College Station wins 5A Region 3 in OT

I was somewhat torn before the game started after watching <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/nicole-leff/">[player_tooltip player_id="100076" first="Nicole" last="Leff"]</a> (Texas State) and <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/hannah-wheeler/">[player_tooltip player_id="137422" first="Hannah" last="Wheeler"]</a> (Incarnate Word) emerge as a couple of the top players from the 2020 class and their hard work and determination has always impressed me yet on the flip side, senior <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/rebekah-hailey/">[player_tooltip player_id="100127" first="Rebekah" last="Hailey"]</a>, [player_tooltip player_id="155249" first="Na’Layjah" last="Johnson"] Cornecia Thompson and <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/aaliyah-collins/">[player_tooltip player_id="20252" first="Aaliyah" last="Collins"]</a> are all young ladies I captured before their first middle school game, in fact, some were even in attendance at Texas A&amp;M games when my daughter helped lead them to a National Championship, had to find a way to connect the dots but the dots they helped connect in their 58-54 OVERTIME win was amazing and here are the top performers <strong>Cedar Park</strong> <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/nicole-leff/">[player_tooltip player_id="100076" first="Nicole" last="Leff"]</a>-solid plays and ran the high low to perfection with <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/shelby-hayes/">[player_tooltip player_id="96925" first="Shelby" last="Hayes"]</a> as they combined for 15 points. Leff can score from the midrange as well as pounding in the paint and I’m thinking she was just shy of a double-double but her pressure defense helped ignite one of the many runs they made. Hayes power in the paint continues to impress me as I keep forgetting she’s only a sophomore and already understands how to efficiently use the drop step as well as set defenders up <strong>Takara Holst</strong>-came off of the bench to give them an offensive boost and wound up scoring 10 points by attacking the basket from the wing. Her approach was smooth and simple and decision making was nice as well but she helped keep them in it <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/hannah-wheeler/">[player_tooltip player_id="137422" first="Hannah" last="Wheeler"]</a>-definitely the spark that just kept igniting her team with pinpoint passes and scoring off the dribble and from the outside. The thing that has always impressed me about her is that she understands how to control the tempo, that’s always going to take you far and she understands the game starts at the one <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/gisella-maul/">[player_tooltip player_id="134028" first="Gisella" last="Maul"]</a>-when I saw this young lady in elementary school, I knew what I was looking at and although others with the Christopher Columbus mindset fail to realize that she was already there. Her explosiveness to the basket, mid to long-range and playing the passing lane were huge. <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/alisa-knight/">[player_tooltip player_id="136335" first="Alisa" last="Knight"]</a> also created problems on the defensive end, something she has done all season but this team is sort of like in the situation College Station was last season after losing in regionals, Cedar Park pipeline is full, they will be back, trust me <strong>College Station</strong> <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/aaliyah-collins/">[player_tooltip player_id="20252" first="Aaliyah" last="Collins"]</a>-after coming off of games of 22 and 16 points, showed how balanced this team truly is by not being one of the leading scorers yet contributing in major ways for the victory. Her defense, her assists as well as her taking a lick so hard I grabbed an Aleve yet she shrugged it off, and that in itself got her teammates going. The thing about this win is that it will trickle down to next season as they only lose three seniors. [player_tooltip player_id="158700" first="Jaeden" last="McMillin"] is just a freshman and is someone to deal with and with a year of varsity starting under her belt, watch out <strong>Cornecia Thompson</strong>-just the little things you may not see on a scoresheet is usually what she brings yet she helped open it up with a 3 as well as solid defense. Her intensity level always stays the same, she dives for the loose ball and just adds heat <strong>Mia Rivers-</strong>she scored 12 points, many in clutch situations but her all-around game that had her playing under control and consistent is a big part of them being here. She and <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/rebekah-hailey/">[player_tooltip player_id="100127" first="Rebekah" last="Hailey"]</a> did not want this to end, and connected on a perfect last-second play that almost ended the game in regulation yet Hailey, who also added 12, just would not be denied and made a save on the sideline I wish I had recorded, was amazing [player_tooltip player_id="155249" first="Na’Layjah" last="Johnson"]-speaking of amazing, I’m just glad PassThaBall captured the video of her 3 to send it into overtime and this young lady definitely has ice water running through her veins. She opened the game up with back to back three pointers, she and Thompson had 9 of their 13 first-quarter points but Nay just kept dropping the ball from a variety of ways and angles to lead all scorers with 20