Two Top Teams Go Head to Head

Two of the top teams in North Carolin squared off on Friday night. Winston Salem Christian National ultimately defeated Cannon, but this matchup was too good not to discuss. These athletes are certainly going to be playing at the next level. For Winston Salem Christian National: <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Taylor-Henderson-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907268.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-351693 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Taylor-Henderson-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907268-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="337614" first="Taylor" last="Henderson"] (2022) came right out knocking down a big three pointer starting her team off on the right foot. On back to back possessions, she took a rebound coast to coast scoring a layup even through contact. She was excellent sneaking behind her defenders for the backdoor cut scoring two points. She finished with 13 points. She will be continuing her basketball career at UNC-Wilmington. Dominika Paurova (pictured above, 2023) was a rebounding machine. On offense, she had some nice fakes with her back to the basket driving around her opponents. She makes nice moves and uses her long strides to get around her defenders on her way to the basket for some points. Besides driving, she has a nice midrange jumper that she showed off against Cannon. She finished with 21 points. [player_tooltip player_id="261170" first="Hailey" last="Blackwell"] (2022) seemed to put on a dribbling clinic taking her defender with her and showing patience when making her move towards the basket. She did a great job anticipating passes on defense knocking the ball away from her opponents. She showed off her deep threat shooting the ball, too. She made remarkable passes to her teammates cutting backdoor. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Destinee-Barnes-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907359.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-351695 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Destinee-Barnes-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907359-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>Destinee Barnes (2023) did a great job getting her defender away from her to show off her jump shot. She didn’t hesitate to drive the ball against tough contact. She was exceptional being patient for the right time to blow by her opponent getting to the basket. Her three point shots in the fourth quarter seemed to put the dagger in the game sealing the victory for Winston Salem Christian. She finished with 13 points. Seyna Diggs (2023) was a tall presence inside, and she executed pick and roll plays perfectly constantly getting the roll pass to score her own points. She rebounded the ball well even on the offensive side of the court putting it right back up for more points. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Aysia-Hinton-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907418.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-351698 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Aysia-Hinton-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907418-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>Aysia Hinton (2023) came out hot in the second half knocking down a three pointer, and her scoring didn’t stop there. She was great with backdoor cuts losing her defender with her speed and timing of her cuts. She finished with 11 points.     Now, for Cannon:<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Samyha-Suffren-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907482.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-351701 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Samyha-Suffren-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907482-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="116906" first="Samyha" last="Suffren"] (2023) has exceptional vision of the court directing her teammates to move where they can be an asset, and she handles the ball with speed taking care of each possession. Her speed makes it easy for her to jump into passing lanes. These steals frequently turn into two points as she pushes it up the court scoring in transition. Her three point shooting is excellent make her a threat all over the court. Even after diving on the floor for a loose ball she somehow finds a teammate for a three pointer. She finished with 13 points. [player_tooltip player_id="327173" first="Jamyrah" last="Cherry"] (2024) had some nice moves with the ball faking her opponents out to get them off their feet. She did a great job driving around them and showed her vision of the court pulling up for the jump shot or taking it all the way to the hoop. She can certainly shoot from deep, too. She closes out quickly on her opponents being able to block shots. She followed shots well to grab rebounds. She finished with 10 points. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Lili-Booker-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907541.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-351703 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/Lili-Booker-scaled-crop-1921x1261-1636907541-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="275952" first="Lili" last="Booker"] (2024) is so fast with the ball. She easily gets lost by her defenders scoring before they realize she’s under the basket. She is certainly increasing her already high three point shooting percentage. Her ability to grab a steal and break away from an opponent is unstoppable finding her way to the basket quickly. She finished with 12 points. [player_tooltip player_id="252865" first="Maya" last="McCorkle"] (2024) was knocking down shots from deep. Her ability to drive off of an offensive rebound allowed her to make some old fashioned three point plays. She was excellent handling the ball sneaking passes into her teammates cutting to the basket. [player_tooltip player_id="297203" first="Ashley" last="Fowler"] (2023) and [player_tooltip player_id="219896" first="Olivia" last="York"] (2022) continue to have a hot shooting streaks. Their shots were silencing for the Winston Salem Christian crowd as they made sure the game wasn’t about to get away from them. Khloe Thompson (2024) battled through contact making some old fashioned three point plays. This young athlete was even helping her teammates with defenses letting them know what cuts to watch for on in bounds plays.