Phenom Lady Rumble: Saturday’s 2022-23 Top Performers

Have basketball, North Carolina will watch. The continuously competitive grassroots circuit is no exception to that rule, meaning many a basketball onlooker in the state, particularly in the Charlotte area, was looking to its calendars to see what the next AAU event was. Among those events was the first-ever Phenom Lady Rumble at Carolina Courts in Concord. The Cabarrus County hoops venue has been very busy over the last few weeks – it hosted LBI March Madness two weeks ago – an event that Prep Girls Hoops attended. Prep Girls Hoops also attended Phenom Lady Rumble to take in the weekend’s festivities. Here is a look at seniors and juniors throughout North Carolina who turned in impressive performances. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5636-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1649028251.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-408262" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5636-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1649028251-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>Dayla Whitley – 2022 – Langtree Charter – Carolina Lady Rising Stars 17U</strong> – All Dayla, all day. Whitley is a two-sport athlete who runs track in addition to basketball. She came through with a number of timely baskets in her team’s contest with Lady Attack Elite 17U Johnson. She assumed team captaincy duties for the Lions and led by example as well, averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Whitley is also a ball hawk who will grab a number of steals and create extra possessions for her team. Converting on high-percentage shot opportunities is another element of Whitley’s offensive game that makes her valuable to any team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="206410" first="Jasmine" last="Fearne"] – 2022 – Hickory Ridge HS – Lady Attack Elite 17U Morrison</strong> – Fearne is sure to make big waves at the college level. While she has the ball handling skills of a guard, she has the height at 5-foot-11 of many a forward or center. Defenses need not leave her open with the ball on the perimeter. If they do, it is an almost automatic three points. Fearne is a wing player who also can defend well, get from one end of the floor to the other, makes accurate passes and has rebounding capabilities. The ex-SC76er scored 18 points in a game against Lady Royals 17U and 12 in a victory over Team United 17U-Tate. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="221932" first="Tatum" last="Bowen"] – 2023 – 1 of 1 Prep – Lady Attack Elite 17U National</strong> – An offense will be flowing when it features Bowen. Among the attributes she brings to a team is a proficiency for scoring a variety of ways – such as via a running floater, a midrange jumper or shooting the ball from 3-point land. She is a consistent threat to put double-digit points on the board in addition to what she can do as a defender and rebounder. Bowen assumes captaincy duties for 1 of 1 Prep and has also been praised for how hard she works to sharpen her game away from the court also. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="260096" first="Cassidy" last="Geddes"] – 2023 – Newton-Conover HS – Lady Attack Elite 17U National</strong> – Geddes gets buckets – and plenty of them. Those buckets even earned her offers from a couple of nearby colleges in Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson. Geddes will attempt many a 3-point basket in addition to a stepback jumper and an ability to drive to the rim. She will slice her way through a number of defenders in order to get to the cup. Geddes finished the 2021-22 season having averaged 21.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.3 assists for a Red Devils bunch that made a deep run through the 2A playoffs. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5643-scaled-crop-2228x1463-1649028415.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-408266" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5643-scaled-crop-2228x1463-1649028415-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="285938" first="Aubree" last="Grigg"] – 2023 – East Burke HS – East Elite Lady Venom</strong> – Grigg comes up big. A six-foot junior for the Cavaliers, Grigg has excelled on the basketball court as much as she has in the other sport she participates in – volleyball. Grigg is a force to be reckoned with on the glass. She will corral offensive rebounds and turn those into two-point putbacks. She will also absorb contact which can place her at the free throw line. Grigg, with her paint presence, makes things difficult for defenders in the low post with how much of a scoring threat she is, but also knows when to make the right passes and is as much a vocal leader as she is one by example. Grigg tallied nine second half points in a victory over Lady Attack Elite 17U Richardson. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5593-scaled-crop-1361x893-1649028605.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-408268" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5593-scaled-crop-1361x893-1649028605-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="385124" first="Dominika" last="Paurova"] – 2023 – Winston-Salem Christian</strong> – Lady Phoenix 17U – Winston-Salem Christian Lions fans know who Paurova is. Basketball aficionados in the Czech Republic also know who Paurova is given she has played on their U19 national team. She utilized her ball handling skills efficiently and managed to score via either driving to the rim or by hitting her attempts from 3-point range. Paurova will also make good use of her wingspan to create plays on defense. Paurova was the leading scorer for Lady Phoenix when her team concluded a hard-fought contest with FBC Carolina Hawks Elite Parks 17U around the midpoint of the Saturday slate. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5648-scaled-crop-2460x1615-1649028711.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-408270" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5648-scaled-crop-2460x1615-1649028711-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="285937" first="Jenna" last="Barnes"] – 2023 – A.C. Reynolds HS – Lady Royals 17U</strong> – After several seasons of losing basketball at the home of the Rockets, Barnes’ play proved to be a key catalyst in A.C. Reynolds posting a 22-5 mark in 2021-22 along with an 11-1 showing in conference play – and a deep playoff run in the 4A tournament. Barnes is a double-double possibility on a game-by-game basis with her scoring and rebounding. She is an efficient runner of the floor and uses the attention that she draws to find open teammates. Her ability to drain shots from midrange compliments what she can do in the low post. She scored 13 points in a 64-57 victory over Lady Attack Elite 17U Morris. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5646-scaled-crop-2234x1467-1649028805.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-408273" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/IMG_5646-scaled-crop-2234x1467-1649028805-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>E.P. Sluder – 2023 – T.C. Roberson HS – Lady Royals 17U</strong> – Sluder’s play was an important piece to a winning puzzle for the Rams in 2021-22 as her team reached the 16-win plateau for the first time since 2016-17. A transfer from Asheville Christian, Sluder will penetrate to the rim through defenders in addition to a midrange and long range jump shot. While she has games where she garners a fair amount of rebounds, another of the hallmarks of her game is how she sets up her teammates to score with her passing and court vision. Sluder scored 10 points in Lady Royals 17U’s matchup against an always tough out in Lady Strong/Strong Center 2024. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="323896" first="Jada" last="Creech"] – 2023 – J.L. Chambers HS – Lady Phoenix 17U</strong> – Each time Creech sets foot on a basketball court, the team that she is playing for has a great chance of victory. She previously ran on the grassroots circuit with Team Curry and is a transfer from Mallard Creek. She will get a bit on the creative side with how she handles the ball, but plays with a tenacity and fearlessness that is a major benefit. Creech will drive to the rim and uses her 5-foot-11 height to corral in rebounds. She scored 12 points in a Lady Phoenix victory over Team United 17U-Calhoun and was part of a Cougars team that won 11 games en route to a third consecutive 4A championship.