Out of the shadows: Four players you need to know

Some playmakers need no introduction. A stat line that filters near the top of a sorted category on MaxPreps isn’t hard to find, a tweet about her from her club team is likely to find a way on the timelines of the most avid high school sports enthusiasts. Others go unnoticed. For whatever reason. As if to see them and say, <em>Strong play out of that guard over – oh man, the forward just dropped two defenders. Did you see that!? </em> Or perhaps they’re just faded under the fluorescent lights in FaithPoint church’s gymnatorium, where Longmont Christian’s girls basketball team and junior Taylor Vandenburg call home. Vandenburg — a name you probably don't know, but should — is quietly having a strong career with the Warriors, the lone Class 1A program in the 2A/1A Mile High League. Averaging a career-best in points (14.7) and rebounds (7.7), the third-year starter has stepped into the lead role after the graduation of the program's standout point guard Whitney Echols. Vandenburg has scored 17 or more points in three of her last four games while she and her team battle team-wide illness. The Warriors are 12th in 1A RPI and have stuck around in their league standings at 6-3. Heritage Christian, second in 2A RPI, is currently leading the league at 8-0. Here are three other players who are quietly making an impact on the state’s basketball scene: <strong>Senior Ariana Ahadi, Legacy</strong> The point guard for the Lightning doesn’t put up flashy numbers, yet the real reason Ahadi flies so far under the radar likely has to do with her teammate, the 5A Front Range League’s most productive forward, <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/halle-mackiewicz/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/halle-mackiewicz/">Halle Mackiewicz</a></a>. Ahadi (7.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.9 APG) is the calming the hand for the Lightning, says Legacy coach Jody Welch. The tempo-setter. Robin to Mackiewicz’s Batman, Ahadi also has a high basketball IQ, Welch says. She guides the offense from the point, looks to make the right play — and at times this season, she’s also proven to be a threat from behind the arc. And while the Lightning offense is obviously predicated around Mackiewicz, who averaged 18.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG, she 1.) Does not play every game due to the commitments she has as a Clemson-committed soccer player, and 2.) Needs help even when she does. If 9-11 Legacy hopes to make any noise in the postseason, where they’ve won at least one game in three straight years, Mackiewicz AND Ahadi will have to have strong showings. The Lightning are currently 34th in the 5A RPI. <strong>Senior Abigail Russo, Monarch</strong> The Coyotes are quietly having a nice season after former Prospect Ridge Academy assistant Mike Blakely took over for Gail Hook, who is now coaching the boys team at Erie. They came into Thursday night 12-7, 33rd in 5A RPI. Russo — averaging 9.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG — has taken over as the senior leader after Emerson Herrmann graduated last season. Russo not only has nice touch from deep, she's an elite defender on a team that has allowed less than 50 points in six of its last eight games. “She’s big for us,” Blakely said last month after Russo returned from an injury and led Monarch to a win over Brighton. “We have a really senior-deep team, so when someone goes down, we have others that can step up. But it’s big to have her out there not only for her play but leadership.” <strong>Junior <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/abbie-gillach/"><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/abbie-gillach/">Abbie Gillach</a></a>, Boulder</strong> The Panthers have struggled since getting to league play, losing their first eight games in the Front Range League. But Gillach has still shined. The point guard — standing an unassuming 5-5 — is a crafty playmaker. She has the wiggle and handle to get to the rim. In fact, in a game against Legacy last week, she split defenders on a couple occasions and finished with a spiffy reverse layup. This season, she is shooting 41 percent from inside the arc. From long range, she has hit 30 3s. In her career, she has scored 657 points in 64 games. Which means, despite the Panthers’ recent struggles, it's not unthinkable that Gillach could be a 1,000-point scorer when all is said and done.