Five Players To Watch: National District

The National District is primed to be one of the more interesting districts to watch this winter. All eyes will be on an Edison squad that came one win away from a state championship months ago, and the other squads will definitely be looking to take the top spot from them that they’ve sat in pretty comfortably the past few years. But here’s five players I anticipate having stellar seasons: <b>Charlotte Jewel (Edison, 2020)</b> <span style="font-weight: 400">A solid guard for the Eagles, who scored in double figures ten games last season, all victories. She’s right at the top of the list of many weapons Edison will have, and will definitely be giving it her all in her senior season before she heads to Brown. She can hit from deep and take it into the paint, and also be a problem on defense with her length. Expect her to be a key factor in any success they Edison has this winter. </span> (photo courtesy of Twitter) <b>Christina Trivisonno (Marshall, 2021)</b> <span style="font-weight: 400">After two solid seasons for the Statesmen, Trivisonno is primed to have an excellent junior season. She’ll probably be one of Marshall’s leading scorers, but more impressive is her play on the defensive end. She’ll be around all sorts of tipped balls and intercepted passes for sure, and look to help the Statesmen go further in the playoffs after falling one game short of a state tournament berth last year. </span> <b>Emiko O’Cadiz (Justice, 2020)</b> <span style="font-weight: 400">Justice’s combo guard was a bright spot last year in a season that only saw five victories by doing a little bit of everything. Her good size makes her one of the best perimeter players on the floor at any given moment, displayed by her keen court awareness, solid shooting, and defense. The rising senior will be a key factor for the Wolves as they look to get more dubs this coming season.</span> <strong>Vanessa Gardiner (Lee, 2020) </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400">Gardiner will definitely be a key factor if R.E. Lee is going to climb up in the district standings. Lee’s point guard displayed smart decision making and handled pressure in her junior season on a team that struggled mightily against other schools in the district. The senior will probably be one of the Lancers’ top scorers this winter, and produce a couple of double-doubles as well. </span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="100555" first="Bri" last="Johns"] (Edison, 2020)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400">This Southeast Missouri State commit will be another one of Edison’s top players this season. She’s not afraid to launch from deep, which is probably why she had multiple games with 10 points or more last season, and will also be a pesky defender for the Eagles. It’ll be interesting to see what her and the rest of her squad does this winter after falling to Princess Anne in the Virginia Class 5 State Championship this past March. </span> (photo courtesy of Twitter)