Friday Night: Round 2 - 1A/2A Playoff Preview

Here are five games that should be interesting to watch on Friday night. Each contest possesses some talented prospects that are looking to make a name for their teams as they attempt to continue to keep things rolling in the Playoffs.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    One of the best games of the evening comes to us when West Lyon takes on Central Lyon for a shot at moving onto the next round. This game is great not because it's just a Playoff matchup but because it's a rivalry in a lot of aspects. These are two programs that are VERY familiar with each others so how they play things will be interesting. For West Lyon, their main producer on both offense and defense is SF, [player_tooltip player_id='842675' first='Annie' last='Metzger']. Metzger is a prospect coming in at 5'9/5'10 and she understands how to keep the game simple near the basket. She consistently works hard on both ends to produce each game and she usually succeeds in her efforts. Another layer to this battle is that the best player for Central Lyon is Aubrey Metgzer, which I'm assuming is a relative to Annie, making this even more intense per se. In the two prior contest between these two programs this Winter, Central Lyon is 2-0. First matchup they won 49-47 and then the second was 47-41 but you know what they say. It's tough to beat someone 3 times in a season so we will just have to see how this one plays out.     [player_tooltip player_id='1198465' first='Sydney' last='Somers'] of Riverside High School has been her team's main source of production throughout this Winter. With a 19-3 record, this group hasn't taken many losses this season because of their "team" play. This is a unit that is letting in only 32 PPG, while they average around 51 themselves. With that being said, when they do need a bucket, they look at Somers near the hoop. Most of their action happens around the rim as they look for high percentage looks from the field. Something that opposing coaches can respect. Tonight they welcome in CAM for a contest that should be intriguing. I don't see either team pulling away in a sense so if this came down to the last 2 minutes, I would not be surprised.     Another GREAT game on Friday night will be between Treynor High School (19-3) and Shenandoah High School (20-2). This game will take place at Treynor, giving them a nice home court advantage. This game is going to come down to two things. First being can Treynor slow down [player_tooltip player_id='582830' first='Lynnae' last='Green']. Second being can Treynor have some consistent production after they do slow down Green. With the second factor, someone that I'm looking to make a big stamp on this game for the Cardinals is [player_tooltip player_id='985182' first='Addison' last='Mauer']. Mauer has been the Freshman that has stepped up to lead this Winter for her program. She might not be the team leader in anything statistically necessarily but she has demonstrated that she is the team's future so if she can put together a big game offensively, this could turn into a barn-burner before you know it.     Mount Ayr will face their hardest challenge of the season when they host Lenox tonight. This Raiders group will look to move onto the next round but it won't be easy. Where both teams usually thrive is at the Forward or post position and that is going to make for a chest match-type contest. For the Raiders, players like [player_tooltip player_id='832208' first='Izzy' last='Gilbertson'] are going to be looked upon to lead the way. Gilbertson has been the leader of this team up until this point in the season and I don't expect that to change up in this one. The advantage that the Raiders will have is that they have more firepower. With Gilbertson in charge and other skilled players backing her, I would think that they will come out on top but who knows.     Stanton High School (20-4) will go on the road on Friday night in attempts to upset the #1 overall seed of the 1A Class in St. Albert High School (20-1). For the Saintes, this one is about protecting home court. When you compare these two program and their records it look like it could be a tight one but in reality, I think St. Albert is going to walk through this. A big reason for that being that the Saintes will have prospects like [player_tooltip player_id='901710' first='Avah' last='Underwood'] on the floor and at her position, she should be somewhat unstoppable. Underwood is a player that has lengthier arms, a well rounded skill set, and she competes with a chip on her shoulder. She is someone that can score from all three offensive levels, while being a mismatch in the middle most of the time. Defensively, she has the presence to create a lot of stops on that end because of her reach, quick reaction time, and athletic ability. When you compare these two programs and their common opponents, St. Albert has killed the teams that Stanton has lost too this Winter and that says everything. If the Saintes come to play and don't take it easy, they should move on by a healthy margin.

Here are five games that should be interesting to watch on Friday night. Each contest possesses some talented prospects that are looking to make a name for their teams as they attempt to continue to keep things rolling in the Playoffs.