Pingree v. Brooks: Mair Jordan

Bash Hudson

December 5, 2021 @ 07:27 AM

Saturday afternoon, I watched the Brooks School season-opener vs. Pingree. Brooks won the contest 90-30, led by the dynamic duo of [player_tooltip player_id="263799" first="Samantha" last="Dewey"] and [player_tooltip player_id="263832" first="Taina" last="Mair"]. Below are the standouts from the game.   Players of the Game: [player_tooltip player_id="263832" first="Taina" last="Mair"] - Brooks - 5’8’’ - PG - ’22 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-360546" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/B0D1ADF4-7B88-4C68-BA27-E070D731E927-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1638710465-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="263799" first="Samantha" last="Dewey"] - Brooks - 6’2’’ - PF - ’22 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-360543" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/09/IMG_9223-scaled-crop-1660x1090-1638710347-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> After about 20 months without high school basketball, it was great to see Dewey and Mair on the floor together, donning the Brooks uniforms again. With Dewey contributing a game-high 32 points and Mair pouring in 27, the power 5 prospects gave a glimpse of what’s to come this winter. It wasn’t the raw numbers that impressed me, but it was more about how both players look on the floor. For instance, Dewey had a massive size advantage down low and could get an easy layup after layup but would sometimes catch the ball on the wing and break down her defender. Her perimeter game and shooting will be crucial at the next level; so seeing her comfortably knocking down outside shots off the dribble is scary for the rest of the NEPSAC.   Mair is one of the most special talents I have seen. Some of the shots she creates and makes are nothing short of spectacular. She has the shooting range, the dribble step-back jumper, and the mid-range pull-up. Mair finishes everything at the rim with either hand, and court vision and touch on her passes are spot-on. After watching how both these top prospects dominate Saturday, Brooks is a tough out this season.   Brooks Standouts: [player_tooltip player_id="266795" first="Kendall" last="Eddy"] - 5’8’’ - CG - ’23 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-360547" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/09/IMG_9226-1-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1638710552-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> One of the flashiest scorers in the ’23 class, Eddy kicked off the season with 12 points. She is the x-factor for Brooks because of her ability to dominate the scoring column at all three levels which takes the scoring pressure off of [player_tooltip player_id="263832" first="Taina" last="Mair"] and [player_tooltip player_id="263799" first="Samantha" last="Dewey"]. I thought Eddy played aggressive defense and made her presence felt when guarding the perimeter. She had a handful of deflections and was very active in the passing lanes.   [player_tooltip player_id="267149" first="Maeve" last="Gaffney"] - 5’10 - SF - ’23 I had not seen much of Gaffney until Saturday, and I really like her game. She strikes me as a scrappy three and D wing who can space the floor for Brooks’ Big 3 and defend multiple positions. She hustles, gives max effort, and traps hard when Brooks goes to their full-court press. Gaffney is an excellent glue piece and role player in the starting 5.   Pingree Standout: [player_tooltip player_id="360549" first="Lexi" last="Garcia"] - 5’5’’ - PG - ’22 Garcia’s slashing stood out because she was one of the few Pingree players to successfully penetrate the aggressive Brooks defense. Brooks overwhelms you with their length, size, and speed; Garcia was excellent at knifing into the paint and drew a lot of fouls. All of her team-high 7 points were from the free-throw line, and it was encouraging to see Garica continue attacking the basket no matter who stood in front of her.