Holiday Tournaments Roundup: Top Playmakers

<strong>Holiday Tournaments Roundup: Top Playmakers</strong> <strong>2023 5-11 PG [player_tooltip player_id="154585" first="Elle" last="Blatchford"] – Sequoyah</strong> The high IQ guard tallied 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 1 block in a loss to Hebron Christian. Blatchford is textbook with her footwork, always taking her time before attacking the correct angles. She changes speeds well and finishes off two feet. Her length gives her great value defensively. She anticipates passes and can bother smaller guards with how much ground she covers. Her height also helps her offensively, able to hit contested jumpers over the defense. <strong>2025 5-10 PG [player_tooltip player_id="248416" first="Aubrey" last="Beckham"] – Hebron Christian</strong> The move-in from Florida has kept Hebron Christian among the top programs in Class A-Private. Beckham has a polished game. She doesn’t get rushed offensively and seems to be involved in every play defensively. Downhill she’s smooth to the basket, able to go coast-to-coast excelling at drawing fouls. She has a quick spin to free herself when getting to the rim and can either finish or find the open man in the blink of an eye. Beckham finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. She has all the makings of a future High Major player. <strong>2022 5-7 PG [player_tooltip player_id="195844" first="Alisha" last="Foster"] – Harrison</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="195844" first="Alisha" last="Foster"] had a nice two-day stint, posting 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks vs. Newton before adding 6 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block vs. East Coweta. Foster plays with a good motor. She’s a well-rounded offensive threat that scores most of her points inside the arc as a slasher or mid-range shooter. With the rest of her team bombing away from three, Foster has lanes to drive and kick or get all the way to the rim. Her nose for the ball as a rebounder puts her in a position to clear the glass and start her own fastbreaks. She should be on D-III radars. <strong>2022 5-6 PG [player_tooltip player_id="118147" first="Ashleigh" last="Norris"] – Newton</strong> Fresh off an ACL tear, it was great seeing Norris back on the floor. While it will take some time to clear the mental hurdles of trusting her knee, Ashleigh entered in the fourth quarter against Harrison and immediately caused problems with her creative ball handling. Still as shifty as ever, Norris cuts through the teeth of the defense as she finishes off two feet inside. Ashleigh broke down the defense and created for others in her short time on the floor tacking on 7 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in one quarter of action. Norris is a D-I level playmaker. <strong>2022 5-6 PG [player_tooltip player_id="196486" first="Chloe" last="Sterling"] – Marietta</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="196486" first="Chloe" last="Sterling"], a recent James Madison-commit, can take over games in a hurry with her outside shooting. Her shot was off vs. Douglas County, but she still had all eyes on her while the Tigers tried to slow her down. She had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal. Sterling’s smooth handle and southpaw scoring prowess make her one of the most dangerous players in Georgia. <strong>2025 5-8 PG [player_tooltip player_id="285197" first="Hailee" last="Swain"] – Holy Innocents’</strong> The crafty blue-chip lefty is smooth. She switches gears and can turn corners to get downhill for floaters that she scores with both hands. She hits timely shots from the perimeter and limits turnovers. Swain is an active on-ball defender that turns turnovers into transition points, weaving in and out of traffic. She had 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 steals in a win over Grayson. <strong>2025 5-6 PG [player_tooltip player_id="302914" first="Tatum" last="Brown"] – Grayson</strong> Brown cranked it up in the fourth quarter. She forced a few shots early in the game, getting too deep into the paint, but in crunch time she found the range on her floater and was great at driving and kicking to open shooters in the corner. Brown plays with a stoic demeanor. I would have liked to see her pick up the tempo during Grayson’s comeback as the clock was against them, but Tatum plays at her own pace and doesn’t get rattled. She finished with 16 points, 1 rebound, 4 assist and 2 steals.