Skyhawk Holiday Classic: 2022

Several end-of-calendar year tournaments are occurring across South Carolina – and the country for that matter. One of those was in Columbia on the campus of Hammond School, southeast of downtown. Schedule changes or no schedule changes, Prep Girls Hoops still made it to Hammond School for Tuesday’s portion of the multi-day festivities. Apparently – so did many of the state’s standout seniors. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-371056" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/02BFC62A-5CC7-4DE1-BEDE-8B029B3C8BC8.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="371053" first="Kaiya" last="Wright"] – 2022 – Midland Valley HS</strong> – Wright had plenty of the right stuff on Monday for the Mustangs. She had at least one made basket in every quarter of her team’s game with Wilson. She blocked shots and she absorbed a lot of contact which put her at the free throw line on several occasions. Wright, who is listed at a tall 5-foot-11, made plenty of plays near the rim, set screens and called for the ball on offense. She also hauled in plenty of rebounds. Wright scored 21 points which led all scorers in the Mustangs’ 42-37 victory over the Tigers. <strong>Taleyah Dunbar – 2022 – Midland Valley HS</strong> – When head coach Zakeya Goldsberry looks at the reasons why the Mustangs won its Monday afternoon game against Wilson to open the second day of the Skyhawk Holiday Classic, she can look at her team’s interior play. That frontcourt was anchored by Wright as well as Dunbar. She set the tone for the Mustangs by scoring the first two Midland Valley points – fittingly in the low post. Dunbar helped on double teams, grabbed rebounds and drew contact to put her at the free throw line. She also, at least on one occasion, pried the ball away from a Wilson ball carrier in addition to blocking shots. Dunbar finished with 12 points in the Mustangs’ win. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-370528" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/5460F66B-B15E-4928-ADFF-2393B88AE8D2.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124096" first="Tyra" last="Myers"] – 2022 – Hammond School</strong> – Some things will change when Myers embraces her New York state of mind at St. Francis-Brooklyn. One will not – its team colors are the same as Hammond’s – red, white and blue. Myers is the Skyhawks’ primary point guard and showcases her speed and quickness on both offense and defense. Myers stays active even when the ball is not in her hands, including staying active with her hands as a lockdown defender. She can score from anywhere on the court while also throwing defenders off guard with how well she can pass. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="124093" first="Anala" last="Nelson"] – 2022 - Lower Richland HS</strong> – The Austin Peay commit came to play. The Diamond Hornets played a hard-fought contest against Legacy Early College – one that resulted in a come-from-behind 39-35 victory for Lower Richland. It appeared that Nelson was spending much of her time at the free throw line. She scored 19 points to lead the Diamond Hornets to the win, but only had six points from the field. Nelson attempted 18 free throws – and was true on 13 of those tries from the charity stripe. Rebounding, defense, ball distribution, speed and heart are among what she has brought to the Diamond Hornets and what she will bring to the Governors at the Division I college level. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-370520" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/88CF871F-816D-4E04-9866-65F45D401025.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137233" first="Savannah" last="Brooks"] – 2022 – Legacy Early College</strong> -South Carolina basketball fans are now getting to know Brooks as she is a transfer from Springdale Prep in Maryland. Brooks scored seven points – as did four of her other Lions teammates in their game with Lower Richland, but it was what she did outside of the stat sheet that caught attention. Brooks managed to be active from the ball and managed to find her way to the rim at the right time so she could receive passes from teammates in the open floor. She also made plenty of defensive plays – including blocked shots. Brooks also managed to move the ball well.