Playoff Recap: Who Survived To Advance

A few more teams survived on Wednesday night to advance to the next round of the Playoffs. Below we highlight some of the players with the best performances on the evening from across the state. Please note that each performance was noteworthy and a major reason as to why their team is still alive in these Playoffs.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    MOC - Floyd Valley won their opening round contest last night in a big victory. In the process, the top prospects for MOC really came to play. They left it all out on the floor and the end results reflected that. The main cause of production came from starting SF, [player_tooltip player_id='347823' first='Adyson' last='Jeltema']. Jeltema, is a Forward with solid size at 5'11, coordination, athletic ability, and a smart thought process. She finished this contest with 30 points and several other positive stats to stuff the stat sheet. There was just no answer for the size of MOC in this one. Their height, simple tactics, and determination was just too much for the opponent to handle. That's why they ended up winning this contest and they are moving onto the next round.     Nakia Ollivierre of Waterloo West demonstrated last night what it means to carry a team to victory. This is a "team" sport but sometimes players just have to take over and that's what happened against Linn-Mar on Wednesday evening. In a ball game that ended 50-48, every point and possession was vital when it came down to it in the end. Ollivierre accounted for most of her team's production when it was time to make a big play or hit a big shot. Throughout the evening, Ollivierre knocked down several shots from behind the arc to help push her program to the next round of the Post Season. She also got to the bucket at Will, while converting consistently. This type of outing isn't anything new. This is someone that is a top leader in PPG on the season, no matter of age or Class level so this is pretty on point for what we are used too but it still doesn't make it less impressive.     Marshalltown showed their defensive capabilities on Wednesday night when they let in 10 total points against their opponent, Des Moines East. Not only did they let in just 10 points going into the 4th quarter, they were practically pitching a shutout while holding the Scarlets to 1 total point throughout 3 quarters of play. This demonstration of grit just shows what this group can do when they put their minds to it. Their highest scoring weapon on the offensive side ended up being their 6'2 PF/Center, [player_tooltip player_id='832207' first='Frankie' last='Long']. It makes sense that Long would feast in this type of situation. Des Moines East just didn't have the height to combat Long and that helped her succeed. Round Two is going to be a much bigger challenge for Marshalltown but it's one that they are up for. I'm sure they are feeling good after this one but now it's time to lock in and stay focused.     Regular season basketball and Playoff basketball are two completely different things. Everything tightens up in the Playoffs. Everything matters a little bit more and players nerves seem to come out because of that. Someone who has done a great job of keeping it business per usual is [player_tooltip player_id='560334' first='Claire' last='Turner'] of Spirit Lake. Turner is a PG that has been a hot topic this season in the terms of recruitment at the next level. For her Spirit Lake program she has put together some great games this season, showing her worth each and every night. In their first round victory on Wednesday, Turner led the team by example. She did her thing in the scoring, assisting, and rebounding categories while being vocal and being a great team captain. Not to mention, she displays the smarts and ability to play at the next level once her high school career comes to a close. This all seems like simple stuff but it's much easier said than done.     The Bulldogs of Algona recorded their 20th victory of the season with a win against Western Christian earlier this week. In this victory, the Bulldogs played a thorough game from the field, while limiting their turnovers for the most part. One of their standouts in almost every positive statical category was PG, [player_tooltip player_id='677843' first='Hayden' last='Kuhlmann']. Kuhlmann played a complete game, logging in 20 points (8-16), 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals. This wasn't the only player for the Bulldogs to have a good showing though as the McLaughlin sisters did their thing as well but in reality, Kuhlmann really took over. She led the tempo of the game, she played both sides of the ball with a high rate of production, and she created for others. Three factors that helped her dominate in the grand scheme of things.

A few more teams survived on Wednesday night to advance to the next round of the Playoffs. Below we highlight some of the players with the best performances on the evening from across the state. Please note that each performance was noteworthy and a major reason as to why their team is still alive in these Playoffs.