2022 New Years Classic Day Two Junior and Senior Standouts

2022 New Years Classic Day Two Junior and Senior Standouts By Michael Wholey 1/17/21 11:00 AM EST The 2022 New Year’s Classic was held in Miami last week at SLAM! Academy and had a loaded filed in the two-day event. Youth was a common theme in these years New Year’s Classic. And in watching this year’s event, it is obvious that the classes of 2024 and 2025 are very talented in the South Florida region. We take a look at the Junior and Senior stand outs in day two.   FINAL SCORES - Saturday January 8, 2022 Batavia HS (37) Miami Country Day (64) Lourdes Academy (38) Somerset Silver Palms (45) King’s Academy (42) St. Thomas Aquinas (55) SLAM! (52) Western (51) Nova HS (32) Doral Academy (58)   HIGH SCORERS - Saturday January 8, 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="217667" first="Kayla" last="Nelms"] (Miami Country Day) - 20 points [player_tooltip player_id="243926" first="Jordan" last="Race"] (King’s Academy) – 19 points [player_tooltip player_id="91642" first="Kristina" last="Godfrey"] (Miami Country Day) - 16 points [player_tooltip player_id="221639" first="Gianna" last="Robles"] (Doral Academy) – 16 points Luciana Picasso (Lourdes Academy) - 15 points [player_tooltip player_id="217665" first="Sofia" last="Mendez"] (Miami Country Day) - 15 points [player_tooltip player_id="151282" first="Alancia" last="Ramsey"] (St. Thomas Aquinas) – 14 points Alexia Sanchez (Doral Academy) – 13 points [player_tooltip player_id="91641" first="Karina" last="Gordon"] (St. Thomas Aquinas) - 13 points Brooke Carlson (Batavia - IL) - 13 points [player_tooltip player_id="243928" first="Madisyn" last="McLeod"] (Nova HS) – 10 points [player_tooltip player_id="153108" first="Taja" last="Stephens"] (Western HS) – 11 points [player_tooltip player_id="314842" first="Samantha" last="Bautista"] (SLAM! Academy) – 11 points [player_tooltip player_id="248693" first="Riley" last="Stoker"] (Western HS) – 10 points [player_tooltip player_id="331736" first="Karla" last="Quintero"] (SLAM! Academy) – 10 points Ji’Myah Branton (SLAM! Academy) – 10 points   CLASS OF 2022 <img class=" wp-image-376527 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/66-DSC08100-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="157" height="236" />[player_tooltip player_id="331736" first="Karla" last="Quintero"] (SLAM! Academy) – 6’1 Forward Quintero gives SLAM! an inside presence inside. She is a deceptively athletic and shifty forward who does a good job making her presence known in the paint, controlling the defensive boards, and putting the ball to the floor off back to the basket catches. The 6’1 Forward dropped 10 points, giving SLAM! three players in double digits. In the end, they needed every single basket as they squeaked out a 1-point victory over Western, 52-51 in the game of the night and a win for the host team!     <img class="size-medium wp-image-376530 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/191-DSC08284-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />[player_tooltip player_id="153108" first="Taja" last="Stephens"] (Western HS) – 5’8 Guard Stephens has been a consistent performer for Western all season and remains one of the top unsigned seniors in the state. Stephens scored 11 points for Western in a back-and-forth battle vs SLAM! Stephens has shown she has a strong offensive skillset, a selfless attitude on the court, and a willingness to lead her team by example. Her well rounded offensive game combined with her height and strong build, continue to bring college coaches to the sidelines to check out Taja.     CLASS OF 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="243926" first="Jordan" last="Race"] (King’s Academy) – 5’11 Wing King’s Academy has been using a balanced scoring attack to lead them to a 15-5 record this season. In a tough battle vs one of the state’s top teams (St. Thomas Aquinas), Kings fell 55-42 but Race did all she could to keep her squad in the game knocking down 5/6 from 3 on the way to 19 points. On the season she is the team’s 3rd leading scorer at 8.9 PPG and has excellent 3-point range and is dangerous when she gets hot from outside like she did on Saturday. At 5’11, she is a skilled offensive guard, with 3-point range, and a high basketball IQ. King’s has scheduled hard this season and has a chance to make a run towards the state playoffs and an appearance in Lakeland for 3A, and Race will be a big part of how far they can go! [player_tooltip player_id="91642" first="Kristina" last="Godfrey"] (Miami Country Day) – 5’9 Guard Godfrey dropped 16 points in MCDS win over Batavia, doing a good job balancing running her team’s offense, distributing the ball to players in scoring position and finding opportunities to score herself. When she knocks down 3s early, it opens her game up as opposing defenses must close her out and give Godfrey an opportunity to shot fake and attack off the dribble. She finished the ball well at the rim and shot a high percentage from the field. <img class=" wp-image-376532 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/237-DSC08355-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="188" height="282" />   [player_tooltip player_id="243928" first="Madisyn" last="McLeod"] (Nova HS) Nova had a tough matchup vs Doral in the final game of the night and McLeod was the team’s lone double-digit scorer. She is a 3-point threat and uses her strong build to take contact at the rim when she attacks off the dribble and get to the free throw line. Nova needs her to score 15-20 points to give them an opportunity to win and she is very capable of doing that on any given night due to her ability knock down the open 3 and put it to the floor.     [player_tooltip player_id="151282" first="Alancia" last="Ramsey"] (St. Thomas Aquinas) – 6’1 Forward Anytime St. Thomas Aquinas is on an event schedule, I get excited because I get a chance to see [player_tooltip player_id="151282" first="Alancia" last="Ramsey"] play. The 6’1 Forward plays hard and passionate. She loves to mix it up down low and competes on every play. She is a monster offensive rebounder because she consistently goes to the glass, pursues balls, and is strong, athletic and plays physical. She scored 14 points and controlled the paint on both ends of the floor when she was in the game. Alexia Sanchez (Doral Academy) – 5’6 Guard Sanchez was solid all weekend, scoring in double digits both games. Sanchez followed up her 13 points on day 1 with another 13 points, displaying her ability to be a consistent and reliable scorer. She does a really good job attacking the paint and getting to the rim off the dribble and gets to the free throw line 5+ times per game. <img class=" wp-image-376531 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/65-DSC08098-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="168" height="253" />   [player_tooltip player_id="91641" first="Karina" last="Gordon"] (St. Thomas Aquinas) – 5’8 Guard Gordon is a skilled, athletic guard that can shoot the 3 and thrives in an up-tempo pace. And as talented of an offensive player as she is, her man-to-man defense really stood out in day 2 of the New Year’s Classic as she used her length and athleticism to pressure the ball and wreak havoc on - 13 points     Michael Wholey is the lead scout for Florida Prep Girls Hoop Florida and a former division one Assistant Coach at American University, University of Memphis, and Georgia Tech. Wholey and the rest of the Prep Girls Hoop staff, seek to cover the entire state of player, keeping subscribers up to date with player evaluations, recruiting info, and statewide news. Our audience often supplies us with some of our best information. If you have any information on players, teams, or statewide news in the state of Florida, emailing Michael Wholey at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or DM him through Twitter or Instagram @WholeyPrepHoops.