Texas Invitational-Saturday Gold Division Standouts

One more time, this is from the D! Division from the McDonald’s Texas Invitational and it is from both the semifinals as well as the CHAMPIONSHIP game between the top 2 teams I have seen in the 6A Conference in Region 3. Pearland defeated Summer Creek to avenge a double-overtime loss a few days earlier.

This sets the stage for a probable meet to see who goes to state yet Shadow Creek is in Pearland’s district and CE King is in Summer Creeks’ so you never know in a one-game playoff, here are the brackets from last season, I think it’s the same

With that being said, here are some of the standouts I caught on LIVESTREAM

Hardin Jefferson

Molly Beavers Molly Beavers 6'0" | SF Hardin Jefferson | 2023 State TX -6’0 PF [2023]

Beavers is talented enough to play next-level basketball, including D1 in the right fit yet she decided to play D1 softball. Her scoring around the basket, as well as rebounding, has always been more than solid because of her skillset yet she shot the midrange well the past two years and this includes Saturday. Her stellar defense was also impressive

India McMahon-5’8 G/F

McMahon is “long and athletic” and one more time, that is the base. She has a very nice first step that enables her to get by defenders at will and uses her athleticism to finish strongly, many times off balance and after contact. She rebounds, plays solid “on the ball” defense, and also plays the passing lane

Kendall Sneed Kendall Sneed 5'7" | CG Hardin Jefferson | 2024 State TX -5’7 CG [2024]

Sneed continued to zig-zag by defenders to finish with either hand, both in the open court as well as the set. Yeah, I called her #D1Lock in the 6th grade, and just watching her handle the ball with the ponytail flying reminded me so much of my own daughter. Sneed has very good court vision, is vocal on the court, and wants the ball in clutch situations where she delivers mid to long-range

Converse Judson

Kayla King Kayla King 5'10" | CG Judson | 2025 State TX -5’8 G [2025]

King continues to show she is a QUEEN on the court and watching her progression from last season at this same event speaks volumes about her progression and maturity. Yeah, I have loved her game since I first caught her with a club team a few years ago, poised beyond her years is on one of the Tip Sheets I had her own but her ability to find ways to put the ball in the basket stood out, see you and the crew tomorrow

Delaney Arredondo Delaney Arredondo 5'6" | PG Judson | 2026 State TX -5’4 PG [2026]

Arredondo also made a Tip Sheet the first time I saw her, I love heading to Central Texas to get a glimpse of what’s coming and she is not only coming, but she is going up the ladder at the 1. She handled the pressure like an upperclassman and trust me, they threw some heat her way yet she can drop the long ball, score, and dish off the dribble yet the pressure is irrelevant

Summer Creek

Mariyah Brown Mariyah Brown 6'0" | SF Summer Creek | 2024 TX -6’0 G [2024]

Brown is so versatile and comes up big so many times, like huge rebounds and putbacks to change the momentum yet her sheer desire to defend both inside and outside the paint is one of the many reasons this team is still one of the ones in the driver’s seat

Zachara Perkins Zachara Perkins 6'3" | PG St Pius | 2024 State TX -6’2 SG [2024]

Perkins was consistent on the offensive end each game I caught her. She scored around the basket as well as from the perimeter and opened up things for Mychal White Mychal White 5'7" | CG Summer Creek | 2024 State TX -5’5 [2024] to simply go off from deep

Janiya Murphy-5’8 SG [2024]

Murphy is also one of those players that understand her role and become an X factor because she can hurt you on both ends. Her defensive pressure creates problems, and so does her midrange and off the dribble

Pearland

RyLee Grays RyLee Grays 6'3" | PF The Village School | 2023 State #17 Nation TX -6’2 C/PF [2023]

Grays has been dominant in every game I have caught her and her strong finishes with either hand continue to impress me because she’s also getting to the line countless times. Her rebounding and defense have been solid and speaking of defense, let me give a special S/O to Paige Bonner-5’7 CG [2023] who has how can say this, shown smothering defense in each game I caught them

La’Niah Thornton La’Niah Thornton 5'9" | PF State TX -5’8 SG/SF and Nyah Hardy-5’7 CG both C/O 2024 hit some huge buckets including the long ball throughout the game and Janae Tucker Janae Tucker 5'6" | CG Pearland | 2023 State TX -5’8 PG [2023} was simply clutch on both ends when they needed

On another note, I used to go to games to try and gauge how the talent was, I caught Pearland’s head coach Jere’ Adams (Dulles) back in 2001 and she was simply a BEAST, one of the first STARS I actually saw in high school