Rabun Gap Wins 2nd Straight State Championship
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The NCISAA girls basketball state championships were hosted this weekend at Calvary Day School in Winston-Salem, NC. The 4A state championship was the second game of the day where we saw the Cannon Cougars take on the Rabun Gap Eagles. …
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Continue ReadingThe NCISAA girls basketball state championships were hosted this weekend at Calvary Day School in Winston-Salem, NC. The 4A state championship was the second game of the day where we saw the Cannon Cougars take on the Rabun Gap Eagles. Rabun Gap finished the game as the state champions for the second year in a row. The Eagles won 53-43.
Let’s take a look at the standouts from the game.
Mia Wilson
Mia Wilson
Mia Wilson is my vote for MVP of the game as she was the leading scorer for the Eagles. She did a nice job running plays rubbing shoulders with her teammates who were setting screens for her to pull up for her jumper. She was aggressive driving to the hoop battling contact when needed and converting from the free throw line. On defense, she even showed off her ability to box out anyone who was around her earning an over the back call and the possession. She followed shots grabbing rebounds.
Tuana Coskun
Tuana Coskun
Tuana Coskun showed off her range knocking it down from deep on multiple occasions. She did well sliding into the open position waiting for the pass and stayed ready to shoot. She turned defense into offense grabbing steals or rebounds and pushed the ball up the court on fast breaks.
Sofia McNabb
Sofia McNabb
Sofia McNabb had a nice putback off an offensive board cleaning up the glass on multiple occasions. She slid into help on defense being ready to stop her opponents from attacking the basket, and she found the gaps on offense making the opponents shift their defense.
Ola Noworol
Ola Noworol
Ola Noworol waited patiently in the paint to be able to block shots on defense. She did her job rebounding the basketball on both ends. She had some nice post moves being patient and knowing how to use her defenders stance to her advantage.
While the Cannon Cougars did not have the game go their way, we certainly saw some excellent ball players from the group.
The Cougars were led by their star senior Samyha Suffren Samyha Suffren 5’8″ | PG Cannon | 2023 State NC . She is always so smooth with her pull up creating great space for her to make the shot. She can make it from anywhere on the court. She has a finesse handling the ball making some nice adjustments as she goes up for her points. Her quickness is an asset on both ends of the court being able to prevent her opponents from getting to the hoop and blowing by others as she runs offensive plays.
Jamyrah Cherry had a nice spin move in the paint battling contact for her points. She hit a clutch three point basket in the fourth quarter closing the gap in her opponents’ lead. She had a strong second half hitting some important free throws as she was trying to get position for the entry pass.
Highlights
Ashley Fowler showed off her range as usual for Cannon using screens from her teammates effectively to find the open spots. She crashed the boards even grabbing some points from offensive rebounds. She’s also an excellent hype woman for her teammates being the first to jump up as her teammates put up each shot.
Maya McCorkle showed her strong defense making sure she blocked shots while players tried to drive against her. She stripped the ball from her opponents and pushed it right up the court finding her open teammates for some fast break points. On offense, she was showing off her range shooting around the arc. She had a strong baseline drive banking it in for two points.
Lili Booker is excellent when it comes to penetrating the paint, drawing defenders, and making the dish to her teammate underneath the basket. She will battle through screens on defense, and she does a nice job stripping the ball away from her opponents.