State Tournament Standouts: Day 1

On the last day of February we got seven games of very competitive action at Wells Fargo Arena on the first day of the State Tournament. We saw all four 5A quarterfinal games and three of the four 3A quarterfinal games. Below, we take a look at the 11 players that stood out the most today in the first day of action. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129017" first="Anna" last="Gossling"] – 2022 – 5’7 SG – Johnston</strong> Gossling was excellent this morning as she got off to a hot start scoring the ball. She was 6-of-9 from the floor and hit both of her 3-point attempts. As Johnston struggled to score the ball Gossling was able to control the ball on the offensive end of the floor. Gossling also added two steals and played really solid defense not allowing much space. Gossling finished with 19 points and showed exactly why this Johnston team is so dangerous. <em>Grand View commit.</em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128995" first="Jada" last="Gyamfi"] – 2022 – 6’2 PF – Johnston</strong> Gyamfi got off to a slow start in the game today but one she settled in, she was excellent. I thought that she did a really nice job of stretching the floor on offense so her guards were able to drive the ball. She did not turn the ball over at all today and was a very efficient 3-of-4 from the floor. Gyamfi finished the game with 10 points and 11 rebounds and was much more effective than her stat line would even show. Made everything extremely tough on the inside. <em>Iowa commit.</em> <strong>Halle Vice – 2023 – 6’1 SF – Pleasant Valley</strong> Vice played a great game today en route to a win over Iowa City High. Vice was on the floor for all but one minute of the game and didn’t have any turnovers. She was 5-of-15 from the floor but ended up with 16 points in the game. Vice attacked the glass really hard today as well grabbing 10 rebounds. Iowa City High is a very good rebounding team and Vice was a very tough matchup for them. She’s gotten much better over the past year and has the ability to be special. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="246134" first="Elise" last="Jaeger"] – 2024 – 6’1 F – Valley</strong> Jaeger provided the top individual performances of the day as she was exceptional on both ends of the floor. Jaeger shot 5-of-10 from the floor and scored 14 points. She dominated on the defensive glass, however, as she pulled down 17 rebounds. Five of those were offensive boards as she was able to dominate the smaller Roosevelt team. Jaeger also dished out four assists and nabbed five steals on the day. Her game has just continued to improve over the past two years. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63577" first="Meredith" last="Rieker"] – 2022 – 5’10 SG – Valley</strong> Rieker had one of the best shooting performances of the day as she was 6-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Rieker scored 20 points in the game and always seemed to hit a shot at the critical points of the game. Rieker was very good on the defensive end using her length to create some confusion. She has a very good IQ on the defensive end of the floor and can use her length to collect steals and deflect passes. <em>Missouri Western commit.</em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129040" first="Cleao" last="Murray"] – 2022 – 5’8 SG – Ankeny Centennial</strong> Murray scored 23 points today and was able to hit multiple key shots that kept her team close. She hit five 3-pointers in the game and was ready to shoot the ball whenever she touched it. Murray is a very good competitor who grabbed five rebounds as well. She got her teammates involved in the game today and showed a very nice ability to move without the basketball. Great teammate on the floor and you can tell that her teammates feed off of her. <em>Missouri Western commit.</em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127622" first="Halli" last="Poock"] – 2023 – 5’6 PG – Waterloo West</strong> Poock is an ultra-competitor and she showed that once again today. I thought that she was able to get to the rim really well and was able to draw contact at a high level. Showed the ability to score at the rim over height and also showed a really nice step-back jumper. Poock might be 5’6 but plays much larger and tougher than that. Wants to defend at a high level as well and I think that she has matured a lot over the last year or two. Impressive 21 point performance today and only took 11 shots to do it. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127635" first="Sahara" last="Williams"] – 2023 – 5’11 SF – Waterloo West</strong> Williams was one of the most dominant players today as she was able to take the ball to the rim and score at will. I thought that she played really good on the defensive end as evidenced by her four steals. She rebounds the ball extremely well and was able to pull down nine rebounds. Williams is one of those players that doesn’t need the ball to fall off the rim to her to rebound it as she goes and gets the ball. She led all scorers on the day with 24 points. <strong>Tyra Schuiteman – 2023 – 6’ SF – Unity Christian</strong> Schuiteman is a mismatch on the floor as she is a very long wing who can play all over the floor. She is very versatile as she plays both on the inside and outside at times. Schuiteman’s ball-handling ability was on full display as she had to bring the ball up the floor multiple times. Really good defensive instincts as she swatted three shots and attacked the glass pulling in 14 rebounds. She matched that on the offensive end as she added 14 points. She was a huge reason that Unity Christian pulled it out. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="311389" first="Haylee" last="Stokes"] – 2025 – 5’5 PG – Estherville-Lincoln Central</strong> Stokes scored 16 points, nabbed five steals, and dished off four assists in a very complete showing for her first time on the floor at Wells Fargo. Stokes looked right at home as she was putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim at a very high level. She knows how to get to the line as well with her 11 free throw attempts. I thought that she was really good and was one of the best freshmen on the day. Didn’t make a ton of shots from the field but didn’t need to for her impact to be felt today. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63568" first="Brooklyn" last="Meyer"] – 2022 – 6’2 F – West Lyon</strong> Meyer was nearly unstoppable in the nightcap as she scored 21 points and was able to score almost at will. She is a very versatile forward as she can play at the low-post, mid-post, or the high-post. That versatility makes her almost impossible to defend especially with her ability to handle and pass the ball. Meyer was really good on the defensive end as she had three blocks. She thwarted most attempts that players had coming into the lane and was able to force Roland-Story into things they were not comfortable at. <em>South Dakota State commit.</em>