Prescott head coach Owen Hamilton called junior Lila Posthuma’s 34-point performance in the Middle Border Conference opener one of the most dominant performances he’s ever seen at the high school level.

Posthuma’s 34 points propelled the Prescott Cardinals to a 66-55 victory on the road against the Somerset Spartans in the league opener on Tuesday, Nov 22. With the win, Prescott improved to 2-1 for the season and 1-0 in the MBC. Hamilton spoke about Posthuma’s performance.

“We worked on it all week, get the ball to Lila (Posthuma) in the middle and they can’t guard her, there aren’t many that can,” Hamilton said. “She sent a message tonight that she’s going to be a force. It was probably one of the most dominant performances I’ve ever seen.”

Throughout the first half, Prescott ran nearly its entire offense through Posthuma in the post. Whether she was stepping through defenders for layups, hitting mid-range jumpers, or dishing for teammates, Posthuma was the conductor of Prescott’s runaway train.

Her 13-point first half helped Prescott build a 3226 lead which it took into the halftime intermission. While she was excellent the entire night, perhaps no sequence was more impressive than around the 12-minute mark of the second half.

At that point, Prescott’s lead had been cut to three, 37-34, and that’s when Posthuma got the ball in the post, took one dribble to navigate traffic, and made a challenging layup to extend the lead to five points. On the ensuing possession, she skied for a rebound and then went coastto- coast for the layup to make it a seven-point game, 41-34.

Less than two minutes later, the Somerset defense gave Posthuma space because of her ability to get to the rack and finish. That’s when she buried a wing three-pointer by adjusting to what the defense gave her. Posthuma’s scoring surge in the second half helped secure Prescott’s 66-55 victory over Somerset.

While her scoring was second to none in the conference opener, her rebounding and passing were just as critical to Prescott’s success. Posthuma finished the game with 34 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Coach Hamilton spoke about Posthuma’s court vision and what she brings to the floor as a playmaker.

“We knew what (Somerset) was going to do defensively,” Hamilton said. “I told everybody that Lila (Posthuma) is one of the best playmakers I’ve ever seen and we knew if we got it to her in the middle that she would make the right play. She made the right play and right read every time.”

Posthuma certainly made the correct reads, as she regularly found senior guard Izzy Matzek on the wing for open three-pointers. Matzek, who was statistically one of the best three-point shooters in the state last year, finished the game with 13 points on 4-8 shooting from deep, along with four assists and three steals. Posthuma spoke about the game plan against Somerset.

“Our game plan was to work in the middle and make good kick outs and if they were staying outside, then we would dominate on the inside,” Posthuma said after the game. “I know if it’s not working inside, then I have Izzy, Rhi (Stutz), Katrina (Budworth), I have all of those guards that I know I can count on to make shots.”

The road game against Somerset is a perfect encapsulation of how Prescott has changed as a program this season. The Cardinals now run nearly the entire offense through Posthuma, who continues to develop as a player and gain confidence in the early goings of her junior season. Through the first three games, Posthuma leads the team in points, rebounds and assists per game.

While it’s only one win, it’s an important victory in Hamilton’s eyes. Somerset is a team that can sneak up on opponents because they shoot the three-pointer well and often run a trap press that can force opponents to fold if they’re not ready. He spoke about the value of the win.

“I don’t think (Somerset) is going to surprise anyone because I know how good they are, but they could surprise teams if they don’t understand how good (Somerset) really is,” Hamilton said. “To come on the road and go 1-0, that’s a pretty special thing. To do it how we did it and how dominant it was, I can only say how great our girls played.”

Prescott struggled with turnovers through the first two games of the season, as they cost the Cardinals a win in the home opener against Elk Mound and nearly cost them a game on the road against New Richmond. Prescott limited turnovers against Somerset and the team appears to be gelling as a unit only a couple of weeks into the season.

“This group is coming together pretty solid right now,” Hamilton said of his roster. “I’m excited. We’re going to keep moving forward and building on it. We’ve got a couple of weeks before we go up to Altoona. We struggled with them last year and we’re not doing that this year.”

Prescott’s next contest is on the road against the 1-0 Saint Croix Central Panthers on Tuesday, Nov. 29. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m. in Hammond.

Prescott senior guard Izzy Matzek anticipates a screen during the road victory against Somerset on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Matzek shot 50% from the three-point line and also guarded Somerset’s primary scoring option throughout the double-digit victory. Photo by Reagan Hoverman