Class 2A: Underrated Guards that Impressed

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The opening round — and only round — of the Kansas 2A state championships opened on Wednesday with quarterfinal play at Kansas State University in Manhattan.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Spearville defeated St. Mary’s Colgan (55-41); </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trego got past Bennington (45-31); Garden Plain defeated Sterling (54-48); and Valley Heights defeated Wabaunsee (51-45).</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">On Thursday, KSHSAA announced the remaining state tournament games would not be played. Here, Prep Girls Hoops takes a look at several players who raised their profile at the event.</span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="124974" first="Kali" last="Briar"], 5’7, G, 2022, Sterling</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Another nice young player for Sterling who can create with her dribble and make plays in transition. She has good size at 5’7 and looks to facilitate and get back on defense quickly. A player who can shoot and has confidence to do so but also sees the floor while and looks to be involved as a defender and play around the glass depending on the situation. She ended the game with 10 points.</span> <b>Emma Day, 5’7, 2021, Trego</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Day is a nice player who can score well at times from 3-point range when she has an open look. She plays good defense and looks to challenge plays and contest shots. Day is good at getting back up the floor on defense and runs the lanes on offense as well. </span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="125025" first="Brooke" last="Hammond"], 5’7, G, 2022, Garden Plain</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Hannomd looks to move the ball and is good at finishing teammates. She led her team with four assists as she looked to feed the ball inside and make passes on the perimeter. She ended the game with six points and was second in rebounding with nine. Hammond just makes plays and seems to be in the right spot at the right time on defense. She also had a team high three steals for the game. </span> <b>Makenna Liden, 5’5, G, 2022, Sterling</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A nice young guard who can create with her dribble and shoot quickly. Liden is listed at 5’5 and has the ability to play lead guard or as a scoring guard given her ability to score from distance and inside. Liden is comfortable playing defense and can come away with the ball and also rebound and make smart passes. Sterling’s leading scorer against Garden Plain, Leiden finished with 11 points.</span> <b>Taelor Rucker, 5’5, G, 2022, Spearville</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Rucker hasn’t gotten a lot of attention this season but she stood out as a defender and rebounder. She was aggressive and went after the ball and made a lot of noise inside. Rucker led her team in rebounding with seven boards. </span> <b>Ashton Travis, 5’2, G, 2020, Bennington</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A nice piece who adds some speed and can help keep plas moving. She’s a smaller guard but understands her role and what’s asked of her. She hit a 3-pointer against Trego and was active on defense as well. </span> <b>Lauren Yaghmour, 5’5, G, 2022, St Mary’s-Colgan</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Another nice young player who can create with the ball and score some for 3-point range. She hustles on the floor and is active and looks to jump passing lanes and tip away the ball and apply strong pressure on the perimeter. She finished the game with eight points.</span>