Mid America Classic : Day 1 Standouts

The 27th Annual Mid America Classic kicked off Thursday with four first round games running in my favorite way, back-to-back.  The field includes class 6A #7 Shawnee Mission Northwest as the top seed and class 4A’s #8 and #9 teams, McPherson and Clearwater respectively, as the #4 and #5 seeds.  Below is a look at some of the top players from day one.

Karter Alvord Karter Alvord 5'8" | SF McPherson | 2024 State KS , 5’8″, SF, McPherson, 2024 – Alvord’s three point shooting in the second half stemmed every Clearwater push to take the lead.  She also defended multiple positions, anticipated passes to generate turnovers, and showed a quick release on her shot.

Ella Anderson Ella Anderson 5'11" | PF Olathe South | 2024 State KS , 5’10″, PF, Olathe South, 2024 – Anderson is one to watch as she gains strength in years ahead.  She finished the game with half of the teams 8 assists and led in rebounds with 7.  She made nice buckets out of her post game with a turn around jumper and a spin move into the lane for a lay-in over the rim.

Brooke Berlin Brooke Berlin 6'1" | C Clearwater | 2022 State KS , 6’1″, C, Clearwater, 2022 – Berlin showed off her terrific size, length, quickness, athleticism, and transition speed.  She used her strength and ability to elevate to grab 10 boards.  She must get more shots than the 3 she took and improve her free throw percentage.

Chloe Clevenger Chloe Clevenger 5'6" | PG McPherson | 2023 State KS , 5’6″, PG, McPherson, 2023 – Clevenger is well known for her toughness and ability to draw a charge but what especially stood out was her playmaking in the third quarter.  Her play off the bounce kept Clearwater guessing on whether she was going to finish or dish.  She showed a nice floater off the bounce and gathered a couple of assists off her kickouts.

Maxine Doering Maxine Doering 5'8" | SG Manhattan | 2024 State KS , 5’9″, SF, Manhattan, 2024 – Despite turning the ball over seven times Doerring had a good third quarter shooting the ball, hitting jumpers from different spots just inside the three point line to help her team make a run in the middle of the quarter. She also led the team in rebounding.

Grace Bagby, 5’11″, SF/PF, Shawnee Mission South, 2023 – While Bagby did not show herself to be a scoring or perimeter threat, what she did show was quick hands; transition speed; a good build; and solid defense.

Carli Carlson Carli Carlson 5'8" | SG Clearwater | 2023 State KS , 5’8″, PG, Clearwater, 2023 – Carlson showed a good range of abilities. She was fast in transition, elevated well, and an ability to score at all three levels.  A very strong play not often seen was off a block catch she paused then quickly elevated and turned in the air over a defender to bank in the shot.  Needs to improve shooting percentage and cut down on frustration turnovers.

Saige Grampsas Saige Grampsas 5'6" | PG Shawnee Mission Northwest | 2022 State KS , 5’7″, PG, Shawnee Mission Northwest, 2022 – Grampsas showed very strong handles and an ability to create shots for herself and her teammates. She shot well, including 2/3 from behind the arc, and used her strong defensive vision to gather several steals.

Raegan Halliday Raegan Halliday 5'7" | PG Olathe South | 2022 State KS , 5’7″, PG, Olathe South, 2022 – The Olathe South backcourt was matched with a talented and earnest group from Manhattan and what cleared showed was Halliday’s command of the position. Despite not registering an assist Halliday led the team with 15 points and 5 steals.  A couple slick moves highlighted her quickness on the whirl and finishing ability with both hands.

Lauren Labertew Lauren Labertew 5'6" | CG McPherson | 2022 State KS , 5’5″, PG, McPherson, 2022 – While Labertew shot well and was in the middle of what seemed like every play on both ends, what stood out is what she has a reputation for…defense.  Labertew was a major reason for frustration from Clearwater guards.  Not just with her doggedness and quickness but her ability to read and anticipate plays to slide through traffic to close out on passes.

