State Stars from the Coliseum and Convention Center – Day 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='379520' first='Natalie' last='Smith'], Nitro, F, 6-0, Jr. - </strong>Smith's court awareness continues to grow by leaps and bounds. You could see it all on display as the Wildcats upset second-seeded Wayne Thursday inside the Coliseum and Convention Center. Her biggest show of awareness came late in the game Fresh off a made free throw that put her group up by four, Smith raced down to the other end of the floor and stuffed [player_tooltip player_id='474664' first='Laneigh' last='Brooks'] on a lay-up attack. The block energized the Wildcats - their lead never dipped below five the rest of the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hannah Miller, Chapmanville, G, 5-2, So.</strong> - Miller knows how to play defense. She's got a great deal for the point-stopping end of the floor. The one thing I like about her the most? She's able to retain so much information about her assignment pre-game. Once on the floor, she adapts to the changes of a game. Showed all of these abilities and more as she guarded one of the best scorers in Class AA in Ravenswood's [player_tooltip player_id='382604' first='Hadleigh' last='McGoskey']. Tasked with guarding the college commit, Miller shut her down. All. Evening. She stuck to the Red Devilette like peanut butter on jelly. She limited the 24 ppg scorer to four points from the foul line and an 0 for 7 effort from the floor. Even more impressive, Miller didn't leave McGoskey the entire game. When she was on the floor, Miller was guarding her. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='342217' first='Kaitlyn' last='Blake'], Wheeling Central, F, 5-10, Jr.</strong> - Blake is a double-double machine. She knows multiple ways to score points and grab boards. One minute, she's posting someone up. The next minutes, she's popping out for a 15-foot jumper. Her shot looks good of her hands. Rebounding-wise, she contributes heavily on both ends of the floor. Blake is not done on either end until the rebound has been pulled down. Leaking out isn't an option for her, she wants that board. Just look at her state tournament debut to see all these numbers. Against Trinity, she scored 26 points on 11 of 21` shooting, and she pulled down 15 boards, 7 offensive caroms and 8 defensive caroms. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='861042' first='Addie' last='Payton'], Wheeling Central, G, 5-6, So.</strong> - Payton is a kid who has the ability to do a little bit of everything on the floor. She can score, she can defend, she can shoot the triple, and she can find her teammates in advantageous positions for their shots. Her abilities were on full display in the Maroon Knights' 80-35 win over Trinity. Tasked with being part of a triple-headed attack, Payton delivered. She tallied a stat line of 22 points on 8 of 17 shooting, 2 boards, 4 assists, one block and seven steals in 28 minutes of action. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='342218' first='Faith' last='Pickens'], Williamstown, P, 6-2, Jr. -</strong> Pickens showed off an improved range and the ability to be a team's top option in Williamstown's 61-41 win over Petersburg. Against the Vikings, she repeatedly looked comfortable scoring, rebounding and defending on all levels of the floor. Though she didn't have one of her usual two blocks, she altered enough shots and made things uncomfortable. Pickens continues to show improved strength and she should be even more comfortable in a primary scoring role, especially after this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->