Lady Devils Invitational: Championship Day Standouts
Last week, I caught the third and final day of the 45th Annual Lady Devils Invitational hosted at Chaffee. The tournament was won unsurprisingly by Class 2 No. 10 ranked Oran for the seventh season in a row. Oran did…
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Continue ReadingLast week, I caught the third and final day of the 45th Annual Lady Devils Invitational hosted at Chaffee. The tournament was won unsurprisingly by Class 2 No. 10 ranked Oran for the seventh season in a row. Oran did so with a dominant second-half performance against Scott City to win the championship game 65-34. In the third-place game, Meadow Heights overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Kelly 44-33. Lastly, Woodland took home the consolation title with a 45-44 win over Chaffee.
Tournament MVP – 2023 5’11” SF Haley Webb Haley Webb 5'11" | SF Oran | 2023 State MO , Oran: Incredibly diverse scorer. Nice 3-point range with a beautiful drive and finish to the rim. Coast-to-coast threat. Top-notch defender with great length to get her hand on the ball. Reads passes incredibly well. Natural glass cleaner. Facilitates and pushes well.
2022 6’0″ SF Hope Woodfin Hope Woodfin 6'0" | SF Oran | 2022 State MO , Oran: Proved to be dangerous from beyond the arc as she hit four 3-pointers in the first half of the championship game alone. Nice moves like the crossover for easy trips down the lane. Incredible use of length for multiple deflections. Delivers nice dishes to the paint.
2022 5’7″ PG Chloe Goodwin Chloe Goodwin 5'7" | PG Woodland | 2022 State MO , Woodland: Runs the show with absolute poise and outstanding court vision. Fluid passes who is an excellent decision maker. Has a knack for faking out defenders, whether it’s a shot or pass fake to create. Can pull-up in a heartbeat. Aggressive on-the-ball defender and picks off passes.
2024 5’4″ CG Katelyn Dannenmueller, Kelly: Flies around to make play after play. Incredible defender as she smothers ball carriers and covers tons of ground. Jets past defenders off one move for easy trips down the lane. Great fake to hit jumpers or dish the ball. Smooth shooter from beyond the arc and in the perimeter.
2022 5’6″ SG Kacie Daigger Kacie Daigger 5'6" | SG Scott City | 2022 State MO , Scott City: Defenders have to start guarding her whenever she passes midcourt due to her head-turning range from deep. On top of that, she has a nice drive to the lane and a smooth floater to be an efficient scorer. Facilitates the ball nicely inside as well as kicking out.
2022 5’6″ SG Ashley Gruenke Ashley Gruenke 5'6" | SG Meadow Heights | 2022 State MO , Meadow Heights: Three-level scorer with a clean jump shot and an array of moves to attack the basket. Has a great use of her pivot foot not only for easy lay-ins but to also get off jumpers. Battles for boards, especially on the offensive end for putbacks. Pushes the ball well.
2023 5’5″ CG Ashley Allen Ashley Allen 5'5" | CG Meadow Heights | 2023 State MO , Meadow Heights: Lethal offensive threat who came up big in the second half for a comeback victory. Quick to hit a pull-up jumper and drive to the basket off a great crossover. Gets after it on defense for deflections and steals. Nice court vision. High motor to come up with boards.
2024 5’6″ CG Ayne Held, Chaffee: One of the better all-around talents in the tournament. Comes up with easy buckets off fast-break scores from steals as she’s always swiping for the ball. Knack for swishing 3-pointers from the top of the key or either corner. Slasher who forces a lot of fouls. Crafty with the ball.