2023 V-Town Showdown Standout: Championship Edition

Theodore Jones III

December 7, 2023 @ 08:11 AM

I was only able to attend the V-Town Showdown on the final day of the competition, but I was in for a treat. The game between Vilonia and Nettleton was a competitive championship game between two teams that could be competing for the 5A championship at the end of the year. Nettleton came away with a 55-53 victory, but both teams battled to the end. Keep reading about some of the standouts from the game.   [player_tooltip player_id='465493' first='Sidni' last='Middleton'] | PG | Vilonia High School | 2025   Sidni was the most skilled player in the championship game and you could easily say she was the most skilled player in the tournament. She handled Nettleton's pressure pretty well by not getting in too big a hurry. Whenever she wanted to get to the rim she displayed the handle and vision to get in the lane and make plays for herself or for a teammate. She has a nice mid-range jumper, connects from the three-point line, and will even post up smaller guards.   Lexy Heston | Wing | Vilonia High School | 2024   Whenever you play against Vilonia you can't overlook Lexy. She does a little bit of everything for her team. She'll defend a big or keep up with a guard. She rebounds, runs the floor, set screens, brings energy and she can score in several ways. Lexy showed she can break the defense down off the dribble, score off offensive rebounds, and stretch the defense with her catch-and-shoot threes.   [player_tooltip player_id='871171' first='McKenzie' last='Williams'] | Post | Nettleton | 2024   Standing around 5'9 McKenzie is a little undersized to be a post player, but she understands how to use her body to get position on the block or for the rebound. She secured several big-time offensive rebounds for her team in the championship game. She can face up and exhibit good footwork for the finish. She plays through contact, has soft hands, can catch in traffic and has a defensive presence.   Shakira Brown | Wing | Nettleton | 2024   Sharkira missed most of the game due to an injury, but what I saw from her was impressive. She's a threat from the perimeter with her ability to knock down the three-pointer and attack off the dribble. She draws so much attention it opens up lanes for her teammates to make plays. She plays with fire and is competitive which I love.   [player_tooltip player_id='870518' first='Donna' last='Douglas'] | Post | Nettleton | 2024   The player of the game for Nettleton and unofficial championship game MVP (in my opinion) was Donna. You could tell the impact she had on the game when she was subbed out. She held down the paint on both ends. She's a physical player who can play with her back to the basket, attacks the offensive boards and does a good job of rolling to the basket after the on-ball screen. Her size and physical play was a tough matchup for Vilonia.   [player_tooltip player_id='870004' first='Carmen' last='McShan'] | PG | Nettleton | 2024   Carmen is a speedy athletic point guard that made some really good plays throughout the game. For any team to be successful you must have good point guard play. Carmen did a good job of running the team and balancing being a scoring threat and when to get her teammates involved. She used her athleticism well on defense by applying ball pressure making the offense uncomfortable. If she continues to run the show Nettleton could be a team to be aware of when the state tournament rolls around.

I was only able to attend the V-Town Showdown on the final day of the competition, but I was in for a treat. The game between Vilonia and Nettleton was a competitive championship game between two teams that could be competing for the 5A championship at the end of the year. Nettleton came away with a 55-53 victory, but both teams battled to the end. Keep reading about some of the standouts from the game.