Battle In The Sunflower GameChangers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This content series is sponsored by&nbsp;<a href="https://gc.com/home/football?utm_source=prepredzone&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=2022prepredzone&amp;utm_content=gamechangeroftheevent&amp;utm_term=partner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><mark>GameChanger</mark></a>&nbsp;– The Official Scorekeeping, Stats, Team Management &amp; Technology Partner of Prep Girls Hoops </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So what are GameChangers? My definition is simple, those who make things happen and can change the momentum by creating a spark that ignites the team as well as those who can take control of a game either offensively or defensively so covering the event remotely on opening day, here are some that stood out</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1252183' first='Janaya' last='McCrary']-5'2 G (Broken Arrow) Antioch Saints 2027 [2027]</strong> <strong>Oklahoma</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCrary falls into a category I started hashtagging a decade ago, #sizedontmatter because she can play. Even more impressive was that she was playing up and creating problems for defenders immediately and on both ends. She's an athletic guard that applies "on the ball" pressure baseline to baseline yet the energy she brings trickles over to her teammates as she set them up for "gimmes" with solid court vision yet her attacking the basket using a slight HEZ and finishing at times acrobatically </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='836267' first='Hattie' last='Hecox']-5'8 G (Moundridge Middle School) Lady PGU Hoops 2026 [2027]Kansas</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hecox looks taller than her listed height and she was as she switched jerseys with her sister, but still, watching her outrebound taller players by understanding positioning gets her another hashtag I love to use, #THROWBACK. I saw her grab the ball off the rim and take the ball coast to coast to score yet I also saw her hit teammates in transition. Her seeing the floor in the open court as well as in the set was big and so was her scoring both off the dribble as well as from mid to long-range helped them win both games to start the party off </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sue Jones (Next Level McCorry 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jones may not be the correct name, I tried researching but wearing #1 fit in so many ways starting with her first step as she left the defender standing a few times to attack the basket and score. Her finishes were nice, so was her body control, and when you factor in she even scored after contact, well that helped keep her squad in their back-and-forth game against Antioch which they lost by 1, there's that number again. She also saw the floor and made the correct pass yet her turnaround jumper had me smiling</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='621268' first='Jordan' last='McCombs']-5'6 G (Lakin) [program_tooltip program_id='715500' first='Magic' last='Basketball'] [2026] Kansas</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCombs had my adrenaline rising with some of her moves and when she showed the spin going full speed in traffic, that JUST DID IT for me because she not only did it effortlessly but she finished. Those types of things will create sparks for the team, it did as they are among the opening day undefeated squads in their division. She also handled the ball and saw the floor, under pressure but her pull-up jumper, including the 3 ball needs to be mentioned, and so does her defense</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abbey Libby-5'5 G (St Thomas Aquinas) and Averee Henshaw-5'7 G (Olathe West) [program_tooltip program_id='715643' first='Kansas' last='Elite'] 2026 </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Libby and Henshaw are both from the class of 2026 and what got me was that their games mirrored each other in so many ways. Their squad also went undefeated on opening day and they won by huge margins but here's the GAMECHANGER as they showed they could not only get their going off the top by dropping the long ball, but they also took turns doing so when a run was trying to be made from their opposing team. They not only shot it well, but both also showed they could "catch and shoot" while being defended</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->