SW District Sectionals- Wk. 1 Upperclassmen- Pt. 1

It’s tournament time here in Ohio as the sectional tournament is upon us. While Angie Saiter covers Central Ohio and Mike Hughes is over in the Eastern part of Ohio, I found myself at several first round tournament games last week in the Southwest Ohio region. I had the chance to see Riverside v Russia and Botkins v Mechanicsburg in Division 4, Milton Union v National Trail and Bethel v Preble Shawnee in Division 3, Urbana v Greenville in Division 2 and Troy v Butler in Division 1. This week, I will look at some of the top players I saw, with two days of upperclassmen, a sophomore day and a solid group of freshman. Today is the first part of the juniors and seniors that stood out last week around the region. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">[player_tooltip player_id="211752" first="Grace" last="Forrest"], 5-7 2021, Mechanicsburg</span></strong> It was the first time I had seen her this year, and she did not disappoint. The electric guard showed her deep range and accuracy throughout the game, with an uncanny ability to get off a quick shot. She handled the ball well against pressure put on her, was able to create at times and was always around the ball. One of the hardest workers on the floor, can push transition and had good body control. Changes direction well on the drive. <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Morgan Grudich, 5-6 2021, Milton Union</span></strong></span> I saw her back on opening night of the season, and liked the way she showed good leadership and was an offensive threat for her team. She is a good perimeter shooter with nice range on her shot. A solid guard with the ball and can play through contact in a more physical style. Can get to the rim and finish. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">Madison Jones, 5-10 2021, Milton Union</span></strong> Had a quiet day but you noticed her when she hit two big threes in the opening round win for the Bulldogs. Does move well and gets to her spots where she is most effective. Played solid defense and was a steady force. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">Molly Skinner, 5-9 2021, National Trail</span></strong> Streaky offensive player who can do damage if she is on her shot. Long and lanky and played outside for Trail, but appears she could drop down low and play on the block also. Showed a solid perimeter game at times, did a good job defensively containing her defender. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159037" first="Kenna" last="Gray"], 5-6 2021, Bethel</strong></span> Battled through foul trouble but when she was on the floor, was a key in their first tournament win in many years at her school. Deadly from the three with a quick release. Also has a good step to the rim, can get to the line and finish. Good on-ball defender with quick hands creating turnovers. Averaging double figures in rebounds for a smaller guard. <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sam Rooney, 5-7 2021, Urbana</span></strong></span> Struggled at times in their opening round loss, but the Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division Player of the Year did show a lot of good things on the court. Very smart and plays within herself, under control and has a good basketball IQ. Skilled and solid fundamentally with a desire to constantly get better. &nbsp;