Preseason Scrimmage Preview: North Branch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are almost there! The 2022 season has officially begun with practices and a few scrimmages but we are officially three days away from the official start date for competition in Michigan. Some teams are itching for competition early though and North Branch will be playing host to a scrimmage quad this Thursday (Aug 18).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This scrimmage quad makes for a great opening round of competition for all teams involved. North Branch is a returning Division 2 Runner-Up and Cass City and Garber are two teams that saw themselves in the regional rounds in 2021. Grand Blanc isn't too shabby either with their dynamo outside, [player_tooltip player_id='66316' first='Remi' last='Madison']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's take a sneak peak at whats to come from this preseason scrimmage in North Branch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":170088,"width":197,"height":217,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/12/21-Kaela-Chingwa-928x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-170088" width="197" height="217"/><figcaption>[player_tooltip player_id='110287' first='Kaela' last='Chingwa']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>North Branch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting off with the hosts, North Branch seems to be a fairly self-explanatory team coming in. They return just about everybody from their starting line up from last November and they bring in a talented freshman that can shake things up. Between the likes of L [player_tooltip player_id='110301' first='Hailey' last='Green'], MB [player_tooltip player_id='110287' first='Kaela' last='Chingwa'], and OH [player_tooltip player_id='110291' first='Alana' last='Deshetsky'], this team has a lot of veteran leadership as the three have been mainstays since their freshman year. I am curious to see in what capacity freshman <strong>Aubree Deshetsky</strong> will be used. The young gun is rumored to be a talented attacker like her sister but also a skilled setter to challenge long time starter [player_tooltip player_id='110302' first='Adrienne' last='Greschaw'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Essexville-Garber</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just like the hosts, Essexville-Garber returns just about the entirety of their starting line up. This includes their own trio of veteran leaders in OH [player_tooltip player_id='172187' first='Emma' last='Dufresne'], MB [player_tooltip player_id='172188' first='Ashlee' last='Lenhard'], and L [player_tooltip player_id='172189' first='Laney' last='Kokaly']. The three are touted as some of the best to ever don a Dukes jersey and they are all hungry for a historic season for their senior year. The three will cross paths with the same team that ended their season in 2021, North Branch. This will be a very fun one to watch on Thursday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":165588,"width":265,"height":174,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/Shelby-Ignash-Kacee-Gray-crop-1068x702-1637002614.png" alt="" class="wp-image-165588" width="265" height="174"/><figcaption>[player_tooltip player_id='156307' first='Shelby' last='Ignash'] - [player_tooltip player_id='172195' first='Kacee' last='Gray']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Cass City</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This could be the year of the Red Hawk and this will be the first glimpse we'll see of what exactly that might be in 2022. Hawks return the dynamic duo that is [player_tooltip player_id='156307' first='Shelby' last='Ignash'] in the middle and [player_tooltip player_id='172195' first='Kacee' last='Gray'] on the outside. They also return senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='172194' first='Saylar' last='Cuthrell'] who was promoted to 5-1 duties last season. I'll be curious to see the fresh faces of this team and how they integrate. Cass City loses a senior leader [player_tooltip player_id='172184' first='Kalee' last='Gray'] and <strong>Abbey Halabis</strong>. Gray brought the heat in the middle and Halabis was more valued for her ball control than offense. If they can bring in a body or two to at least match or elevate the production those two brought, this is a tough team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Grand Blanc</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grand Blanc returns a lot of fire power last year and showed a lot of promise last season. Entering her senior year is the high flier on the left side in [player_tooltip player_id='66316' first='Remi' last='Madison']. Madison has a cannon for an arm and a great touch in the back court. Opposite of her is another cannon with <strong>Laila Bates</strong>. Watching Bates in the club season, I saw a huge improvement from her high school season last year. The two combined will make a deadly duo on the pins. Grand Blanc also returns their setter, <strong>Skylar Cramer</strong>, who is coming in with a few seasons of experience and great connection with the two.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->