Great Guard Efforts at Battle on the Island

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this article we look at strong efforts that were made by some of the&nbsp; 2024 and 2025 guards at the Battle on the Island holiday tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='349274' first='Ella' last='Stakem'] (cover photo) shot the cover off of the ball in the tournament.   Stakem had the three ball working and played that role well on the warm to 20 points.  She played some good defense and was a force in the press defense, creating several turnovers.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='346820' first='Abby' last='Knauff'] shot it well and continues to play her game.&nbsp; You look up and Knauff has 24 points in the books.&nbsp; Knauff shot the midrange, the three, and got to the basket.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='633535' first='Alex' last='Gross'] played well and especially in the championship game.&nbsp; Her play in the transition game was special and she has a gift of putting the ball in the basket in a lot of ways.&nbsp; Gross is a good defender as well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='638554' first='Emma' last='Rayes']&nbsp; shot the ball well and was on point in the first game of the tournament in particular.&nbsp; She knocked down 4 threes and each seemed to be a dagger at a key moment in the game. Rayes also contributed on defense with 5 steals against Mandarin.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='495957' first='Kayla' last='Massey'] was selected to the all tournament team and did so with her ability to score and put pressure on defense.&nbsp; Massey got to the freethrow line consistently and scored in the midrange area.&nbsp; She also was key in getting the ball to her teammates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='768516' first='Kourtney' last='Johnson']&nbsp; had&nbsp; 5 three pointers and shot the ball well on the final day of the tournament.&nbsp; She finished with&nbsp; 20 points in the contest.&nbsp; Johnson is an aggressive guard who has the ability to draw fouls and get to the freethrow line.&nbsp; She is also agressive in transition defense where she gets a lot of steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->