SHOOTERS Scorching The Nets Opens Up #HOT

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When I arrived at the AT&amp;T Center I had several flashbacks from 2011 when my daughter's Texas A&amp;M advanced from the Elite 8 and head to Indianapolis and win the National Championship. That revitalized me after only 4 hours of sleep but what helped keep me going over the 12 hours I put in was an abundance of exciting players, especially dropping the long ball</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Combo 2024 guards<strong> Alexis Cornejo-5'0</strong> and <strong>Desiree Perez-5'4 (Team Kidd Phillips) </strong>vs <strong>Houston United Chuck </strong>with <strong>Khloe Vaughn-5'8 PG</strong> and <strong>5'8 SG [player_tooltip player_id='793223' first='Alexis' last='Duhon']</strong>, also from the class of 2024 started it off with an array of three balls dropping yet I tweeted just about everyone except the coach dropped it from deep for <strong>THS</strong> as hey scored close to 70 in the first half but here are the top shooters from distance I saw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rhianna Deleon-5'7 SG (THS) Tompkins [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deleon opened her game by dropping it from deep multiple times and she did it by not only creating her shot under pressure but showing she could also do it off the dribble in transition. She came around the screens nicely and showed she could also catch and shoot and she mixed it up by attacking the basket off the dribble, with either hand to score and that kept the defender guessing </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1060890' first='Charley' last='Rawlins']-5'7 SG (2026 Banshees S40) Fayetteville [2026]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rawlins has a very nice first step and she not only attacks with either hand, her deceptive first step set it up but finishes strongly with both. She too showed she could "catch and shoot" under pressure, I'm talking about with a hand in her face and her midrange was impressive as well but that long ball from near NBA range multiple times was not only nice but effective </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270662' first='Madison' last='Hurta']-5'8 SG (Austin Elite RFW E40) HOMESCHOOL [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hurta has been having me tweet "she put a Hurta on the nets for a very long time" and her shooting around 50% from BTA in front of me numerous times has been a treat. No tricks in my evaluations as I immediately added her to that initial PGH Watchlist years ago because I envisioned what was coming. She is poised under pressure and shoots the ball with confidence and her being able to score from midrange and off the dribble gives her options. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='158879' first='La'Niah' last='Thornton']-5'10 SG 9TNBA Houston 2024) Pearland [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thornton has been a THORN in defenders' sides for a very long time and she too was added to that initial 2024 PGH Texas Watchlist because I actually WATCH. I mentioned in an article a few weeks ago that she has been"THE GLUE" for her squad on the PGH Circuit this season yet at the HOT, she was HOTTTTTT dropping 9 from beyond the arc in a variety of ways. Yeah, the catch-and-shoot was nice yet her RELEASE JUST DID IT for me. I was also impressed with her teammates realizing she was on FIYA and kept finding her but she also did a good job of creating it off the dribble herself </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='594032' first='Aolani' last='Woldai']-5'7 CG (True Texas Hoops 2024 National) 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woldai closed it out for me and playing in the 8:30 game after placing earlier in her track meet was intriguing to me in itself yet I already know she's athletic and applies pressure on both ends. Her explosive first step and acrobatic finishes grabbed my attention years ago yet she understands how to control the tempo and has very good court vision. She dropped the long ball in the set but her showing the stop and pop for 4 in transition was equally impressive and her energy trickled over to me and helped me climb several flights of stairs to head out</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->