PGH: All Eyes On the Oregon Expo – Top Shooters
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That’s a wrap for the Prep Girls Hoops 250 expo, and the amount of talented young players that came through made for an incredible day full of competitive hoops. The 70+ attendees all showed large amounts of grit, heart and…
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Continue ReadingThat’s a wrap for the Prep Girls Hoops 250 expo, and the amount of talented young players that came through made for an incredible day full of competitive hoops. The 70+ attendees all showed large amounts of grit, heart and the appetite to be the best player out of them all. One ability that stood out to me through the early hours of the day was how good a lot of the young ladies were at shooting the ball. Whether that be from outside the perimeter, midrange jumpers or crafty layups, I came out of Parkrose High School quite impressed with the amount of shots I saw going in, and some performances that left me thinking that I could be watching some of the best young shooters in the state. The following names are the girls that I deserve a shout out as being top shooters at the expo.
Kara Roberts | Guard | Lakeridge | 2025
I swear every time I watched Kara Roberts shoot it went in. Despite her small stature, when her shots start falling she makes a big impact. Roberts off ball movement was fantastic, and she’s a player who knows how to find her spots. A really good catch and shoot player, Roberts is always ready for the pass. She’s quick, and that helps her move around defenders with ease and that allows her to get spacing. From what I saw, Kara Roberts has to have lead the night in 3s made. This skill will only take her further, and I would not be surprised to see Roberts stand out as one of the biggest perimeter threats in the Three Rivers league.
Malaya LeSueur Malaya LeSueur 5'9" | SF Benson Tech | 2023 State OR | Wing | Benson Polytechnic | 2023
I’m not going to lie, this is not going to be the last time you see Malaya LeSueur Malaya LeSueur 5'9" | SF Benson Tech | 2023 State OR ‘s name throughout these upcoming expo write-ups. LeSueur has a tremendous skillset and one of those skills that she was showing us was her knockdown shooting ability. What makes her so lethal, is her ability to attack the basket and get to the cup and due to that, defenders tend to sag back a bit more, giving her space to shoot a jumper. There is no good option here. LeSueur was showing us a nice soft touch around the basket, and a feather jumper that she utilizes to her advantage. She was taking shots off the dribble, as well as getting nice catch and shoot buckets to fall. Just a great showing throughout as will be highlighted in forthcoming articles.
Lauryn Bergevin | Guard | Walla Walla | 2023
I really enjoyed watching Lauryn Bergevin shoot the basketball. Although she has a bit of a slow release, she is still a sharpshooter when the defense leaves her open. She is always looking for the shot and is a reliable catch and shoot player once she gets space. I didn’t see much off ball movement as I would’ve liked to see from her, but her ability alone to be a solid spot up shooter definitely helps her be a really good scorer. One or two misses in a row don’t bother her, and she is capable of getting hot at any time. She has confidence when she shoots and doesn’t get flustered when her shots don’t fall early.
Jordan Leith | Wing | Meadowdale | 2023
Jordan Leith caught my eye with her tremendous shooting ability, and the fact that each game she struck me as being one of the best shooters on the court at all times. She’s quick, and her length and agility allows her to move around defenders and come off screens gives her the ability to score in multiple ways. The top of the key jumper for Leith looked to be a bucket every time, and her fluid ball handling allowed her to get good looks from the mid range as well. I feel good about saying that Jordan Leith can grow into a player who can take over games in crunch time and her multi level scoring ability can let her be just that.
Rylie McManus | Guard | McMinnville | 2025
What impressed me the most about Rylie McManus’s shooting, wasn’t her ability to shoot from outside the perimeter, but it was her proficiency from the mid range that I really liked watching. As the main ball handler for her team, McManus works her magic with the use of screens. She performed really well when she was running a pick and roll option with her teammate Paytin Ballard Paytin Ballard 5'10" | SG Hudson's Bay | 2022 State WA , and her quick first step makes her running around screens hard to guard. Once she gets an open look around a screen, it’s a smooth shooting motion McManus has that seems to be easy points every time. She had an efficient shot around the elbow, and her three point shooting was nothing to look away at either. I was really impressed by Rylie McManus’s fundamentals at such a young age still.