Avery Larson Avery Larson 5'6" | CG Manhattan | 2023 State KS , 5’7″, SG, Manhattan, 2023 – Larson handles the ball well but what caught the eye was her ability as a shooter and scorer.  The lefty can jump shoot well off the catch or the one-dribble move in the mid-range and on the perimeter. She is also a strong free throw shooter.

Ella Mackiewicz Ella Mackiewicz 5'10" | SF Shawnee Mission Northwest | 2022 State KS , .5’10″, SF, Shawnee Mission Northwest, 2022 – Mackiewicz finished with a double-double against Wichita Northwest.  Racking up 18 points she showed the ability to score in a variety of ways including beyond the arc.  Of her 10 rebounds, the half she collected on the offensive glass showed an ability to position during teammates’s shots.  A strong overall athlete, Mackiewicz played the top on presses and trapping defenses.

Joycelyn Moore Joycelyn Moore 5'5" | PG South Mission South | 2024 State KS , 5’7″, SG, Shawnee Mission South, 2024 – Moore did have some flash to her game. She used her solid build to good effect to finish with contact after beating a defender off the bounce and showed good control on transition finishes with either hand.

Bella Rader, 5’5″, CG, Marysville, 2024 – Rader showed solid handles and nice athleticism off the bounce. She was also quick with her left on her perimeter release.

Nascent Robinson, 5’5″, CG, Wichita Northwest, 2024 – Robinson showed three point range and an ability to jump passing lanes.

Madison Ronnebaum Madison Ronnebaum 6'0" | PF Marysville | 2022 State KS , 6’0″, C, Marysville, 2022 – Ronnebaum commanded a great deal of attention from Shawnee Mission South and was held to a single basket.  She showed good hands, quick hops, terrific length, and solid north-south speed. Her lone basket showed off several of her abilities in the sequence – her hands, quickness on the drive, ability to score versus contact, and finishing with her left well using the glass.

Chesny Serrioz-McKinney, 5’7″, CG, Shawnee Mission Northwest, 2023 – Serrioz-McKinney had good speed with the ball and showed an ability to finish the challenged shot. She also showed off good lateral quicks and vision to jump passing lanes.

Camryn Smith Camryn Smith 5'8" | CG Shawnee Mission South | 2024 State KS , 5’9″, PG, Shawnee Mission South, 2024 – Smith opened the game with 9 of her total 23 points in the first quarter, knocking down both of her free throws; hitting a three; and shooting 50%. She also collected a pair of steals. Her play was very fluid and workman like.  While she needed to control her speed on transition finishes a bit she showed strong ability to finish with either hand, split defenders, and elevate on shots and rebounds.

Elizabeth Tjaden Elizabeth Tjaden 5'9" | SG Clearwater | 2024 State KS , 5’10″, PG/SG, Clearwater, 2024 – Tjaden has a solid build and terrific handles.  Really liked a behind the back dribble to beat a defender down the late to create a soft floater.  Has near parking lot range on her three ball. She also showed quick elevation and release off offensive rebounds.

Elizabeth Webb Elizabeth Webb 5'11" | PF Olathe South | 2022 State KS , 6’0″, PF, Olathe South, 2022 – Despite some foul trouble Webb showed off the breadth of her abilities.  The only player on the floor who could match up with Manhattan center Grace Dixon Grace Dixon 6'0" | PF Manhattan | 2022 State KS , Webb showed strong rebounding ability; athleticism on rebounds and shots; solid transition speed; hops; and a soft touch on passes to backdoor cutters.

Aundre’a Wilson, 5’5, PG, Wichita Northwest, 2022 – Wilson showed three point range as well as quickness and athleticism with the ball

Destiny Yates Destiny Yates 5'5" | PG Manhattan | 2023 State KS , 5’4″, PG, Manhattan, 2023 – Yates showed off strong handles but she also showed the ability to slip through a double-team to create a shot or get a quality pass out.

Featured image: McPherson 2023 Chloe Clevenger Chloe Clevenger 5'6" | PG McPherson | 2023 State KS slashes through the Clearwater defense to kick out. Photo: Robert Kelly.