July Tuneup in Vegas – Part 2

<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Big City Hoops</strong> put on a great tournament experience for the kids playing this weekend in Las Vegas with a great venue and organized staff to take care of things in an easy manner.  <strong>Lew Roberts of Big City Hoops</strong> is the organizer of the event and he prepared by bringing in teams from around the region and some from across the water in Hawaii.  We came in on Friday night and watched a few games, but the girls Varsity division did not start until Saturday.  We camp out in the gym and gathered some names of some girls we think should be recognized for their play.  Here we go, please enjoy, we try and bring you the RAW and UNCUT of girls basketball at its finest.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2023, Ledjan Pahukoa (HI)</strong> - guard/forward type that can really play the game, was surprised at this teams talent, but these girls played hard and made every play count.  She could get up and down the court in transition, made the right passes each and every time she made a pass.  She shot the ball well from midrange and scored around the rim, but we loved her competitiveness on the floor and she really got after it.  </span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2023, [player_tooltip player_id="54093" first="Tia" last="Barefield"] (CA)</strong> - nice guard with a college ready body, fast, smooth with it, makes great decisions and always is on the attack.  We have watched her play since she was a young one and her game has really matured over the past few years, she is solid and make great decisions on the floor with a high IQ.  She can score with the best of them and she is a threat to score from all three levels on the floor when she plays.  She also a skilled defender that will sit down and defend with the plan to frustrate you and make you give the ball up. </span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2023, Mary Pahukoa (HI)</strong>- nice guard with a smooth flow to it, she is quick, her handles are nice and she is a transition problem.  Solid body for the game, tough and fierce.  She shot the ball well from the field and made great plays for her teammates on the court, she was a floor general for sure, but her main skill shown to us was her ability to make plays for others and score at will.  Her defensive skills were also impressive, she is tough and never gives up on any play on the court, straight competitor in our opinion.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2025, Kate-Lynn Colipano (HI)</strong> - another good size guard who plays hard and is a true competitor on the court, played her heart out when we watched and was a fair rebounder at the rim.  Great attitude on the floor, this team never showed a lick of being down, even when they were losing the game, they all played like it was a tie game.  This kid helped her team out by hustle and running the floor to get transition layups when she was able.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2023, Norma Tuulangavalu, Kapa’s HS, (HI)</strong> - big body forward that is tough in the paint, excellent rebounder and tough to deal with In the paint.  She scored at the rim at will, she was a problem in the paint for all of her opponents.  She was a good rebounder at most times and she could rebound and kick out to the guards to start the break, then get in the lane and trail the play for easy scores.  She has a nice solid body for the paint, but she had an impressive midrange game right outside the paint that allowed her to create mismatches for her opponents.</span> &nbsp;