Recently Seen Juniors to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I have seen a bunch of teams during mid-season tournament time. Take a look at several juniors that caught my eye.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Izabel Backhus</strong>, 5'7", CG, McPherson - Backhus is a confident player with a solid build and nice length. I found her often defending small forwards. A solid corner three point threat. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Delainee Dexter</strong>, 5'7", SF, Eisenhower - Dexter was a head turner for me. She showed strong athleticism and speed but what really caught my eye was her hops. She can get up and do it quickly. Dexter could be really strong on the boards. I would like to see what her offensive game is like as she did not look to shoot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='766794' first='Kennedy' last='Dodds'], 6'0", C, Manhattan - Dodds has terrific size and paint taking-up length. She helped well from the weak side lane area to alter shots by drivers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='616752' first='Leah' last='Henke'], 5'7", PG, Bishop Carroll - I foresaw many months ago that Henke would step into the starting point guard role for the Golden Eagles after Landon Forbes (Fort Hays State University) graduated. And she has done so in spades. Extremely fast and quick she consistently will beat defenders down the floor with the ball. She finishes strongly with either hand and is a solid perimeter threat as well. Defensively, that same quickness shows as part of the team's full court pressure. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='398377' first='Gabriella' last='Jackson'], 6'0", PF, Shawnee Mission Northwest - Jackson played a big role In the Cougars' hard found win over St. James Academy. She showed terrific footwork inside and handles working in a variety of full court and half court situations. Jackson also showed off her scoring ability beyond the arc. She had a very strong game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='766559' first='Katelyn' last='Menghini'], 5'10", PF, St. James Academy - Menghini is a long limbed yet solid bodied power forward. And she used it to great affect to gain inside position to gather and score entry passes. She also was effective at blocking and challenging shots. Menghini showed good handles and scoring ability with the runner. She was a real stud in a hard fought game against Shawnee Mission Northwest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brie Murdoch</strong>, 5'6", CG, Shawnee Mission East - What stood out for me was Murdoch's transition speed and solid hands to catch and finish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Emma Pfannenstiel</strong>, 5'4", SG, Newton - Pfannenstiel showed herself to be a hustling, scrappy player. I liked her speed with the ball in the open court as well as the arch she gives the ball to make a soft, perimeter shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kate Shepherd</strong>, 5'3", CG, Trinity Academy - A fast player Shepherd has the potential to be a very good on-ball defender. The quickness is there but improving her balance and sitting down more to reduce lean-in will help the team's scoring guards reduce the risk of foul trouble in on-ball situations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='872362' first='Megan' last='Simon']</strong>, 5'10", F, Bishop Carroll - For a team that lacks size Simon is as close to a post player as the Golden Eagles have in their rotation. While slim she is aggressive and unafraid to go at quality opponent bigs. Long limbed and fast.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='766792' first='Briana' last='Uhde'], 5'11", SF, Shawnee Mission Northwest - Uhde has handles that enable her to work well in the weave. With openings she slashes well to the basket to get the layup. She also aggressive on the boards but needs to sharpen her ability to clear the ball after grabbing the defensive rebound.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->