Friday Night Lights (1/19/24)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Several teams across the state performed on Friday evening in hopes of helping themselves in the Win department a few more times before the State Playoffs come around in the next few weeks. In the article below, we are going to cover five prospects from Friday night that stood out in their own ways while helping their perspective team to a competitive contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["770425"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='770425' first='Gabby' last='Twarling'] of Hay Spring High School was her teams leading scorer in their victory against the Crawford Rams last night. In the contest, Twarling recorded 14 points on 4-14 shooting, 3 Rebounds, 3 Assists, and 6 Steals. From everything I've seen, this seems like the norm. Twarling is a Senior on this roster that is going to get her own in one way or anther throughout a contest. I think another number from this game that stands out is that she went to the line and shot 8 free throws, making 6 out of those 8 attempts. This means that she isn't just working from an outside perspective but from inside the paint as well. The Hay Spring Hawks are 11-4 to kick off this year and a big reason behind that is because of this consistent play of Twarling. She is someone who can make things happen at a high rate, depending on how she is feeling that evening and that's been on full display to start this season.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["502331"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"The Pender Pendragons have started the season right where they left off last year and that is winning a lot. The Pendragons have been putting together an impressive winter once again and they are hoping to carry that momentum into the Playoffs in just a few weeks. A player for this group that recently had her best game of the season was Combo Guard, [player_tooltip player_id='502331' first='Hadley' last='Walsh']. Walsh stands at 5'10 with coordination and touch. She does a good job of doing her work early on in the possession by clearing space in the paint, giving herself and her teammates some room to work. On Friday night, Walsh scored 15 points on 6-6 shooting, she grabbed 3 rebounds, and she registered a few other positive stats, helping her team come away with a 59-25 victory. Frankly, this team has it. They have the personal, coaching, and correct mindset. As long as they worry about themselves, I don't see anyone standing in their way of another State title this 2023-2024 season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='979442' first='Taylee' last='Wharton']","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'4u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Bellevue West","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"When you hear about Bellevue West girl's basketball, you hear about their star [player_tooltip player_id='770410' first='Naomi' last='White'] and for good reason but another individual that is just as skilled in her own right is Shooting Guard, [player_tooltip player_id='979442' first='Taylee' last='Wharton']. Wharton is a quick thinking and fast moving guard throughout her offense. She does a good job of never staying in one spot for too long, while always being ready to let it fly off of the catch from deep. In their contest against Millard West last night, the Thunderbirds fell just short in the end but not due to a lack of effort. Wharton ended up registering 16 points on 6-8 shooting, while going 4-6 from behind the arc. This group may only be sitting at 6-6 right now but they have some competitors on their roster. If they get dealt a decent seed come Playoff time, everyone else better watch out. This is the type of team that can go ballistic on offense on any given night so opposing teams need to come prepared or else it could end badly.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["770427"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='770427' first='Haley' last='Johnson'] maybe one of the states top scorers that no one is talking about out of this 2024 Class. Johnson plays for Gordon-Rushville High School and she is in charge of scoring the basketball for her team. Don't get me wrong, basketball is a team sport but someone has to be the leader on both sides of the floor and that seems to be Johnson fro this group. In her teams win last night against Mullen High School, Johnson scored 17 points on 7-11 shooting, brought in 2 rebounds, dished out 6 assists, and poked away 8 steals. As you can tell, this group relies on Johnson along with some of their other personal to do a bulk of their offensive work. If everyone else can play off of that then they usually end up having a good showing. I'm not sure if Johnson is committed to compete anywhere after this season but if she isn't, I'm sure there is a school or two out there that could use her skill-set.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"Sophia Schukei","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"12124","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"Kenesaw","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Someone out of the 2027 Class that I was not aware of until this past few weeks is Sophia Schukei of Kenesaw High School. Schukei seems to be her teams main option at the Combo Forward position. In her team's most recent contest, Schukei scored 12 points on 4-6 shooting, while recording 5 rebounds. A pretty good night for a player that usually averages 4 PPG and 4 RPG to start off their high school career. I'm not too familiar with this group but over the next few weeks, I'll be looking more into their program. They seem to do a lot of positive things on the varsity floor and that should be talked about. They are currently sitting with a 7-6 record throughout their first 13 games and that's okay. If they continue to work hard and everyone has one common goal in mind, they are going to win a lot more here in the near future. As for Schukei, her future on the hardwood is bright. She just needs to stay motivated and she is going to have a high school career to remember.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ac6e88ace0e"} /-->