Day 1 Action from She Got Game Classic – Charlotte (12-20-19)
The first game of the day in the She Got Game Classic was a back and forth affair between St. Laurent of Canada and Vance High of Charlotte. It was a well played, competitive game with some outstanding prospects on…
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Continue ReadingThe first game of the day in the She Got Game Classic was a back and forth affair between St. Laurent of Canada and Vance High of Charlotte. It was a well played, competitive game with some outstanding prospects on the court. One of those prospects was Class of 2022 Wing Alphonsia Eleko of St. Laurent. Her skill set and poise was more indicative of an upperclassmen, and she clearly wasn’t intimidated coming down from the great white North to test her skills against one of the best teams in North Carolina. Eleko (15 points) and her teammates led most of the way but they were overwhelmed down the stretch by the bigger and more experienced lady Cougars of Vance. In particular, Vance was led in the fourth quarter by Junior Guard Tanajah Hayes and Junior Power Forward Amhyia Moreland. Hayes ran the team well, played much better defense than she had shown earlier in the season, and made 2 big free throws down the stretch to give Vance a 56-49 and salt away the victory.. As for Moreland, she took over the game and dominated when her team needed her most. St. Laurent led 39-36 at the end of 3, but Moreland came out and immediately hit a 3 pointer to tie the score at 39. Shortly thereafter, she took her defender down on the block for an And 1 to give Vance a 42-39 lead that they would never relinquish. Moreland then combined with her sister, 6’2″ sophomore Center Trinity Moreland for a beautiful high low bucket to push the lead to 44-39. The older Moreland finished with a game high 22 points and flashed the skills that has her considered one of the best bigs in the state and region. Final score Vance 56 – St.Laurent 51.
Game 2 featured a couple of traditional powers in Charlotte’s Providence Day and Ridge View of Columbia, South Carolina. This was my first opportunity to watch Ridge play and I was extremely impressed by their size, athleticism and poise. That’s really not surprising though when you realize that all 5 of their starters (5’7″ Senior Small Forward Hasonti Keller, 5’6″ Junior Guard Mariah Mitchem, 5’1″ Senior Point Guard Mya Middleton, 6’0″ Junior Power Forward Laila Acox and 6’1″ Junior Center Nyla Jackson) are all battle tested upperclassmen. Providence Day started 4 seniors (5’7″ Senior Forward Kailey Smith, 5’10” Senior Post Morgan Kelson, 5’8″ Senior Forward Grace Godwin, and 5’5″ Senior Guard Andy Levitz. However, the fifth starter for PD is Chandler Brooks, an ultra talented freshman who has good size at 5’11” and great passing ability to go along with a soft touch from both distance and the mid – range. Brooks does a lot of wonderful things on the basketball court, but what she isn’t (at least at this point in her young career) is a Point Guard. Her 9 turnovers led to numerous run outs by Ridge and was the deciding factor in the Blazers 68-62 win. In contrast, Ridge’s Middleton was a maestro running the offense and controlling the tempo and seemed to make the right play whenever her team needed it. She finished with 13 points on perfect 6 for 6 shooting. She was one of four double figure scorers for the winning team (17 for Keller, 13 for Aycox, and 12 for Mya Wasswa, a Junior Guard who came off the bench and hit a three pointer and provided a stifling defensive presence). PD was led by Morgan Kelson’s 21 and Andi Levitz’s 19. Kelson is a rugged and tireless post who brings her hard hat with her to every game. Levitz is a knockdown shooter who made 6 of 10 3 pointers and left me wondering why she didn’t shoot more. The aforementioned Brooks finished with 6. This game was loaded with big time talent. However, you get the feeling that PD is a Point Guard away from being a really, good squad. With solid post play from Kelson, the sharpshooting of Levitz, the all around talent of Brooks, and the toughness, defense and athleticism provided by Freshman Jordyn Latter off the bench (6 points and multiple excellent hustle plays), one can only wonder how good this team would be with a steadying influence at the Point Guard Position.