Players That Turned Heads During Their State Championship Run

Here are five players that stayed turning heads this past week during the State Championship run.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    Maquoketa brought home the 3A State Title on Friday evening after a steady battle with a very skilled Mount Vernon program. In this contest the prospect that stood out the most was CG - [player_tooltip player_id='782510' first='Maelyn' last='Kluever']. Kluever was as steady as can be as their top guard and lead defender throughout. The Cardinals obviously had their other main producers doing work as well but we saw big moments out of Kluever. She stole the ball a few times and translated that into buckets going the other way, she was a top notch communicator on both sides of the ball to work through screens and other offensive actions, she held tempo down the floor when the rock was in her possession as a ball handler - usually setting up everyone around her for success off of her creation, and she never really came off the floor to get a break - demonstrating her endurance and athletic ability. At the end of the day, Kluever was named onto the 3A All State team for the week she put together. An award that was much deserved out of the uncommitted Senior.     The highlight player of the week throughout all Class levels was [player_tooltip player_id='502100' first='Macy' last='Comito'] for Carlisle High School as she led their group to a 4A Championship but someone that is getting overshadowed is their post presence, [player_tooltip player_id='1211364' first='Ella' last='Smith']. Smith was fantastic all week long. She was a hooper than drew attention to the middle so that Comito could go to work with less pressure. Whenever anyone on the opposing team sagged off to help onto Macy, she always hit her open teammate for a bucket and many times that was to [player_tooltip player_id='1211364' first='Ella' last='Smith'] underneath. Smith also rebounded down low at a steady pace each contest, she controlled the middle, and she made all the right plays when she had to make decisions. All in all, I'm not sure where Smith is going to college but I know a handful of coaches that would love to have her if she was looking to go that route. She showed her worth this last week and because of that, she can now say that she is a GBB State Champion.     [player_tooltip player_id='534428' first='Aubrey' last='Kroymann'] did a great job of being her team's anchor in a sense during their Championship contest. Kroymann, the 6'0 Forward, worked the middle like a pro. She used her size on the block to work with her back to the basket, she was patient on the catch when she wasn't being double-teamed, and she finished on both sides of the basket when she needed too. Kroymann might not of put up huge numbers in this battle but the one's she did were significant. She was someone that the opposing team had to deal with in the middle as a rebounding threat or else she was going to kill them on boards throughout and that helped open up the rest of the floor. Kroymann put together a respectable high school career and I'm sure her college journey is going to come together even better.     Newell-Fonda is back on top as 1A Champs. In a very tight 1A Class, the Mustangs came out as winners in another classic in the final. The biggest producer for this group was their Sophomore star - [player_tooltip player_id='880904' first='Ellie' last='Sievers']. Sievers is a CG with good peace of mind of the court. She understands situations real well, she is smooth as can be in the skill aspects of the game, she always plays off of two feet, and she naturally knows how to make plays when they needed to be made. We saw brief moments of this ability last season but this Winter it was much more prevalent. Next year this group will return their killers from this Winter so as long as they play their cards correctly, they should be right back here again next season but we will see.     One of the best shooters this past week was Haevyn Racnschau of Rock Valley High School. We are used to Haevyn letting the ball fly from deep and we are used to her making it a lot. This week was no different. Haevyn even knocked down 6 three pointers in the first half of their team's 2A Championship game. That just speaks to what she can do from deep when she has some decent screening action and a great game plan as a whole as a team. Northwestern CC got a STEAL in the Ranschau twins. They are going to set the CC world on storm next Winter as Freshman. From there, who knows where they will take things.

Here are five players that stayed turning heads this past week during the State Championship run.