Concord Academy Needs to be on your Radar

Mindy McCarthy December 9, 2020 @ 06:36 PM

Concord Academy seems to have all the right pieces to make a run this year. Here is a recap of some stellar performances from their game in the Diamonds Classic. <img class="size-medium wp-image-235570 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/Jael-Hall-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" />[player_tooltip player_id="208369" first="Jael" last="Hall"] (G, 2021) continues to impress with her ball handling skills. She blows by defenders before spectators can even keep up with her. She drives in the lane, and she pushes the ball up the court looking for her open teammates to contribute. She can certainly shoot the ball well. She is an aggressive defender on the other end of the court wreaking havoc on opponents causing deflections and grabbing steals for her team that quickly turn into points on fast breaks. Zykian Benjamin (G/F, 2021) was dominant on defense grabbing numerous steals that quickly turned into points for her team whether she was pushing the ball up the court herself or passing it up to a teammate. She seemed to be an invisible ghost for her opponents because they would forget that she was there. She grabbed steals if the ball was anywhere near her. She also had some blocks in the game causing problems for opposing offenses all over the court. [player_tooltip player_id="172628" first="Kaylan" last="Daniels"] (G, 2021) was an aggressive defender always picking the pocket of her opponent or jumping into passing lanes. On offense, she showed her vision of the court finding her open teammates or making good decisions when handling the ball. She scored in various ways including from behind the three point line. [player_tooltip player_id="158300" first="Zoey" last="Ward"] (G/F, 2023) had an arsenal of moves that she could use to score. She shot well from downtown, or she drove down the lane for two points. She showed no fear of contact. She even created separation from her and her defender by using spin moves and up and under moves showing that she can handle the ball and move her feet in order to score some points. [player_tooltip player_id="172613" first="Reagan" last="Dickens"] (G/F, 2021) was also a terror on defense causing deflections and blocks making it difficult for opponents to get any kind of offense going. She moved well into the gaps while playing offense which helped her show off her jump shot or drive to the basket. Raven LeXander (G/F, 2024) came off the bench making immediate impacts grabbing <img class=" wp-image-235571 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/Raven-Lexander-scaled-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="206" height="135" />rebounds for her team, especially getting second chance opportunities. On defense, she timed her moves perfectly in order to make traps effective at half court. Her partner in several of these traps was McKenzie Taylor (G, 2023) who would grab steals and push them up the court herself for some transition points.