DMV Teams at the Capital Invitational Showcase

<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>DMV Teams at the Capital Invitational Showcase</strong></span> Five games with five local teams match up against some of the top teams in the country.  Riverdale Baptist School, Bishop McNamara, St. John’s College, Sidwell Friends and Paul VI all got some bump against teams from every part of the country at the Capital Invitational.  We didn’t get the desired 5-0 outcome but we did have players that showed that they are amongst the best of the best. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25461" first="Kiki" last="Rice"] - 5’11" - Combo Guard - Sidwell Friends - 2022</strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-357227" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/DSC_0524-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /> The Quakers matched up against Christ the King (NY) who pressured the ball the entire game.  KiKi had help from sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="238825" first="Leah" last="Harmon"] to deal with the pressure as the two shared the load at the point.  In the first half Rice either scored or assisted on every Quaker basket as they took a 28-18 lead at the break.  Rice had 11 of her points in the first half with three 3-pointers as they routed the Royals 67-40 to remain undefeted.  Of note she followed up the performance with a 17 point. 13 rebound double-double in an 18 point victory over top ranked DeSoto. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="142828" first="Qadence" last="Samuels"] - 6’1" - Wing - Bishop McNamara - 2024</strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355437" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/DSC_0541-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /> The Mustangs faced the nation’s top ranked team acording to ESPN in DeSoto.  Coach Oliver had been looking forward to this game every since it was scheeduled.  Qadence wasn’t intimidated by rankings as she opened her scoring up with her customary three pointer that she has every game and she was active inside and on the boards.  She continued to make plays even as the score got out of hand. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137208" first="Gia" last="Cooke"] - 5’9" - Combo Guard - Bishop McNamara - 2022</strong> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/DSC_0624-scaled-crop-2049x1345-1639454107.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-364483" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/DSC_0624-scaled-crop-2049x1345-1639454107-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Gia kept the pressure and tempo up attacking in transition after securing the boards.  She is excellent driving full speed then slowing down to get her touch as she flips up her floater.  The Musangs had no answer to the size of DeSoto inside and they missed too many attempts in the lane but, Cooke didn’t shy away from attacking their bigs in an attempt to draw fouls against them. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="238825" first="Leah" last="Harmon"] - 5’8" - Guard - Sidwell Friends - 2024</strong> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/DSC_0518-scaled-crop-2049x1345-1639453887.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-364480" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/DSC_0518-scaled-crop-2049x1345-1639453887-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Harmon opened Sidwell’s scoring with a three and was able to get open frequently dispite the smothering defense the Royals through at them.  She had the most shot attempts in that game, she is usually very accurate but the shots weren’t dropping early.  Her ball skills are better than I previously thought as she ran the majority of the point in this game and not off the ball where I had been used to seeing her. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="142824" first="Jadyn" last="Donovan"] - 6’2" - Wing - Sidwell Friends - 2023</strong> There were about three or four plays that I saw Donovan make and I was like, "how did she do that".  She is freakishly athletic and stays under control.  She has a lot of next level pro moves that she fits into her game that look natural when she executes them.  She got stronger as the game progressed.