IAAM Playoff Preview: A Conference

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Sunday, February 16th there will be 3 championship games at Howard Community College featuring the final six teams from the IAAM. Here's a look at which teams made the playoffs and who the key players figure to be. The A conference was wild and competitive this year, with the seeding coming down to the last week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Timothy's vs. McDonogh</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams split during the regular season. McDonogh is trying to defend their championship. For McDonogh, sophomore guard<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='785457' first='Jada' last='Russell'] </strong>has been on a tear lately, including a 31-point outburst. Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='569083' first='Arianna' last='Benjamin']</strong> is my key player to watch because when she has a good game McDonogh is hard to beat. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='786431' first='Mya' last='Clark'] will be right in the middle of the action with most of the offense going through her. Can she help carry the Eagles to the next round at St. Frances? We'll see. For St. Timothy's the key player is versatile senior wing<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='455389' first='Mariah' last='Hardy']</strong>. She does a little bit of everything for her team including scoring, rebounding and defending multiple positions. Senior guard<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='239494' first='Kyla' last='Stack'] </strong>will have to be a steadying influence and provide some scoring and solid defense, which she is capable of. Potential wildcard players that could come up big are sophomore guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='791219' first='Kamori' last='Doss']</strong> with her versatility and playmaking ability and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='839286' first='Zeynep' last='Cakmak']</strong> who can get hot at any time. Whoever survives this slugfest will have to travel to St. Frances later in the week and try to hand them their first loss of the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Archbishop Spalding vs. St. Vincent Pallotti </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams split a pair of close games in the regular season. Pallotti's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='433800' first='Arianna' last='Harris-Mott']</strong> is last year's Defensive Player of the Year and the key player in this matchup. She's a force to be reckoned with makes it almost impossible for Spalding to score in the paint. Guard <strong>Demi Marshall</strong> will probably be tasked with providing the scoring for Pallotti, while senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='304882' first='Autumn' last='Edison']</strong> will key the perimeter defense. On the Spalding side we'll be looking at senior center <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370206' first='Whitley' last='Watkins']</strong>. The Loyola recruit will have her hands full with Harris-Mott, but she's capable of dominating in the paint herself. Let's see if can do enough to give her team a chance in what should be another close game. Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='943414' first='Eden' last='Berry']</strong> is another key player. She'll have to continue with her steady ball handling making sure she keeps the team organized. The winner is going to have their hands full with a scrappy and well coached Mt. Carmel team on Thursday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->