Valley Christian at Ben Franklin

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday, January 26th I attended the 3A matchup of #4 <strong>Valley Christian Trojans</strong> at #14 <strong>Ben Franklin Chargers.</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From start to finish the Trojans dominated the action. They were up by as many as 15 in the 1st quarter and led 37-13 at halftime. They continued their dominance in the 2nd half led by [player_tooltip player_id='845258' first='Ellie' last='Phillips'], [player_tooltip player_id='845259' first='Bree' last='Hanzal'] and [player_tooltip player_id='845257' first='Ariana' last='Maurer'] and won it <strong>63-24</strong> in impressive fashion. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Here were some of the standouts</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845257' first='Ariana' last='Maurer'] Valley Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A three sport athlete is starting to get more comfortable with hoops. She tracks the ball well and is very athletic to blocks and rebound in bunches. She is their rare paint defender with some size and real athleticism. She scores it around the basket with right or left hand layups and her activity on defense is hard to emulate. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845258' first='Ellie' last='Phillips'] Valley Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their scoring lead guard had a big game. Shes averages almost 20 ppg and you quickly see why. She scores it with off the dribble or catch threes and is very fast and seems to be step quicker then even the fastest girls on the court showing off her speed. She has a tight crossover and changes speeds to burst past her opponents. She also runs the team perfectly and finds her teammates.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845259' first='Bree' last='Hanzal'] Valley Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A good sized scoring guard is a catch and shoot three point sniper. She can score thru contract with and-1's and is tough on defense. She will block shots and has great instincts to collect steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845263' first='Abby' last='Grier'] Valley Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard who is a smart passer and can score. She has good form on her shot from the three point line and is not bashful to get them up. She runs the floor well and is a good passer. She rebounds well on her area and has two twin junior brothers who are talented, and it clearly runs in the family.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gracie Miraglia SF 5'9 2024 Valley Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A wing forward can score and brings some toughness. She has a pretty free throw stroke and likes playing for elbow and in. She can work inside for buckets and will defend from inside and out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845261' first='Celest' last='Chege'] Ben Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic wing forward is fast and has some skill. She is good in the passing lanes and moves the ball well as a sneaky good passer. She can hit the catch three and has a nice crossover to get past her initial defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845262' first='Madeline' last='Falls'] Ben Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic forward is very fast. She is one of their top defenders. The southpaw can score from the three point line plus from mid-range with a unique push shot almost like a shot-put. She hustles from end to end and is the heartbeat of their team.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845260' first='Brianna' last='Martin'] Ben Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A rare true post player is long to block shots in and out of her area. She rebounds well and controls the paint for the Chargers.   </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lissa Adams PG 5'3 2025 Ben Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A diminutive point guard is a smart player with good court vision. She throws the pass in time to her teammates. She disrupts her opponents with her lateral quickness and is very feisty.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->