5 Takeaways from College Station at Rudder

I wanted action so I figured out I'd take a road trip to College Station because Rudder (Bryan) was hosting College Station on Friday, I could catch some of the new Lady Thunder players at tryouts on Saturday and I would see Texas A&M play Mississippi State on Sunday, my daughter won a National Championship at Texas A&M in 2011 and several it would be like a reunion for me since Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer was an assistant at Texas A&M as well as assistant coach Johnnie Harris, also now at state, not to forget Director of Operations Maryann Baker who roomed with my daughter 4 years so I had this mapped out as A&M head coach Gary Blair, assistant coach Kelly Bond and Director of Operations Erich Birch would all be there as I just think back about that magical run. Well Texas A&M is playing Mississippi State, on the road so all I can say is wow as I looked before I lept however even when I'm wrong, it turns out right as I saw one of the best games I've seen all season last night and here's why [caption id="attachment_143548" align="alignleft" width="150"] NaLayjah Johnson[/caption] College Station's <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/rebekah-hailey/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/rebekah-hailey/">Rebekah Hailey</a></a> and Na'layjah Johnson Hailey's senior leadership was vital to her team withstanding several Rudder runs, she hit big shot after big shot throughout the game and went down at the 6-minute mark of the final quarter and the Rangers were in a position to turn this around completely however Johnson had other ideas as she had and ones and big threes to help seal the victory as the duo combined for 40 of the teams 74 points   [caption id="attachment_143544" align="alignleft" width="150"] <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/aaliyah-collins/">Aliyah Collins</a> and Keaundra Kelly[/caption] College Stations' supporting cast Mia Rivers, Cornecia Thompson, aka Sissy, and Love Ryberg all had their moments of "big plays" along the way however <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/aaliyah-collins/">Aliyah Collins</a> put a spin on her nickname "Puff" as I used to tease her about the magic dragon however her fire and desire down the stretch played a huge part in their victory with 4 steals in the last quarter, 3 in the last two minutes, on her teams end of the court, not to mention a reverse layup for an and-one which certainly was by the sea and I'm certain no one will catch that   [caption id="attachment_143549" align="alignleft" width="150"] <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tianna-mathis/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tianna-mathis/">Tianna Mathis</a></a>[/caption] Rudder's Keaundra Kelly and <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tianna-mathis/">Tianna Mathis</a> Back to back threes from Kelly to open the game had Rudder fans rocking at The Armory and let me give credit to both sets of fans because this game definitely gave me that playoff atmosphere feeling. Smooth and silky <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tianna-mathis/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/tianna-mathis/">Tianna Mathis</a></a> body control is second to none as she defies gravity but she and Kelly provided much of their squad's offensive firepower combining for 36 of the teams 63 points   [caption id="attachment_143546" align="alignleft" width="150"] Brianna Turner and <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/rakia-lee/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/rakia-lee/">Rakia Lee</a></a>[/caption] Rudder's supporting cast Bryanna Turner and Rakiah Lee are not only cousins and sophomores but also are the starting backcourt that brings fire on both ends of the court. Turner had several assists while Lee's defense as well as attacking the rim helped keep them close. <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/deondra-young/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/deondra-young/">Deondra Young</a></a> was someone to be reckoned with as the Sam Houston State signee created some problems on the boards   [caption id="attachment_143545" align="alignleft" width="150"] Asani Magee and Jaeden McMillin[/caption] Alicia Keys' award I didn't know anything about sophomore Asani Magee (Rudder) and just had a glimpse of freshman Jaeden McMillin (College Station) but I do now and one thing is for certain, it doesn't take me long to know what I'm looking at. Magee scored 16, many of those were acrobatic, to say the least, while McMillin dropped 13 from a variety of spots and guess what, both will be added to their respective class Watch Lists I'll break down the Top Performers as well as the District, 19-5A, later today