UIL State Championship 3A Top Performers

Let me offer full transparency, this is the first time I have watched 2 full games GBB-HS via live stream on the same day in my life, and the overtime thriller to close the second out kept my adrenaline going. In the first game, the 1A State Championship, I identified some players that I’m adding to PGH Texas Top 100 and after the second game, there were even more, many I have never seen, and let me drop this one on you, talent is everywhere, it’s not  what you do, it’s who you do it against and even more importantly, there is no me but Brownfield defeating last  seasons defending 4A champion Fairfield 68-64, again in OT was definitely exciting and here are some of the keep performers, keep in mind Fairfield loses one of their key players, everyone is back for Brownfield and both have a set of twins <strong>Fairfield</strong> <strong>Te’Yalla Simpson-5’10 C senior</strong> Simpson with the strong and powerful body rebounded on both ends and came up with some big baskets at key moments. I love how active she was around the rim, she followed the ball off the glass, moved her feet well on defense, and made adjustments <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="265539" first="Jarahle" last="Daniels"]-5’6 G junior</strong> Daniels is so poised under pressure, did she miss a free throw, I don’t think so, and if I’m not mistaken 9/9 to go along with 17 points. I think she only missed a couple of field goals but she played within herself and didn’t force shots, that’s key in this era <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="265540" first="Breyunna" last="Dowell"]-5’9 F junior</strong> Dowell unofficially led all scorers with 28 points and she was impressive enough to be added to my updates because she finished strongly, took defenders off the dribble but her sheer desire to go after everything was key to their being in the mix the whole game <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="267345" first="Shadasia" last="Brackens"]-5’10 G sophomore</strong> Brackens, was impressive in my first sighting, had seen clips of her sister and actually knew nothing about her yet the twin showed she could ball/ Long and athletic, SWB, speed with ball and she did a good job attacking and scoring, not to leave out seeing the floor. Oh yeah, she plays the passing lane <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="158699" first="McKinna" last="Brackens"]-5’10 G/F sophomore</strong> MVP of last season’s state tournament championship, she does a good job creating her shot for the pull-up jumper or to attack the rim. Like her twin sister, she’s athletic and plays the passing lane but she also has a special gift, she makes those around her better <strong>Brownfield</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="265541" first="Gabbie" last="Fields"]-5’6 G junior </strong> Fields was somewhat unconscious in the first half dropping 16 points, this included 4/5 from BTA if I’m not mistaken however she cooled off, not scoring in quarters 3 and 4 only to help seal the victory with 6 points in the OT period, and yes, she was the MVP. The release is quick, so is her first step but she battles in the paint against anyone and she plays the passing lane <strong>Dabria Blackwell-5’4 G junior</strong> Blackwell was feisty and just found a way to be around the ball but her knack for getting in the right position enabled her to get putback attempts and she dropped the 3 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="265542" first="Deja" last="Johnson"]-5’10 C/F junior</strong> Johnson rebounded strong, she battles for everything and probably had close to a double-double as she uses her athleticism nicely <strong>Lindsey Herrera-5’1 G junior</strong> Herrera attacks the rim from a variety of angles, showed she could score either that way or drop the long ball <strong>Tia Johnson-5’10 C/F junior</strong> Johnson, like her twin sister, just loved to battle, and let me emphasize one more time that is old school and something you can’t teach. She also finished strongly <strong>Ashley Ramirez-5’5 G junior</strong> Ramirez hit some big shots, I loved the crossover in the lane banking the shot off the glass as well as her huge 3 but she’s a heady player that sees the floor and did a good job handling the ball under pressure