4th Region Challenge - part 2

Continuing our brief series discussing the top performances at the State Farm 4th Region Challenge played at Bowling Green High School last Saturday.   For me, it was a great opportunity to see several players I had not been able to watch play before and to see one more 4th Region team than I was able to spectate in person last season. As far as covering the Region goes, I have now seen 14 of the 17 teams in the 4th Region play in the last two seasons. That is better than all but 4 others with some slight chance I might be able to see the other three before the year is out. But no promises. I had intended to see the whole 4th and 2nd Region this year and much more of the 1st and 3rd than I had previously been able to watch. But life got in the way. Right after it presented me with a place to stay right along the southeastern border of the state for several nights over the course of the season. I got a job opportunity I couldn't pass up that is going to limit my open dates to be out Scouting. And since I couldn't pass it up, I didn't. Now I will just have to do my best to live up to the precedent I set last season covering 55% of the teams in the Commonwealth knowing I will fall short of that measure. But enough about that, let's take a peek at the talent I found last weekend in Bowling Green.     Jamya Kay - 5'-9" - F - Todd County Central - '26   To say that Kay had a great performance at the 4th Region Challenge would be quite an understatement. Her 22-point, 14-rebound exhibition was one of the best performances of the day. She was 2 for 2 from three-point range (for those keeping score at home that is 100%), was 9 for 12 from the field (75%), and a less impressive 2 for 4 (50%) from the free throw line. So she is human after all but on that day she was standing above many of the rest. And that is the kind of performance that will have her Ranked in the next week or two when we update the rankings for the Class of '26. Based on my notes her 1st score was a gift when an opposing player saved a ball from going out of bounds right to her. She was alert on that play and turned it into instant points. She would continue on to score by turning a steal on the press into a layup, making a three from the left wing, and picking up two more layups by running the floor. The last thing I have her doing was banking in her other three from about the same spot. (I have been trying to convince one of my players that the shots still count even when she doesn't;t swish them through the middle of the net and I submit this as further proof.) Kay is on our radar now. Once Alyx White reads this article and she will (Hi Alyx) and Akeem Webb learns about her they will be spectating a game or two via the NFHS site so they can see what I saw from this Freshman for themselves. Hopefully, a few College Coaches will too. Give her a look Coach, she has tons of development left to do, but the basics are there.     Gracie Veach - 5'-10" - F - Monroe County - '23   Veach played great last Saturday. The first play she made that caught my attention was making a reverse layup early in the 1st Quarter. Throughout the rest of the game, she made a three from the right wing, stole the ball on the press, made an assist on a pass from the right corner to set a teammate up for a layup, and made a hard drive from the leftwing to kick the ball out for another assist for a three. She continued to get a layup on a runout and to score by hitting the glass for a putback.   Looking at her totals from the day, Veach, tallied 15 points and 6 rebounds. She was 1 of 2 (50%) from three-point range and 7 of 16 from the floor (43.8%). These kinds of stats don't come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Lady Falcons program. Veach put up these kinds of numbers last season and is sure to be as least as prolific this season. Monroe County looks poised to have a special season behind the leadership of Veach and others.     A'miyah Collier - 5'-9" - G - Russellville - '23   Collier handled the ball very well against tough pressure all game and gave it her all to keep her team in the game while playing short-handed. She made a bounce pass for an assist after a cross-lane drive that created the opening. She made a layup in transition from coast to coast with a windmill finish to avoid the defense. And took the ball in for a layup 3/4 the length of the court after a steal and from halfcourt on a fastbreak. For the day Collier totaled 12 points, and 3 rebounds and made 45.5% of her shots making 5 of 11. I don't have access to her assist totals or other stats. But I am sure she dropped a few dimes I was unable to credit her for. Her leadership will be important if the Lady Panthers can ever get all of their players together for one game.   