Hailey Monte | Wing | Gladstone | 2025
I was appalled at times by how often I saw Hailey Monte wide open in the corner. Seemingly every time Monte had a open look in the corner if went in every time. She is a player who knows her hot zones, and once she’s in her spots she is always ready for the pass to come her way. Out of all the players, Monte may have the case as the most efficient corner shooter. While I may not have seen much from her in regards to finding other spots on the floor to showcase her shooting ability from, she knows that the corners come easy to her every shot, so it makes sense why she may want to be where she feels comfortable. One of the best shooters I saw and I hope to see much more added to her arsenal in the future, because she is still pretty young.
Avery Peterson | Guard | Clackamas | 2025
A young, gifted all around player, Avery Peterson made her presence known on the court, and was a lethal scorer from the perimeter. Not shy to pull up from deep, Peterson has a wide array of moves that allows her to create distance for her shots. On top of her already impressive passing ability, her shooting makes her a dangerous weapon from all over the floor. The top of the key is her friend, and she makes most of her deep balls from a couple steps back from the three point line. She never lets her head down, and I can tell she has a great basketball IQ, buy how she adjusts to the game as it comes to her. Peterson was someone I came out the expo thinking that I can see being a scoring leader in her class, and I look forward to seeing how she develops these coming years.
McKylee Hawkins | Forward | Bothell | 2024
A terrific all around player, McKylee Hawkins really showed out and came away looking like a top performer out of the expo. Other than her lockdown defense, she really made an impact on the court by her shooting. She showcased a buttery jumper from the elbow, and knows how to stroke it from the outside as well. She has great size, and it allows her to get shots up over pressure. She knows how to handle the ball and once or twice, I saw Hawkins freeze multiple defenders to get past them. I really liked Hawkins playing with aggressiveness and her foul drawing ability as well. McKylee Hawkins name might pop up in a future write up coming soon, and she definitely was a player who stood out to me
Addison Dippel Addison Dippel 5'8" | CG Crater | 2025 State OR | Guard | Crater | 2025
Addison Dippel Addison Dippel 5'8" | CG Crater | 2025 State OR runs the floor incredibly well, and is a perimeter threat whenever she is on the court. With Dippel being capable of being a knockdown shooter from all spots, that helps her be a great floor spacer as well. The corners and wing are where I saw Dippel really thrive. It doesn’t take her long to get in a rhythm, and when she squares up her feet
her shot seems automatic. She has quick lateral speed and get around screens with ease. She’s a great shooter in transition as well, and that’s where her ability to run the floor comes in handy. Another really young player, I am looking forward to seeing how Dippel improves her game and what she adds to her bag. She already displays good ball handling ability as well, so I would like to see less timidness to attack the basket. But, her shot makes her a highly skilled player already.
Payton Ratcliffe | Forward | Wilsonville | 2025
One of the tallest players of all the attendees, she makes Payton Ratcliffe Payton Ratcliffe 6'3" | SF Wilsonville | 2025 State OR shooting ability so much more impressive. When looking at her, you would expect her to be more of a low post presence, and I’m not saying she isn’t, however she worked to work a lot of the times more out of the paint than in. While some may see this as a negative, Ratcliffe’s smooth jumpers from the midrange makes her almost impossible to block. Even harder when she decides to shoot from three, but to her that’s a good shot. Ratcliffe does have the ability to back down post defenders, and can hit turn around jumpers over everyone else on the court. A multi level scorer with great size, I can see Payton Ratcliffe Payton Ratcliffe 6'3" | SF Wilsonville | 2025 State OR going very far in the future, and if she keeps developing and adds some sort of ball handling to her arsenal, she could be a top scorer in the state.