A.C. Flora Tip-Off Classic: 2022

The Falcons’ nest east of downtown Columbia welcomed some special guests on Saturday afternoon as several teams converged on A.C. Flora High School for its Tip-Off Classic. Eight teams, predominantly from the Midlands, gathered at A.C. Flora for their first games of the season and looking to start their 2021-22 campaigns in the win column. Prep Girls Hoops made it to AC Flora to take in what was an exciting day of basketball in the heart of the Midlands. One thing that the event had was no shortage of talent from this season’s senior class. Here is a deeper look at those from said class who caught our attention. <strong>Logan Jordan - 2022 – AC Flora HS</strong> – Jordan was part of that starting five for coach Jacob Thompson’s Falcons. A key element to how successful AC Flora was in its game with Blythewood was how well it shot from deep. Jordan set the tone for the Falcons’ efforts from behind the arc by hitting the first 3-pointer of the game. Her trey was one of four AC Flora sank in the first quarter as well as one of four Jordan made throughout the contest. She also moved the ball well which led to another three early in the game from one of her Falcons teammates and also made defensive plays. Jordan finished with 14 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="199243" first="Madison" last="Brown"] - 2022 – Blythewood HS</strong> – When playing a team such as the Bengals, No. 11 given her talent and experience has to be one of the primary players to game plan for. There were plenty of occasions where she got fouled which placed her at the free throw line. In fact, she scored the first point for the Bengals which came via the charity stripe. Brown will also haul in her fair share of rebounds. Part of the starting five for Blythewood, she scored in every quarter sans the second frame and finished Blythewood’s contest against host school AC Flora having scored seven points to lead Bengals scorers. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-354767" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/E04C7B75-74E9-44CD-AED1-980D53653C98-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124095" first="Ariana" last="Wilkes"] – 2022 – Spring Valley HS</strong> – Wilkes’ senior season, her returning season with the Vikings, got started on the right pair of sneakers on Saturday afternoon. Interestingly enough, coach Megan Assey did not have Wilkes as part of her starting lineup, but was inserted into the game shortly after the opening tip and she played plenty of minutes. Wilkes had plenty of occasions where she drew contact in the low post and got to the free throw line. She also managed to stay very active with her hands as a defender. No. 23 finished with 24 points in what was an impressive Vikings win over Airport. <strong>Bre Lester – 2022 – Airport HS</strong> – Continuity. Adept. Efficient. Three words that one could use to describe Lester’s game. Lester is listed at 5-foot-8 and uses every bit of her height to her advantage when it comes to grabbing rebounds. Lester will go directly at a defender or defenders when she attacks the rim. She managed to draw a great deal of contact and she was at the line on a number of occasions, particularly in the fourth quarter. The Eagles opened its first season under coach Chantel Amick against the Spring Valley Vikings and concluded the afternoon contest with 10 points. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-354760" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/6D5BE314-1924-4055-A0D0-2459D6E0247C-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="253111" first="Jazmin" last="McCollough"] – 2022 – Aiken HS</strong> – Over the years, not too many teams have had answers on how to contain the Green Hornets’ 5-foot-8 power forward. White Knoll on Saturday afternoon at AC Flora was no exception. She attacks the rim with plenty of tenacity but gets ready to receive passes when involved in offensive sets. McCollough runs the floor with plenty of speed and can get out in the transition game. She managed to get to the free throw line as well and attracts plenty of attention from defenses because of her vast scoring prowess. McCollough is also active with her hands defensively. She led all scorers with 18 points in the Green Hornets’ game with White Knoll. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-354756" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/4A5DC77B-BCE2-4E6A-AC1B-6294A667E8CD-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="185230" first="Quantashia" last="Davis"] – 2022 – Aiken HS</strong> – Head coach Aubrey Pompey on Saturday got a lot of offensive and defensive production from virtually the entire starting five – including Davis. At an even six feet, Davis made plays near the rim as well as making passes in transition. Her quickness was on display throughout the Green Hornets’ game with White Knoll as well as her ability to absorb contact and get to the free throw line. She scored eight points and had at least one basket in every quarter outside of the second frame. Davis also did not have any fouls called against her. <strong>T’Asia Hair – 2022 – Aiken HS</strong> – Hair provided lots of production off the bench Saturday afternoon for the Green Hornets. She established herself early and often as an important reason for why Aiken raced out to an early 15-3 lead over White Knoll after the first quarter. Hair made plays near the rim and actually converted on the first field goal for the Green Hornets of the game. She also managed to collect her fair share of rebounds as well. Hair scored nine points en route to a Green Hornets victory and had at least one made shot in every quarter outside of the third. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="300183" first="Anna" last="Cary"] – 2022 – Mid Carolina HS</strong> – It is only appropriate that a standout with AC in her name would ball out at a school with AC in its. MC’s AC met Columbia’s AC and she had a big game against Ridgeland/Hardeeville. She converted on plenty of high-percentage shot opportunities in the paint and would always find a way to get to the basket. Cary utilized her long wingspan to trap opposing ball carriers in addition to trying shots from long range. She put in plenty of work in the transition game and collected her fair share of rebounds. Cary will get to the line and can also get to the other end of the floor quickly. She finished with 18 points in the Rebels’ victory over the Jaguars. <strong>Ashiana Scott – 2022 – Ridgeland-Hardeeville HS</strong> – At almost any time during the Jaguars’ game with Mid-Carolina, Scott was somehow involved with the action. She was the team’s primary point guard and would made efficient passes to her teammates. Scott would shoot 3-pointers and made a couple of them throughout the game. She can be sometimes crafty with how she gets the ball to another one of her Ridgeland/Hardeeville teammates and can disrupt an opposing team’s passing lanes with how she deflects said passes. Scott stays active even away from the ball and can get out in front of who she is guarding. Scott scored six points.