Minot vs Horace – Battle of the Best in Class AA

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of the best teams in the state battled it out last weekend in Minot. It was a very physical contest and showed why these two teams are the favorites to come out of the WDA and the EDC. Horace was able to work through some early foul trouble and was down by 12 early in the second half. Minot held a 5 point lead with 1:30 to go until freshman [player_tooltip player_id='555488' first='Lakyn' last='Donnelly'] made a timely three and knocked down two free throws to send it into overtime. Minot was able to pull away in overtime for a final score of 90-79.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Minot</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1053416' first='Eve' last='Knutson']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12124","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Minot High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968ba848"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Eve is a really good player and would probably receive more attention if she wasn't on such a talented team. She is an athletic guard who is an excellent three point shooter. She knocked down a key three pointer in overtime that sealed the win for the Majettes. She finished the game with 14 points and five assists. Coach Schwartz runs a lot of nice plays that he uses Eve to space the floor for LeeLee to operate. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='410434' first='Sydney' last='Aberle']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Minot High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968ba8ef"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Sydney is a great young player. She was able to match [player_tooltip player_id='331508' first='Jaiden' last='Haile']'s physicality around the rim defensively, something that is not easy to do. She made it very difficult to get post entry passes into Jaiden. She also was able to score off the bounce and be efficient in her offensive game. She finished with 15 points on 7 for 10 shooting and added 13 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='457913' first='Karew' last='Lamoureux']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Minot High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968ba977"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Karew, the lone senior on the squad, came ready to play on Saturday. She makes a ton of smart plays and is a very reliable guard on the floor. She had a great backdoor cut in the second half out of a set from Coach Schwartz. She finished Saturday's game with 14 points on an efficient 5 for 8 from the field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["379041"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968ba9c7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">LeeLee was the high scorer for the game, scoring 32 points. [player_tooltip player_id='331508' first='Jaiden' last='Haile'] made things difficult for LeeLee, who had took 30 shots to get those 32 points. It is a testament to how talented LeeLee and Jaiden are. They both wore each other out by how hard they competed. They truly left it all out there on the floor. LeeLee also contributed 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. She was clutch, making an And-1 basket that made any Horace comeback insurmountable.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Horace</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["555488"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968baa0b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lakyn is very mentally tough for a varsity player, let alone a freshman. She was in foul trouble for much of the game which makes it difficult to find rhythm offensively. She stayed engaged and was ready when Coach Hintz put her back into the game. She played the remainder of the second half and overtime with 4 fouls and did not foul out. She knocked down critical three pointers off of ball screens and netted the two free throws that sent the game to overtime. She finished with 20 points, going 4 for 7 from the three point line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["342165"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968baa4d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Megan is a very steady player for the Horace Hawks and a great role model for younger players. She plays her role extremely well, contributing by knocking down open shots and handling the ball. She is also a good defender. She finished the game with 7 points on 3 of 4 shooting and also dished out 5 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["331508"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968baa8e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Jaiden battled all night long against LeeLee Bell. There is a reason these two girls are playing high level college basketball. Jaiden didn't score as much as she is used to due to the physicality that Minot played with. She still scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds. She more than likely would have scored more if Donnelly hadn't been in foul trouble and was able to be an additional scoring threat on the floor. Jaiden played great defensively on LeeLee as well. It was a lot of fun to see these two girls play against each other.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["555487"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761d968baacf"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Jordan had a nice game against Minot, scoring 30 points and adding 7 rebounds. She has gotten better at handling the ball, often times leading the break herself. She had many nice drives to the basket and was able to finish. She knocked down 3 three pointers and a handful of mid-range jump shots. I will look for Jordan to be more efficient offensively going forward. Her field goal percentage wasn't what she is used to due to Minot's great defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game solidified in my mind that Minot and Horace are the two clear favorites to win the State Title in 2024-2025. They match up well and have the pieces to battle on both sides of the ball. They have big time players who make big time shots and are well coached. It wouldn't surprise me to see these two teams face off against each other in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->