Gems in Class 3A — Roland-Story vs. Clear Lake

Class 3A squads Roland Story and Clear Lake faced off Monday evening in a battle between 8-win teams. The Clear Lake Lions, who are currently ranked 12th in state, were looking to fend off an upset from the visiting Norsemen. Despite Roland Story making things interesting late in the fourth, Clear Lake showed poise down the stretch while making some big stops to protect their home court. Overall I was impressed with both teams' motion offenses — both sides never stopped moving, and this free-flowing movement led to lots of open looks. I can tell both squads are well-practiced.   From each team, a few players stuck out to me that made an impact in the matchup. Check out my gems in the gym below!    Alexis Theiss brought a sense of calm to her Clear Lake squad down the stretch, then stepped up to make big plays late when they needed it. The point guard was under control on offense, knew when to pull the ball back out, and when to attack. While she is capable of the long ball (shooting 25% on the season), Theiss picked her way through defenders with the dribble and off the cut for timely buckets in the second half. She used the ball screen tactfully, has a soft touch with her floater in the lane, and cut well off the ball when her teammates drove. Well done on a solid game from Theiss last night.     Taylor Schwenn made an impact in this game with her hustle and perseverance. Finishing the game with 2 points and 6 boards, Schwenn made good reads to the basket and took smart, open shots (though some shots didn't drop, I think all of her looks were good decisions). She has a nice hesitation crossover that led her to the rim a few times and was super strong on the glass as well — if she got a rebound, no one was taking it from her. I also liked her aggression in from the perimeter in transition and willingness to dive on the floor. Schwenn helped set the tone early for Clear Lake with her effort and paid off with a win.     After a quiet first half, Jacelyn Ainley exploded in the second to carry the Lions across the finish line. Ainley's smooth handles, ability to set up defenders on screens, and confidence at the free-throw line made for a breakout night for the talented sophomore. I was impressed with her skill with the ball as well has her use of ball screens — on back-to-back occasions Ainley attacked downhill (one possession to the right, the next to the left) and finished with touch at the rim. She also went 10/12 from the line and pulled down 8 boards. Finishing the night with 21 points and going 5/8 from the floor, I think Ainley just put herself on the map in Class 3A.     While some 6'4" players want to sit in the paint, [player_tooltip player_id='867471' first='Ashleigh' last='Amble']'s mobility and athleticism on the perimeter helped secure her Clear Lake squad a win. Nimble Amble's ability to jump in to help position on defense, combined with her long reach, led to a crucial steal with 1:15 left when Roland Story was threatening. Her rebounding presence was huge all night for the Lions as well. The Wartburg commit finished the night with 6 points (where she kept the ball high on offensive putbacks), 10 rebounds, 2 steals and a block — I really enjoyed watching her defend.     [player_tooltip player_id='923942' first='Riley' last='Johnson'] had her handprints all over this game and is a flat-out battler. There is lots to like about the 5'8" guard, but my favorite might be her work rate. She only knows one speed (fast), and used her change of speed to get to the rim countless times last night (including a slick double-crossover). She uses great body positioning to slice through help defenders, protect the ball, and absorb contact in the lane. She also drained a flurry of three pointers throughout the night. When a knock to the face looked to take her out of the game late in the fourth, she was back in off the bench in no time. She also displayed her athleticism on defense by picking the pockets of a few Clear Lake guards — she just never seemed to get tired. Hats off to a valiant effort from Johnson last night.     Brinley Carlson was a steady, reliable presence for Roland-Story last night. The UNI Golf commit is a strong help-side defender and reads the ball well. In fact, Carlson's reads led to a number of deflections on passes and a stolen lob pass over the top. On the ball she is tough to score on as well. Carlson also reads defenders well on the other side of the floor. She will shoot when she's open, and attack poor closeouts, which she did last night with a nice floater along the baseline. Overall I liked how Carlson kept things simple, did little things right, and kept mistakes to a minimum.     My final gem in the gym is [player_tooltip player_id='687815' first='Emma' last='Truesdell'] out of Roland-Story. She's a hard-nosed kid that reads the game well, is a strong communicator on the court, and will call her own number at the right times. She started the game strong with a head fake and blow by in transition to draw the foul at the rim, and found a number of open teammates off of aggressive drives all night. Truesdell reads her teammates well — her ability to drive off of teammates' cuts worked really well in Roland-Story's motion offense. She also hit a huge kick-out three in the fourth when the Norse were surging and another bucket late off of another good shot fake. I definitely liked what I saw out of the junior wing.

Class 3A squads Roland Story and Clear Lake faced off Monday evening in a battle between 8-win teams. The Clear Lake Lions, who are currently ranked 12th in state, were looking to fend off an upset from the visiting Norsemen. Despite Roland Story making things interesting late in the fourth, Clear Lake showed poise down the stretch while making some big stops to protect their home court. Overall I was impressed with both teams' motion offenses — both sides never stopped moving, and this free-flowing movement led to lots of open looks. I can tell both squads are well-practiced.