Metro Holiday Tournament – Final Four Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the past week or so throughout the Holiday season, the state of Nebraska has had several Holiday Tournaments underway. One of the biggest being the Metro Holiday Tournament. This tournament is one that brings together some of the best talent across the state. In the article below, we are going to recap five athletes and their performances in the semi-finals of this tournament. </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":["315778"],"_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='315778' first='Neleigh' last='Gessert'] is an individual that we have covered the past few years a handful of times and that isn't going to change until she ends up graduating in a little over a year. Gessert is a talent that doesn't come to a high school program too often. She is someone with size, physicality, and a great shooting stroke. She can score from anywhere on the court and demonstrates an effortless dribble when she puts in the floor. I would say her best ability would be shooting the ball but she is very efficient at scoring the ball in general a majority of the time. This is the type of player that if you give her a mismatch or any open space with some time, the ball has a good chance of going in. Gessert and her Millard West team will put their undefeated recored on the line tonight against Omaha Central. To get here, West had to get through a tough Millard North team last night. In that contest, Neleigh led her team, scoring 22 points and grabbing 2 rebounds. This type of effort is going to be needed once again tonight if they want to hoist the trophy against one of the best teams in the state. ","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["315777"],"_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 counterpart to [player_tooltip player_id='315778' first='Neleigh' last='Gessert'] for Millard West is [player_tooltip player_id='315777' first='Norah' last='Gessert'], her twin sister. Norah is another player and competitor that has serious game and that ability was on full display in their win last night. With Neleigh scoring the ball at a high rate and Norah setting her up, their numbers reflect this style of play but Norah does a great job of creating her own as well. In this contest against Millard North, she registered 16 points on 6-9 shooting from the field, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. As you can tell, when everything else breaks down in the offense, Norah does a great job of creating things out of nowhere. Like I said above, this game tonight is a big one for both programs. One team is going to go home as the champs and one team is going to go home with their first lose of the year. If the Gessert twins do their thing, I'm not sure who is going to slow them down but we will see. ","_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='941120' first='Kimora' last='Jenkins'] ","_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":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"12123","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Omaha Westside","_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='941120' first='Kimora' last='Jenkins'] and Omaha Westside High School fell just short in their teams contest against Omaha Central last night but it was not due to lack of effort. Jenkins is a playmaker and that was on full display this past week in each of her teams contests. In this contest specifically, Jenkins ended with a team leading 20 points on 6-11 shooting. She also finished up bringing in 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. In the end, Westside would fall by 8 points but it was a close one. Jenkins is someone that I could see producing at the next level, if put in the correct situation. She is making her case for one of the best Junior guards throughout the state this season and I'm hoping that will continue. With her ability and skill-set, it's definitely possible. ","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["276504"],"_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":"You can't mention Omaha Central High School girl's basketball without mentioning their PG, [player_tooltip player_id='276504' first='Inia' last='Jones']. Jones has been fantastic this season and that's to no surprise. Jones is a Bradley commit and a very good leader with the ball in her hands. I haven't seen any crazy stat lines from Jones during this Metro tournament but she is their unquestionable leader so any success they have, is due to part to her play, not to undermine anyone else. She is the type of player who can score from all three levels offensively or she can set up others around her in a plethora of ways and she can play some stingy on-ball defense. When you combine those things and add along an aggressive demeanor, you get a high level producer on the hardwood and that's what Jones has been. In both this tournament and throughout her entire high school career. I'm excited to watch this game tonight between Central and Millard North. Two undefeated teams playing for a holiday championship? What's better than that! ","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["299892"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Another main contributor in her teams small loss on Tuesday night was [player_tooltip player_id='299892' first='Kara' last='Stricklin'] of Omaha Westside. Sticklin is a player that we have recently covered this month and a few times over the past year because of her productivity on the basketball court. Stricklin has smarts, physicality, a quick first step, and discipline by the hoop. Offensively, if she ever faces an opportunity where she can take her defender 1v1 with some time, she usually makes a strong move, ending with a great finish near the rim. Defensively, she stays down and does a great job of weighing the risk/reward of going for a steal. This defensive isn't flashy or anything crazy but efficient and productive. This Westside team is only going to continue to have a successful season if they stick to the basics and continue to ride what has been recently working. They have some interesting pieces personal wise, they just need to continue to work on the right things moving forward and this could be a winter to remember for this group. ","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6595d98650f09"} /-->