Legacy Classic: Friday Night Fire-Starters

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday night kicked off our action at the PGH Legacy Classic in Council Bluffs. There were only a few games that took place to kick off the action but in those contests, there were some standout hoopers who did their thing. In this article we cover some of those athletes and their performances. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='865481' first='Gigi' last='Owens'] - 2027 - 5'10/5'11 - Combo Guard - Missouri Phenom Nebraska 2026 (NE)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was not aware that Owens was on this team but no matter, her performance to kick off this weekend on Friday night was impressive. She is someone that demonstrated a lot of skill on the court in her teams victory. She was communicating at a high rate, she was scoring in bunches, she was facilitating in the open court, and she was killing it on the defensive side of the ball. Her team ended the game with a victory because of their team effort but Owens had a big hand in that. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='880904' first='Ellie' last='Sievers'] - 2028 - 5'7/5'8 - Point Guard - Play4Him 2028 (IA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Most dominate player I saw compete on Friday night. Hands down. Her team ended the contest with a 9 point victory and Sievers had about 20 of those, while also dishing out assists at a high a rate and recording a ton of steals because of her teams pressure. Her program runs a nice trap in the half-court and they thrive off of it. I have had a chance to see Sievers a handful of times prior to this but her performance tonight was eye-opening. She played off of two feet every time she drove to the hoop and she finished in every way imaginable once she got under the basket. This is someone to watch this weekend if you are looking for a prospect who could be a high level college player before their basketball career comes to an end eventually. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='897434' first='Mia' last='McKenzie'] - 2029 - 5'10 - Small Forward - [program_tooltip program_id='712709' first='Nebraska' last='Attack'] 2029 UAA (NE)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The mixture of size and skill that [player_tooltip player_id='897434' first='Mia' last='McKenzie'] brings to the court is promising. She stands at around 5'10 in 7th grade and she is pretty skilled with the ball in her hands. She displayed that she can put the ball on the floor, finishing through contact. She can post with her back to the basket and finish over a smaller player at Will. All while defending the lane with her long arms and athletic ability. I wasn't aware of McKenzie's play-style before tonight but after seeing her, she definitely has a future on the hardwood if she sticks with in.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='896914' first='Addison' last='Sharpe'] - 2026 - 5'9 - Guard - [program_tooltip program_id='712709' first='Nebraska' last='Attack'] UA 2026 Select (NE)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sharpe is someone that seems to have a well-rounded game. She plays well on and off of the ball, producing at either spot. I wouldn't call her a natural 2 guard or a natural 3, more of a mix to be honest. She showed that she can catch and take her opponent off the dribble or she can step back and hit a shot from deep if someone else creates off of the dribble for her. I only had a brief time seeing her compete tonight but in that time, she was impressive. There is definitely something to build off of here if she locks in and continues to expand her skill-set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Grace Lucero-Miner - 2029 - 5'6 - Shooting Guard - [program_tooltip program_id='712709' first='Nebraska' last='Attack'] 2029 UAA (NE)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can tell that Lucero-Miner is struggling physical because of some sort of injury but she is still keeping her head up and trying to make the most of it. Usually, we highlight Miner because of her elite shooting ability from deep but tonight she showed that she can create and facilitate with the pass as well. She was making some plays across the entire court, finding her open teammates down the floor at a high rate. She is going to have better games this weekend than this one but tonight was a solid start to say the least as her [program_tooltip program_id='712709' first='Nebraska' last='Attack'] 2029 UAA team plays up a grade level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->