Ashton Daniels - 5'-3" - G - Clinton County - '23   Daniels had a good game in a tough loss scoring 10 points while making 33.3% of her three-point attempts (2/6). She made both of her free throws and grabbed 3 rebounds. She put forth a ton of effort on the defensive end and did a good job handling the ball against defensive pressure.     [player_tooltip player_id='479486' first='Abigail' last='Varney'] - 5'-6" - G - Barren County - '24     Varney continues to prove her value to her team as a player and scorer. She made all 6 of her free throws, a three from the left wing and a step-in 17-footer from the right wing. She finished the day victorious with 19 points, and 6 rebounds. Her shooting totals on the day were 6 of 9 from the field at 66.7% field goals, 50% from three (1/2), and 100% at the charity stripe. A good way to extend her previous body of work into her Junior season.   [player_tooltip player_id='164395' first='Meadow' last='Tisdale'] - 5'-10" - F - Bowling Green - '23   This was the least dominant performance I have seen from Tisdale, and this is not to discredit her. Just to point out that I am accustomed to seeing her outwork and out-hustle every player on the court to get the win and in this game, she did not have to do that. She was able to just hold up her own role on the team and allow her teammates to carry their own roles to push the Lady Purples into the victory column. She still displayed a dancer's grace and a fighter's heart rolled up into one muscled package of brains and athleticism. I often make brief notes about her toughness and her balance when watching her play. She blocked a few shots and made tough rebound putbacks in traffic through contact. She made 100% of her shots for the day (3 for 3) and added 2 free throws. Her final totals were only 8 points but it was the 10 rebounds she finished with that is the stat her future College Coaches probably most want to add to their roster. She will score on the next level, but Tisdale is the prototype of a player that makes her bones off of the glass, playing tough defense and being a WE before ME type of player. You would have to bring somebody extremely talented to the park for me not to pick her 1st to play on my team, and I might still make her my top pick. Mia Cassidy - 5'-5" - G - Glasgow - '23   Cassidy plays the game at a sprint and does not appear to get tired no matter how intense the action gets. It was not surprising to me after the game when I discovered she is probably going to be running Cross Country in College. Endurance is one of the most important aspects of the distance running game, above speed and explosiveness, although when you have speed and explosiveness, as she does, you have a special runner. If she were closer to 6 feet tall there is no doubt a few top basketball coaches would have beaten a path to her door to sign her.   Cassidy hit right around her averages from last year in the game tallying 12 points, and 3 rebounds and she went 4 for 4 at the free throw line. Coaches ought to try to find out where she will be during College and try to entice her to walk on to their basketball team. She is a ball of energy on the court and played excellent ball denial defense to seriously limit the effectiveness of a great scorer.     [player_tooltip player_id='374123' first='Kayla' last='Grant'] - 5'-10" - C - Greenwood - '23   Grant scored in the post with a quick outside turn move ad by hitting the glass for putbacks and drawing fouls on those putbacks. She was a beast in the paint and turned her interior presence into bankable points at the free-throw line. She made 11 free throws on 12 attempts for an impressive 91.7% which is a great percentage for any player but especially for an interior player that puts the opponent in a position to either give her the buckets or foul her to force her to the line. If she has improved that much at the line (she made 54.8% of her free throws last year) she is going to be a nightmare for opposing defenses. She scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds last Saturday.     Gracie Borders - 5'-7" - F - Logan County - '23 Last but not least (today) is Borders who is fundamentally sound, heady, and a good ballhandler. She put up 12 points and chased down 8 rebounds in a losing effort last Saturday. She made a top-right three and drove to the basket for a layup to hold the game to a tie in the 1st quarter. She made all three free throws and 50% of her field goals inside the three-point line, but a stone 2nd Quarter by the opposition put this game out of reach before halftime and the Lady Cougars could not overcome the deficit.

Continuing our brief series discussing the top performances at the State Farm 4th Region Challenge played at Bowling Green High School last Saturday.