Tuesday Night Ranked Games

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Valley @ Ankeny Centennial </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#4 Valley high school will travel behind the leadership of [player_tooltip player_id='246134' first='Elise' last='Jaeger'] over to Ankeny Centennial high school for a matchup against the #7 Jaguars tonight. Valley is coming off of a tough loss on the road VS Dowling Catholic a few days ago and are looking to bounce back while Centennial has a extremely similar track record of beating highly ranked teams just like Valley but then falling to Dowling Catholic earlier on this winter. I think the key to this game is going to be all in the experience and depth off the bench for the Jaguars. Both teams possess great star talent. On the Valley side you have highly ranked forward [player_tooltip player_id='246134' first='Elise' last='Jaeger'] who is receiving a good amount of D1 attention at the moment and senior Brynee Katcher, who is averaging 11.8 PPG so far this season. For Centennial you have senior Kennedy White who is averaging just over 11 PPG followed by some young talent in sophomore's Jaden Pratt and [player_tooltip player_id='311377' first='Mya' last='Crawford']. Who are both have spectacular seasons of their own. When you compare these two programs on paper this should be a close game with everything taken into effect. I expect to see both teams push the ball back and fourth at a good rate in transition when possible. This game may come down to the smallest thing and that thing may just be the home court advantage one team has but we will have to wait and see.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Dallas Center-Grimes @ Ankeny</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#1 DCG gears up to get on the road to suit up against the #13 Ankeny Hawks on Tuesday night. When you compare these two teams you get DCG coming into this at 11-2 while the Hawks are sitting at 7-7 and this may make you think that it isn't going to be a good game but you may want to reconsider. The Mustangs are a team that thrives on the defensive end. Ever since their season tipped off they have been great on that side of the floor by only allowing teams to average around 38.8 PPG thus far. In these victories the most noticeable stat that they consistently win by is the battle for rebounds. Ankeny does a great job of keeping their opponents off the glass and only allowing them to average 1 shot per possession, which is important in the grand-scheme of things against a team like DCG. The main source and point of emphasis for other teams against the Hawks is in the form of a highly recruited forward [player_tooltip player_id='342205' first='Jayla' last='Williams']. Williams is a diverse and efficient forward who can play inside or out depending on what is asked of her. Next to her is sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='311376' first='Savannah' last='Gage'] who has been the scorer leading for this team through 14 games at just over 16 PPG while dishing out 1.8 APG at the same time. When we take a look over at the DCG side we see that the Mustangs are led offensively by senior [player_tooltip player_id='127617' first='Emma' last='Miner'] who is averaging 16.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG. Miner and Williams will be a an interesting matchup that I can't wait to see as they both share the same size generally and both are the offensive threats and defensive stoppers for their programs. I'm not sure what the result will be once this game is over but I'm hoping the score is going to reflect what both of these teams can do.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Center Point-Urbana @ Benton </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#4 Benton high school has had a top tier season thus far while starting at 11-2 and racking up some really good wins before winter break. Now the Wildcats will invite #7 CPU into their house for a game that should be a good battle on Tuesday evening. CPU comes into the contest at 9-6 and have been basically ranked in the top 10 in their class all season. They have some good wins, have shown a great team effort, and know how to win in close contests. The Stormin Pointers are led by [player_tooltip player_id='434102' first='Tayler' last='Reaves'] who is nearly averaging 10 PPG and shooting just over 33% from behind the three point line. The Benton Wildcats are led by senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='127632' first='Jenna' last='Twedt']. Twedt is going to be a point guard at the next level but primarly does a little bit of everything for her team right now at any guard position. She is an average size player who rebounds with aggression, can pass well, and knows how to score. This contest is going to be a close one to start but I imagine that the Wildcats will pull out the win in the end. Statistically they are the better shooting team from deep and have a little bit more consistent numbers against better ranking teams thus far this season. When you account for all this and their home court advantage, it's not too hard to see the home team taking home the W in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Xavier @ Waterloo West</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#3 Xavier of the 3A class will be traveling to take on #3 Waterloo West from the 5A class tonight and this one is going to be exciting. This game features 3-4 extremely high level players and commits, al from which I expect big things in college. For Waterloo West you have [player_tooltip player_id='127635' first='Sahara' last='Williams']. Williams is an athletic and lengthy forward with an elite guard skill set. She is currently committed to the University of Oklahoma to play ball next season. Leading her at the guard position and bringing up the ball you have star [player_tooltip player_id='127622' first='Halli' last='Poock']. Poock, who has been scoring in bunches this season, is currently averaging just over 20 PPG for the Wahawks. When we look at the other side of things you have [player_tooltip player_id='311363' first='Libby' last='Fandel'] who is just in her sophomore year but picking up some major D1 offers/interest from programs all across the country. This upcoming AAU season she will be moving to play for All Iowa Attack 17u EYBL out of Des Moines after showing how productive and consistent she can be the past few years in the other programs she has been apart of. In the post for the Saints you have their senior leader in Kyla Mason. Mason has been EATING down low this year and showing that she can be a real game changer at the next level. This could turn out to be one of the best games of the year if the Saints can come in, stay focused, and work hard as a group. If they do that and their stars shine, it could be a close one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->