New Faces-Girls TABC Showcase Opening Day pt 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The GIRLS TABC Showcase had so many teams that I won't see during the school season due to logistics or because I can't catch them virtually so I'm giving them an A for putting those together because, on opening day alone, I caught several talented young ladies I knew absolutely nothing about and here ya go</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='979157' first='Maci' last='Mote']-5'7 G (Klein Oak) 2027</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mote showed she could handle pressure and her handling the ball and seeing the floor against "the heat" being applied had me smiling about her upside. She's heady, attacks the basket off the dribble with either hand, and finished strongly but she also dished while attacking. Her court vision in the open court was also strong</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Joana Lopez-5'10 G/F (San Antonio Reagan) 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lopez created her shot under pressure and knocked it down a few times while being defended but watching her steadily choose when to let it go was nice because shot selection matters. Her pull-up jumper in transition was solid yet I enjoyed seeing her "catch and shoot" it from BTA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sai Sai Stewart-5'7 G (Fort Bend Dulles) 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stewart is a "long and athletic" guard which also falls into "the base" as one of the profiles I enjoy evaluating and when you factor in she uses her athleticism on both ends, that's a big plus. Her on-the-ball defense and quick hands helped to create turnovers, and so did her playing the passing lane, something I love to see. Her first step was nice as she scored off the dribble, body control was also a plus</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gissele Reyes-5'3 G (Fort Bend Dulles) 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reyes falls under that #sizedontmatter hashtag I love floating around because she can play. She's heady, understands how to control the tempo, and did a good job handling the ball and seeing the floor under pressure. She also used a deceptive first step to score off the dribble </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Makrina Calhoun-5'8 F (A&amp;M Consolidated) 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Calhoun gets the #THROWBACK hashtag for doing what she does at her size. When you understand "positioning" that's huge and that plus something else you can't teach, desire, enabled her to outrebound taller players, on both ends. She used her body inside the paint to score, putbacks included </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A'hryna Taylor-5'7 G (A&amp;M Consolidated) 2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taylor mixed it up nicely on the offensive end by showing she could drop it from outside using the pull-up jumper in the set as well as the "stop and pop" jumper in transition. She also showed a slight HEZ to get the defender off balance which allowed her to attack the basket and finish after contact </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sy'Nyah Gulley-6'0 F (Dallas Lincoln) 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gulley has UPS written by her number and no, she didn't threaten to go on strike, she just kept delivering, and watching her elevate over defenders to score was nice yet let me add that she's "long and athletic" and that, see above, is the base. She grabbed rebounds on either end, showed she could handle the ball after playing the passing lane, and scored off the dribble </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kayla Crowder-5'4 G (Dallas Lincoln) 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crowder is also a #sizedontmatter player and her SWB, speed with the ball, JUST DID IT for me because she was under control and made things happen. Her court vision was solid, in transition as well as in the set, she scored off the dribble, an explosive first step but her athleticism was clic=king on both ends as her baseline-to-baseline defense was smothering at times </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Emily Collins (Round Rock Westwood) 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Collins filled it up quickly during my "two-minute warning" as I traveled from court to court and watching her not only create her shot under pressure but knock it down was nice. Her jumper in the set also gave her options as the defender couldn't give her much room and she utilized that to attack off the dribble and score, solid body control helped on finishes after contact. She also showed the "catch and shoot" with a hand in her face</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Vivian Hapka (Round Rock Westwood) 2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hapka closes out my opening day NEW FACES coverage with so many things I love to call #THROWBACK like the "hands and footwork" which has become something of a lost art. She finished strongly around the basket, sometimes with players literally hanging on her yet watching her BATTLE and go after everything off the rim was also from another era. Oh yeah, she's "long and athletic" </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->