Riptide Pre-Season Tournament: 2023

The Lowcountry is an area that is teeming in girls' basketball talent – and a great deal of that talent was on full display this past weekend at Charleston Charter for Math &amp; Science. It was the site of the Riptide Pre-Season Tournament, which featured both girls and boy's brackets. On the girl's side, eight teams from the Lowcountry converged on the home of the Riptide for what was a thrilling weekend of basketball. Prep Girls Hoops made it out to Charleston Charter for Math &amp; Science on Sunday to take in all the action that got more competitive as it got into the later games. Here is a look at how the junior class fared this past weekend. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355917" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/156D66D6-6027-4EB4-A995-83FE10804DC6-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171795" first="Kaelin" last="Davis"] – Military Magnet Academy</strong> – The top ranked 1A squad in SCBCA’s preseason top 10 rankings, coach Nathaniel Taylor’s Eagles showed exactly why this past weekend. Davis was in the Eagles’ starting five and managed to stay out of foul trouble as she has only one personal called against her in what was a very fast-paced get-together between the Eagles and the Warriors of Wando. She showcased her midrange jump shot, setting up the halfcourt offense, shooting free throws as well as a willingness to get out in transition and attempt to shoot the 3. Davis led all Eagles scorers with eight points. <strong>Jataya Brown – Military Magnet Academy</strong> – Half of Military Magnet’s roster is comprised of juniors, which gives what has been a battle-tested Eagles bunch a noteworthy edge over its 1A foes. Brown adds an element of hustle to the Eagles as she does many of the little things that have a big impact but does not always show up on the stat sheet. What did show up on the stat sheet were the six points that she had – and both of her baskets coming by way of draining 3-pointers. Brown also steered clear of the referee’s whistle as she was only called for one personal throughout the duration of the game with Wando. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124112" first="Rykia" last="Jakes"]  – Military Magnet Academy</strong> – She wears No. 1 on the court for the Eagles and is No. 1 in the hearts and minds of many who eat, drink, sleep and breathe Military Magnet hoops. Jakes, similar to Brown, finished with six points in the game with the Warriors and both of her baskets also came via the 3-pointer. Jakes drained a pair of downtown and both of her long distance makes came in the second quarter. Not to mention she gave Military Magnet offensive production from deep coming off the bench in addition to getting a fair amount of playing time. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355918" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/E76A5233-6004-4138-8A45-E38E2E963F83-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171797" first="Asa" last="Snyder"] – Porter-Gaud HS</strong> – The Cyclones were in control from the opening tip-off to when the clock read triple zeroes in its game against host school Charleston Math &amp; Science and Snyder, per usual, was an important piece in a winning puzzle. Snyder works well in tandem with the rest of her team. Snyder can hit the 3-pointer and will provide a good bit of defensive help. Snyder can corral offensive rebounds and turn those boards into putbacks in addition to showcasing her prowess as a midrange jump shooter. Snyder led all scorers in the game with the Riptide with an 18-point performance. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="185226" first="Alaina" last="Nettles"] – Cane Bay HS</strong> – The Cobras’ third-place matchup against last season’s 3A runner-up Bishop England proved to be one of the more enthralling contests of the whole weekend. Nettles is versatile and she can provide minutes at either the one or two as a guard or at the three or four as a forward. She takes good care of the ball and that comes in handy when setting up to attempt shots from downtown. Nettles can run the floor quickly in transition, collect a good number of rebounds and slice and dice her way through a sea of opposing defenders. She can deflect passes and go the other way with the rock while finishing strong at the rim. Nettles will find her way to the line and can rip a ball from an opposing ball carrier’s hand. She finished with 20 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="175349" first="Esmeralda" last="Hernandez"]-Gil  – Charleston Math &amp; Science</strong> – When the math adds up for basketball at Charleston Charter for Math &amp; Science, the equation usually results in Hernandez-Gil being the correct answer. She absorbs her fair share of contact and will go to the free throw line. Hustle is another element to her game as she has no issues diving after loose balls. Hernandez-Gil can assist on double-teams on defense, will set up the Riptide’s halfcourt offense and can give a team rebounding. She can get somewhat creative at times with how she finishes at the rack and does not give up on any play. Hernandez-Gil had 13 points to lead all Riptide scorers. <strong>Kate Gieg  – Academic Magnet Academy</strong> – Depth is one of a coach’s favorite words and Gieg provided plenty of it off the bench in the Raptors’ victory over Charleston Collegiate. She scored a bank shot from 3-point land for the first Academic Magnet points of the contest and followed up throughout by continuing to score and score and score – whether from two-point range, 3-point range or at the free throw line. Gieg received a good bit of playing time and scored in every quarter outside of the second. She finished the game against the Sundevils with 15 points to lead all Raptors point-getters.