per game and shooting an outstanding 45% from behind the arc. She is a good athlete and moves well out on the floor. Her game was impacted the most by the absence of Ziah, who does a nice job of creating scoring drive and kick opportunities. Sapphire competed hard and had three looks at the end of the game that just about dropped to potentially tie the game and send it to OT. I respect how hard Sapphire played.     Alli is a talented 8th grader who has a lot of promise as a player. She would start on most teams in the state, but she just happens to have two tremendous post teammates in [player_tooltip player_id='245588' first='McKenna' last='Johnson'] and 9th grader Anna Bugbee. She runs the floor well and did a nice job of rebounding the basketball. She got to the free throw line a handful of times and did a good job of knocking down those free shots when [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last=''] was struggling to find scoring opportunities.     McKenna was outstanding on Tuesday and would have been even better if Bismarck didn't do such a great job of denying her post touches. She got most of her points off of offensive rebounds, two baskets going for and-1 opportunities. Her rebounding was exceptional and she is one of the best defenders I have watched. She had at least 4 blocks, with her timing on contesting shots as good as it gets. She did everything she could to help her team against the Demons.    Bismarck    Izzy had a handful of key plays on the defensive side of the ball and is such a threat from behind the three point line. She is shooting 38% from behind the arc. The lefty is extremely quick and fits in great with Bismarck's defensive culture. She plays very hard and is a nice piece to have off the bench.     Bryar came off of the bench and had her best game of her young varsity career, scoring 7 points. She had a couple of nice drives to the basket and hit a nice mid-range jump shot off of their press-break. She is another quick, tenacious guard for the Demons and someone Coach Shetler can just plug and play in his team's press defense.     Taya had a great game and is a tough, blue-collar type of player. She does all of the 'dirty' things that are needed to win and was great against [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last='']. She was all over the floor and did a great job of pressuring the ball. She initiated Bismarck's offense and had a handful of great drives to the basket. She was critical for Bismarck's upset win on Tuesday, bringing the 'juice' right from the get go. Taya is leading her team with 42 defensive deflections coming into Tuesday night's game.     Katelyn is Bismarck's most efficient scorer and is doing a nice job of getting re-adjusted to the speed of the game after missing three games. She hit a key three pointer and is a very steady player. She is averaging about 10 points per game, but doesn't necessarily need to score to impact winning. I like Katelyn's size and toughness around the rim when fighting for rebounds.     Taylor had a nice game, hitting multiple three-point shots and critical moments for the Demons. She shot the ball better than her season average, something that a team needs in order to get an upset win. She was the 'wildcard' that comes in and makes winning plays for her team. I liked how she set her feet and her decision making on when to shoot and when to swing the ball to further the offensive possession. Taylor was key for Bismarck on Tuesday.     Jordyn is one of my favorite players to watch in the WDA because she plays with tremendous toughness. Coming into Tuesday's game, Jordyn was averaging 7 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, and over 3 blocks per game. She has great timing on the defensive side and made things difficult for all of [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last='']'s post players. She had a good scoring night as well.    Bismarck had a great game plan for Tuesday's game. You could tell they practiced how to defend the post, with the backside really plugging up the lane. They were able to knock down enough shots to get into their patented press game. [program_tooltip program_id='712656' first='Mandan' last=''] didn't play as well as they are accustomed to, but still had a chance to win the game. It is going to be a rock-fight the rest of the season in the WDA.

Bismarck high came into Mandan and beat the Braves in what can only be described as a dog-fight. Mandan was without star Ziah Greybull, and her presence was sorely missed. They struggled to handle the Demon's full-court press and had a hard time developing any flow on the offensive side. Give Coach Shetler credit, he has his team playing hard and has two big WDA victories with the win at Mandan and beating Legacy earlier this season. Mandan never gave up and had chances at the end to win with a handful of shots just not dropping. The WDA gets more interesting each week!