Names to Note From Romeoville: 17U

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a few more 17U players from last weekend in Romeoville that I want to highlight still before talking about some other kids who stood out as I roamed around the complex.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='407517' first='Bridget' last='Rifenburg']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Benet Academy wing is an active perimeter defender and made herself a nuisance for opposing guards defending on or away from the ball. She's a rangy defender and does an excellent job playing the passing lanes and forcing her assignment to catch the ball farther up the floor than they'd like, which may not matter as much in settings without a shot clock, but at the next level that'll be valuable for a defensive unit. I also thought she did a solid job getting to the rim off the dribble or through her cutting. She plays with excellent passers and cut her way to some simple layups. She's a productive two-way wing to have on a roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338944' first='Georgia' last='Acompanado']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Acompanado has always been a guard who wants to get to the basket whenever possible. She's got excellent touch around the basket and is athletic enough to beat a defender off the dribble and pop up and finish over some post players with a floater. She did more of that when I saw her play this weekend and was one of the better rebounders I saw over the weekend to add to her ability to get to the rim. She makes winning plays on both ends of the floor and can create easy shots for her teammates by attacking off the dribble with her willingness to pass to her teammates when the defense collapses onto her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kasey Stelpflug</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-4 post from Waterford looked as good as I've seen her on Saturday. She had confidence on both ends of the floor and was an excellent rim protector against a talented [program_tooltip program_id='716192' first='Wolverinas' last=''] team. She blocked a handful of shots and altered the course of a few possessions because the other team backed out of challenging her at the rim on a few occasions. She's still willing to shoot the ball if left wide open anywhere on the floor. However, at the next level, coaches may not want her doing that, but her willingness to try and expand her game is a positive for her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='883176' first='Lauren' last='Kojo']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was pleasantly surprised at how productive Kojo was around the basket. I'd known she was solid for Milton in the high school season, but she's as steady a post as you'll find. She has the size and touch that would lead me to believe she could have a productive career in the WIAC. Whenever she got into the post, I thought she did something positive. She has good footwork, sees the floor, and makes good decisions with her back to the basket. I'm unsure what she has in terms of interest, but she could be a sneaky pickup for a school in the WIAC or another competitive small school in the region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->