Battle at the Border: Top Performances Part 2

In one of the most scenic areas in South Carolina, the scene this week for many of the areas top players and teams was Landrum HS. The 22^nd annual Battle at the Border took place in the final week of 2021 – and the tournament welcomed a good number of teams from both girls and boys basketball. Upstate South Carolina made the lion’s share of the participants with one team, Asheville, making the trip from the Tar Heel State. Prep Girls Hoops was on site at Landrum to take in Wednesday’s games. Here is a glance at even more young talents who were at the peak of their games in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="371541" first="Ansley" last="King"] – 2022 – Boiling Springs HS</strong> – Last name King, a queen of the court. For much of the Bulldogs’ game with host school Landrum, it appeared that the Cardinals would run away with the victory. King made clutch plays and had many a crucial basket that kept Boiling Springs in the game from start to finish. She brought down rebounds and can go directly at the rim when attacking the basket. King is a confident talent who will either look to score or pass the ball when going at defenders. She will absorb contact, go to the free throw line and make her shots from the line. King led the Bulldogs with 15 points – including making all six of her free throws. <strong>Kaylee Cortez – 2024 – Landrum HS</strong> – Cortez made sure the Cardinals faithful that was in attendance had smiles on their faces after Landrum took care of its home court on Wednesday against Boiling Springs by a final score of 43-30. She scored the first basket to get Landrum on the scoreboard, setting the tone for the Cardinals efforts. In addition to how well she can score, Cortez is an unselfish player and will find passing lanes to dish the rock to her teammates. She finished with 14 points and had one made basket in every quarter. Cortez has also played volleyball while at Landrum. <strong>Hannah Halt – 2024 – Riverside HS</strong> – The Warriors’ standout sophomore can bring many an opponent’s hopes of victory to a screeching halt. In back-and-forth games like Riverside’s 64-53 victory over Gaffney, the fourth quarter is what determines who wins and loses. Halt scored 11 points, but seven of those occurred in the closing stanza – including making a pair of free throws. She also managed to stay out of foul trouble as she only had one personal called against her in a game where plenty of whistles were heard. Halt is also a threat to steal the ball and can bury the 3-pointer. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="352420" first="Tinique" last="Austin"] – 2022 – Clinton HS</strong> – Austin has been awesome throughout her high school career. She has particularly been a force to be reckoned with as a 5-foot-9 forward who can bolster a team’s rebounding efforts. Austin can look to convert on high-percentage shots and her rebounding efforts also include looking to crash the boards in case of an opponent’s free throw miss. She will come through by doing the little things as she will hustle for 50-50 balls. Austin concluded the Red Devils’ game with Asheville (NC) with an 11-point effort and was not called for any personal fouls even though she was in the starting lineup. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-371546" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/42642B84-AA14-4E33-AAF9-5508F8953ECC.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171757" first="Kaycee" last="Smith"] – 2022 – Spartanburg Christian Academy</strong> –  At 6-foot-1, Smith is hard to guard against with the height advantage she can present against many a defender. Smith connected on midrange jumpers and hauled in rebounds. She drew contact and found her way to the free throw line where she made three of her four freebies. Smith will find a way to the rim, can direct traffic on offense and utilizes her wingspan as a defender. Interior defense is another strong point of her game. Smith had 11 points in the Warriors’ game against Chapman. &nbsp;