UIL State Championship 4A Top Performers

The stage was set in one of the events most anticipated games and to say I wasn’t pleasantly pleased, in spite of listening to non-relevancy, keep in mind I’m not a novice evaluator and some things just drive me crazy however the excitement and energy these young ladies. The poise from freshman Hardin-Jefferson’s  [player_tooltip player_id="166646" first="Kendall" last="Sneed" on center stage told me a lot about the player she will become and watching the player [player_tooltip player_id="65906" first="Ashlon" last="Jackson"] has become took me way back to seeing that talented 3rd grader. Canyon has been one of those teams I enjoyed watching for a very long time and with legendary retired head coach<a href="https://www.presspasssports.com/post/greatest-of-all-time-legendary-canyon-coach-joe-lombard-announces-retirement-after-42-seasons"> Joe Lombard</a>, who guided them to 13 UIL State Championships, son Tate taking over, I was ready for the action as Canyon won 56-55 <strong>Hardin Jefferson 29-1 <a class="yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-4rbku5 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-18t94o4 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-901oao yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-16my406 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-1n1174f yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-1loqt21 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-poiln3 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-bcqeeo yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://x.com/HJladyhawks" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@HJladyhawks</a></strong> <strong>Makenna Henry-5’7 G senior</strong> Henry hit some big shots, a banker to tie it, and a 3 for the lead but she also understands how get hers in the flow and she does a good job at creating her shot <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="65906" first="Ashlon" last="Jackson"] <a class="yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-4rbku5 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-18t94o4 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-901oao yiv9843574802ydp97c439dacss-16my406 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-1n1174f yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-1loqt21 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-poiln3 yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-bcqeeo yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-1ny4l3l yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-1ddef8g yiv9843574802ydp97c439dar-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://x.com/Ashlon3Jackson" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@Ashlon3Jackson</a></strong> Jackson, well I’ve said just about all I can about her, and each time I see her, I always find more as the Duke commit has extended her range as well as power attacking the rim yet her body control was on full display as the acrobatics as well as mid to long-range were all part of her 27 points which led all scorers <strong>Jalyn Wright-5’7 G junior</strong> Wright mixed it up nicely on offense, showed she could take defenders just about whenever she wanted and part of that is her athletics and another part is her explosive first step but she also can shoot the long ball, knocked down a couple of 3’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="267348" first="Molly" last="Beavers"]-6’0 F junior</strong> Beavers upside continues to impress me and the progression I see every chance I get to watch her tells me a lot because that, coupled with her size and strength gives her options, and here’s why. She has good hands and a soft touch around the basket yet she mobile and can step out ad shot the mid to long-range <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="166646" first="Kendall" last="Sneed"] <span data-offset-key="2i51e-7-0">@_kendallsneed</span> </strong> Sneed never ceases to amaze me, from the first time I saw her playing up, I saw her poise and confidence, and as a freshman playing on center stage, that same poise and confidence and her ability to get to the basket with either hand and score, with either hand not to mention she creates her shot under pressure <strong>Canyon 31-1 <span class="yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-18u37iz"><a class="yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-4rbku5 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-18t94o4 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-901oao yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-16my406 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1n1174f yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1loqt21 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-poiln3 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-bcqeeo yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://x.com/LadyEagleBasket" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@LadyEagleBasket</a></span></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263330" first="Chloe" last="Callahan"]-5’10 G senior <a class="yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-4rbku5 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-18t94o4 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-901oao yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-16my406 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1n1174f yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1loqt21 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-poiln3 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-bcqeeo yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1ny4l3l yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1ddef8g yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://x.com/callahan11chloe" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@callahan11chloe</a></strong> Callahan has the right name if you follow the old movies because she means business and the UNT signee just filled it up on her way to 17 points for the game and MVP. She shoots the long ball well in the clutch, creates her shot to take that mid to long-range or attack but she brings it right to you <strong>Kross Hiatt-5’11 F senior <a class="yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-4rbku5 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-18t94o4 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-901oao yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-16my406 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1n1174f yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1loqt21 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-poiln3 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-bcqeeo yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://x.com/McbroomZoey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@McbroomZoey</a></strong> Hiatt has a nice touch around the basket, hands, and footwork gave her options yet she also finished after the lick and stepped out to drop the mid to long-range <strong>Kenadee Winfrey-5’11 G/F senior <a class="yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-4rbku5 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-18t94o4 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-901oao yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-16my406 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1n1174f yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1loqt21 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-poiln3 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-bcqeeo yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://x.com/kenadeewinfrey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@kenadeewinfrey</a></strong> Winfrey hit some big baskets and played solid defense but she also helped create some turnovers which led to baskets for her team <strong>Neely Wood-5’9 F senior <a class="yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-4rbku5 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-18t94o4 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-901oao yiv9843574802ydpf5651849css-16my406 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1n1174f yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-1loqt21 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-poiln3 yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-bcqeeo yiv9843574802ydpf5651849r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://x.com/NeelyWood7" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@NeelyWood7</a></strong> Wood has a nice pull-up jumper and she also showed she could finish inside. Played hard defense, got in, and battled for loose balls <strong>Bella Hayden-5’7 G senior</strong> Hayden plays within herself, attacked numerous times, and did a good job defensively and her reacting and doing things instinctively led to some baskets <strong>Taylor Thomas-5’8 G junior</strong> Thomas dropped 12 points in a variety of ways, first of all, she attacks the basket well and can finish after contact, she creates her shot which gives her options like attacking yet it also enables her to show a nice pull-up jumper which she gets off easily