2024 State Tournament: Afternoon Avengers – Day 1
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We had some heated contests during our first day of play at the Nebraska State Girls Basketball Tournament. In the article below, we evaluate seven standout prospects from their performances during yesterday afternoon. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy! Ellie…
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Continue ReadingWe had some heated contests during our first day of play at the Nebraska State Girls Basketball Tournament. In the article below, we evaluate seven standout prospects from their performances during yesterday afternoon.
Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!
Ellie Tramp
Ellie Tramp
Ellie Tramp is a patient and productive prospect on the hardwood, that does a good job of keeping it simple. In her team’s afternoon contest against Clarkson-Leigh, you could tell that Tramp just has a different feel than most other players on the floor. She keeps everything in front of her, she moves well from side to side, and she is smooth in every action that she is attempting to make. They had to play against a zone so you didn’t see her as the natural PG you would imagine but you could tell that on rotation, she was tearing up the open court with her eyes, looking for holes in the defense. On Day 1 of this State Tournament, Tramp has looked like one of the most composed out there and that says everything about her game.
Brynn Settje
Brynn Settje
Clarkson-Leigh High School had 15 points at halftime and half of those were scored by Junior, Brynn Settje. Settje was getting everything to go in the first half, from all three levels on the offensive side of the floor. She did a fantastic job making herself available to the ball, helping her make the most of her opportunities. This contest was a tight one that went back and forth for most of the afternoon. There wasn’t a team that jumped out to a significant lead for the most part. It was swing one way 5-7 points and then the other way. In the end, the Crofton won by a slim margin and a big reason for that being because of the play of Settje.
The Lincoln North Star Gators got an “upset” victory against Millard North on Wednesday. In a contest that had a handful of future college athletes all wrapped into one, the Gators ended up being too much offensively for the Mustangs. One of the most impressive prospects on either team was Freshman, KayTee Irons KayTee Irons 5’5″ | PG Lincoln Northstar | 2027 NE of North Star. Irons did everything right in this one by my standards. She kept the game at a pace in which her team could dominate, she made the simple and right pass a majority of the time, and she hit open shots from deep in really important moments. Within a program that has some ballers, Irons could turn out as one of the best at the end of the day. Her progression will be key but as for yesterday and looking forward for the rest of this week, she is more than ready for the moment.
Highlights
In one of the most anticipated games of the day, the Omaha Central Eagles competed in a highly intense battle against the powerhouse that is Millard West. This game had a lot of offensive attempts but not a ton of makes to start things off. One of the best players on the floor for the Eagles because of her rebounding and defense was Forward, Noelle Tcheuhchoua. If I’m not mistaken, Tcheuhchoua is coming off of injury but she looked effective in several different aspects of the game. She was rebounding at a high rate and making some impressive defensive plays that you could definitely write about. For a prospect to standout without scoring the basketball says something. It says that they can play a plethora of different systems, making it work no matter what the situation may be. In this game there were standouts on both sides, Tcheuhchoua being one for the Eagles every time she saw the floor.
Kylee Paten might not be one of her teams top two options but she makes her persence known, every time she takes the floor in one way or another. Against the Omaha Central Eagles, Paben was vital in her teams success. She made big shots down the stretch, rebounded at a high rate, and she did anything that her coaches asked of her whenever she subbed into the game. I’ve mentioned Paben before because of her ability on the floor and future ceiling on the hardwood. She has really good size at 6’0-6’1 and she moves well. If she progresses at the rate that you’d imagine, the sky is the limit. She was important in her team’s First Round game and that’s going to be a steady theme throughout the rest of this week.
In a game that had several impressive players, someone that stood out because of their touch and length was Sarah Gatwech Sarah Gatwech 6’0″ | CG Lincoln North Star | 2025 State NE . She may have not of put up the biggest or best stat line but the takes she had toward the hoop are impressive, while playing some stout defense in the full court. Not to mention that she works hard. She is the first to be on the floor and that was on display on Wednesday afternoon. If you are looking into the potential that a player might have, Gatwech becomes very interesting in that conversation. She could do some real good in the right collegiate system at the end of the day. She earns every minute she gets and that’s something everyone can respect. She took over in the second half of this Gator’s win and that was vital for them to move onto Round #2.
Eleanor Griffin Eleanor Griffin PG Lincoln Southwest | 2026 NE
Eleanor Griffin Eleanor Griffin PG Lincoln Southwest | 2026 NE
Last night was the first time that I had the chance to see Eleanor Griffin Eleanor Griffin PG Lincoln Southwest | 2026 NE compete and her performance was crucial in her teams 2 point victory. Griffin is a lengthy lefty, that can score from the inside or outside. She is a player that was a constant in her teams game last night. She started things off in the first half by hitting a number of big shots from deep, over the outstretched hand of the opposing team’s 6’3 Center. In the second half, it was much of the same story – production wise. Griffin was scoring at a high rate and getting stops defensively on every other possession it seemed. Like I said, this was my first time seeing Griffin play and I was shocked how good she was. All season long you hear about this team’s star in future Nebraska Husker Kennadi Williams Kennadi Williams 5’7″ | PG Lincoln Southwest | 2024 State NE but Griffin means just as much to this group in the grand scheme of things.