Big Stage: Top Players from 802 D1 Final

The rematch of last year's D1 State Championship did not disappoint! It was a gritty, tactical, defensive leaning game that showcased two well-coached teams giving each other everything they had. CVU somehow goes like 11-deep, spreading production across a range of players, whereas St. J kept tight rotations with about eight playing real minutes. The road to D1 primacy still runs through Hinesburg!   Elise Berger, 5'11 G - Champlain Valley Union H.S. Class of 2024   Berger was the Player of the Game for me. Elise is the CVU floor general with a unique skillset and sizable frame. With her strength and height at the 1, Elise was active on the boards and blocked a couple shots with good timing. And from there she burst quickly into the open court, eyes always probing for hit-aheads. Moreover, Elise made her presence felt both as the facilitator and as an inside scorer with her physical slashing, culminating in a few dimes, smooth team offense, and some lays + that classic short-range pull-up. The two-way impact from EB was truly the difference maker.   [player_tooltip player_id='446538' first='Samara' last='Ashooh'], 6'1 F - Champlain Valley Union H.S. Class of 2024   There weren't any huge, eye-popping plays from Ashooh that stick out; instead, she was that steady inside presence who provided subtle impact throughout the matchup. Samara's inside work included stout and lengthy rim protection, a few boards, and a couple steals within the 2nd layer. Offensively she just plugged away, finishing bunnies around the rim and using her inside/out movement to grease the offense. The Smith College commit finished a clutch SLOB play which created a wide-open look at the rim, and that was her big stamp on the game. Ashooh plays it steady.   [player_tooltip player_id='654918' first='Merrill' last='Jacobs'], 5'9 W - Champlain Valley Union H.S. Class of 2024   The connector for CVU is Jacobs; Merrill's feel on both ends ties everything together for this group. It wasn't a heavy stat-night, but Jacobs provided smart team defense with her communication and weak side help, snatching three steals along the way. And her two field goals felt big, those coming off a tough and-1 finish in transition and a crispy 3-ball to break open the 2nd half. Add in her two clutch time FTs to seal the deal in the last 30 seconds and you get a loud eight points. With an impact subtle at times and obvious at others, Jacobs' production proved key.   [player_tooltip player_id='584222' first='Zoey' last='McNabb'], 5'7 G - Champlain Valley Union H.S. Class of 2026   The sophomore showed flashes of what's to come at CVU the next couple years. I noted her playmaking off of the drive in this one. Zoey did well to get downhill from various spots on the floor, puncture the 2nd layer, and finish plays off the pass, with the floater, or draw fouls. The defensive activity and ball pressure is always there, using that foot speed to stick to hips, cut off lanes, and her anticipation led to a nice on-ball rip on St. J's lead guard. She'll be the next two-way floor general for CVU.   [player_tooltip player_id='645603' first='Lauren' last='Vaughan'], 6'3 W/F - Champlain Valley Union H.S. Class of 2025   Quite simply, Lauren makes an impact just from being on the floor. With her size and length Lauren altered shots at the rim, got in the passing lanes a bit, and generally covered the interior if anyone ducked inside. Plus, she's shown good feel from the perimeter on both sides of the ball and her skillset is coming along too; she's going to be a dynamic force on both ends, inside and out, once she puts it together.   [player_tooltip player_id='579572' first='Hayden' last='Wilkins'], 5'8 G - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2024   It looked like Hayden and co. had it figured out early. Wilkins was a clinician at the top of the key, organizing the offense vs the zone and making good reads off her ball fakes to puncture with passes or skip it to shooters. Hayden racked up a few assists early doing so, and then nailed a huge buzzer beater 3 at Q1 to extend the lead. And defensively, Wilkins made sure to lockdown on her matchup with agile foot speed, disrupt passing lanes, and corral rebounds off her anticipation. The offensive creation wavered with CVU's face-guarding, but effort never did. The most talented player on the floor although it wasn't her strongest game.   [player_tooltip player_id='649625' first='Kaia' last='Anderson'], 5'9 W - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2024   Kaia did Kaia stuff, per usual. Anderson's rebounding was all there, using her strength to box and then pursue the rock for seven boards, defending up and keeping CVU's size off the glass. Her rotations + communication were all there throughout the matchup, and she made some crafty reads for a couple steals. Offensively Kaia took care of the ball, hit 1-2 from 3, and orchestrated a bit as well. An exceptionally versatile wing that does a little of everything   [player_tooltip player_id='645602' first='Cassidy' last='Kittredge'], 5'11 W - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2025   It was Cassidy's steady shooting which kept St. J's offense afloat. Kittredge's catch-and-shoot jumper is textbook; she has a quick trigger and needs little space to get it off with her height and relatively high release. She knocked down jumpers from all over, going 5-8 from the floor with 3-4 shooting from range. Her spacing on spot-ups felt intuitive and she made a few little cuts around the 2nd layer for inside finishes. Defensively sound, Kittredge played measured defense, using her length to bother even with a cushion to stay in front of drivers. A true floor spacer with good perimeter length and smarts.   [player_tooltip player_id='592897' first='Anna' last='Ebert'], 5'9 W - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2026   There weren't many plays where I didn't see Anna right in the mix. Ebert's impact was extensive and it culminated in six points, four boards, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Anna displayed nice pace on her slashes from the perimeter to weave inside and finish at the rim. Plus, she operated in the high-post vs the zone and she showed flashes of being a tough, savvy connector from that position. Moreover, Anna was tasked with defending CVU's talented, sizable PG and Ebert battled all game to get into her. The aggressive play is a constant from the sophomore.   Adrianna Hever, 5'9 W - St. Johnsbury Academy Class of 2025   I like how Hever steps right in and drops right into the flow of the game. The southpaw provided a spark offensively with her shooting touch, going 3-8 with jumpers off the catch to produce seven points off the bench. She found defensive holes intuitively and was able to grease the O with that shooting and some passing as defenders were forced to rotate and closeout. The defensive activity was solid as she used her length and size to buff up the perimeter pressure. A solid wing that'll certainly have a bigger role next year.

The rematch of last year's D1 State Championship did not disappoint! It was a gritty, tactical, defensive leaning game that showcased two well-coached teams giving each other everything they had. CVU somehow goes like 11-deep, spreading production across a range of players, whereas St. J kept tight rotations with about eight playing real minutes. The road to D1 primacy still runs through Hinesburg!