VARSITY BOYS
Whoa! talk about a packed house. I walked in about 15 minutes before tip-off and couldn’t find a seat… they were out of programs and then I had to find my way upstairs to get a looksy next to the band. Next time I will show up 30 minutes early to this particular event between two 8-1 teams fighting for first place in the NEA. Right away I see the studs strutting their stuff. For the home team Lakeside, they have Junior PG Cameron Gay, a tall, lanky, bomber. The “Green Light” doesn’t hesitate to cast em up from deep. As the game got close at the end he did his best Kobe imitation launching from everywhere. He can score, and that is true statement. Ryan Quigley, their 6-6 man-child, stated his case as the dominate big man in the game. Quigley plays with good positioning and patience with the ball on the block. He shows an ease when finishing and will continue to dominate. The wild card on this team was Dominique Watson, #32. This kid is a “do it all” type of guy with a solid post game and good follow through on his jumpers, as he hit two from 12-15 feet out. He’s a tough rebounder, especially late when it matters most and also made a very nice drop pass in traffic for a bucket. For the visiting Riverside Rams, Jesse Anselm can shoot shoot shoot! This dude may be small but good luck keeping him out of the scoring column. He made three triples in the second half and 4 FTs in the fourth to help decide this big game. Tyler Axtell, no surprise was the best player on the floor tonight. He has so much confidence in his handle that the full court press was a waste of time as he either blew around the defense or waited for the double team to show him which teammate to pass to. A true leader, scorer, and baller. He finished with an easy 30! After the back and forth battle for three quarters, Riverside sealed the game with 10-11 FTs in the 4th and won going away.
VARSITY GIRLS
Let me start by saying that the Lakeside girls are LEGIT! They have two sets of sisters from a freshman to a senior, that can be all be interchanged and it doesn’t matter which one is playing where on the court. The roster numbers 21-24 are carbon copies of one another…. almost. #21-Sonja Marikis, #22-Stefanie Marikis, #23-Sienna Swannack, and #24-Shaye Swannack can all handle, shoot, steal passes, pressure on D, push the ball on O, whatever. Throw in a freak athlete like Jocelyn Cook-Cox, who has a 40+ vertical- (slapping glass on lay-ups at 5-8!), hits threes, and plays rough and tumble defense along with her post up ability to finish with either hand, and good luck! They play with a defensive ferociousness and alertness that I can’t see how they lose a game in league or the end of season tourney. They are a very deep, well coached team and Id love to watch a practice sometime (hint, hint Coach). With all of that said, the Riverside Rams did have a couple of players of their own that showed a lot of heart and determination. Haley Pace, plays the defensive passing lanes very well with good anticipation. Although she started the game at the point and had some trouble with the pressure, she was not deterred to attack when she got the ball and made sure it wasn’t easy for the ladies holding court. The player that stole the show was Julianna Trepanier. This all around ball player was not rattled one bit by the Lakeside crowd or opposition. She played with poise, scored on a number of spot ups, pull up bank shots, driving scoops, had very good court awareness, and a competitiveness throughout. Needless to say she led all scorers with 20, half of Riverside’s points against the toughest team in her division. That’s saying something.
I still want to see LC, Deer Park, Reardan, Springdale, Rogers,NW Christian, East Valley, Liberty, etc…
WHO’s Next?
