Junior Varsity Players Finish Strong In Last Week Of League Play

This week, Junior Varsity players matched up in some competitive games as they finished their last week of league play. The top three teams in the Portland Interscholastic League faced off in a race for first place in conference play. Cleveland, Lincoln, and Benson all finished strong. Now let's meet some of this week's standout players.    Vee Sandell is a combo guard for Lincoln High School. She is a two sport athlete, playing both basketball and soccer. She said soccer is her first love, but after this week's game, she would have anyone fooled by her outstanding performance on the basketball court. From the jump, Vee was getting after it on defense. She was lightning quick with her hands and feet. She had 5 steals in the first 8 minutes of the game against Benson. Her determination and aggressive play truly helped her team keep an impressive lead throughout the game. She was great at finishing off the steal too, with fast break layups. I could see her being a track standout, if she ever decided to add a third sport to her high school career. Her speed was unmatched out on the court. During her post game interview, she said something she's learned this season, was to drive and push hard to the basket. She said she learned how to get more aggressive on the court. She has been enjoying shooting three point shots. When asking Vee what she loves most about the game? She said she loves stealing the ball. It truly showed in competition. Vee scored 10 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 7 steals. She said her biggest motivators are her dad and sister. Keep up the great work Vee. It was so fun watching her high intensity style of play.     Paige Duggan is a freshman combo guard for Cleveland High School. Right away Paige was getting after it in a competitive fashion. I could tell immediately that she was a shooter and she was confident in taking shots. She put up an impressive 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. If the goal of her game was to cover as much ground as possible on both ends of the court, Paige succeeded with flying colors. Her aggressive defense landed her into a little bit of foul trouble in the second half, but nonetheless, her outstanding performance helped lead the warriors to victory.     Minnie Weasley is a Junior combo guard for Roosevelt High School. She had a strong court presence anytime she took the floor. She was great at boxing out and getting after rebounds. She managed to grab 5 rebounds in just two quarters of play. That puts her on the mark to have grabbed 10 had she played the entire game. Another strong quality I noticed was her hustle to get after the ball and stay aggressive on defense. She was tying up a lot of jump balls. She also had two steals. Minnie made sure to make the most of every minute she was given to play on the court. Her competitive drive will continue to help her game grow next season. Her friendly and encouraging attitude will also continue to make those around her better.     Neva De-Leso is a freshman point guard for Cleveland High School. Neva was very vocal out on the court on both offense and defense. She was calling out plays and telling her teammates where to be to set up their offense. On defense she was helping her team know where to be and when to get over screens and get in help side. She had a good shot too and scored 8 points, grabbed 6 steals and had 4 assists.

This week, Junior Varsity players matched up in some competitive games as they finished their last week of league play. The top three teams in the Portland Interscholastic League faced off in a race for first place in conference play. Cleveland, Lincoln, and Benson all finished strong. Now let's meet some of this week's standout players.