Roster Dive: Scouting the Sand Creek Scorpions
Playing against the Sand Creek Scorpions, opponents must prepare to face a small army of undersized guards that can do damage from all over the floor. They can all score, and they’re all a handful to defend with their quickness…
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Continue ReadingPlaying against the Sand Creek Scorpions, opponents must prepare to face a small army of undersized guards that can do damage from all over the floor.
They can all score, and they’re all a handful to defend with their quickness and skill. That unrelenting perimeter assault has been working for the Scorpions so far in 2019-20, as they are off to a 6-1 start and are ranked No. 7 in Class 4A by the latest CHSAANow.com poll.
Let’s take a look and which players are doing what for the Scorpions so far.
At the top of Sand Creek’s guard-heavy roster is junior Nikki Derrell. PGH Colorado’s No. 16-ranked player in the 2021 class, Derrell is leading the Scorpions with 17.1 points per game. A quick 5-foot-2 guard who utilizes a quick release, Derrell is shooting 35 percent (18 for 52) from 3-point range and is also averaging 3.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game.
TiAna DavisThe Scorpions’ second-leading scorer is actually a freshman. Five-foot-4 guard TiAna Davis is quickly making a name for herself at the varsity level as a high-energy, high-IQ player with the speed and instincts to impact the game despite her size and age. Through the first seven games of her prep career, Davis is averaging 14 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals.
One of just two seniors on the Sand Creek roster, 5-foot-7 guard Krystina Hagood is averaging 12.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, two assists and 3.7 steals per game. An effective slasher who can finish with either hand around the rim, Hagood missed a year of varsity basketball because she transferred to Sand Creek, so this is her first season playing 4A varsity basketball.
The fourth player on Sand Creek scoring in double figures, junior Kianna Lemons is another 5-foot-5 guard. Averaging 10.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 3.4 steals a game, Lemons isn’t tall but has a solid frame that should hold up at the collegiate level. Lemons also sat out a year because she transferred to Sand Creek and is playing her first season of varsity basketball.
The Scorpions also have junior Shamira Wallace, a 5-foot-9 newcomer to varsity hoops who head coach Payden Goldberg thinks could become a JUCO kid if she continues to work and improve. Wallace is an athletic player who can defend multiple positions and has a natural ability to track down the ball.
There’s a good chance that many if not all of Sand Creek’s undersized talents could end up with a JUCO program where they can build strength and improve their skills, but each of them has the potential to play somewhere after high school.