PGH Victory Region Finals: 17U Saturday Morning Notes Pt 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The PGH Victory Region Finals featured many prospects who dazzled with their playmaking and showed their best ball on the court. Here are more competitors who made an impression during the morning session.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#16 [player_tooltip player_id='336011' first='Christen' last='Banks'] 2025 [program_tooltip program_id='713067' first='Michigan' last='Lady Playmakers']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='336011' first='Christen' last='Banks'] continued her excellent spring season with another strong showing this morning. She attacked the basket and earned many free throws then knocked them down consistently. Christen drove baseline to score an impressive reverse layup off two feet and used inside-out dribble moves to create space. She caught an entry pass in the high post, pivoted, and then used a drop step to bury a contested jumper.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#2 Jaleese Williams 2025 Rockford Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaleese knocked down a free throw with a textbook high release and extended her range to bury a 3-pointer from the wing. She has unique speed and ball-handling control to break pressure by herself. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#3 [player_tooltip player_id='1003213' first='Jaylynn' last='Goodwin'] 2026 [program_tooltip program_id='714288' first='Bluegrass' last='Girls Basketball']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaylynn is a feisty guard who uses her shifty quickness to cause challenges for opposing ballhandlers and impact the game on offense. She cut ball handlers off on defense and forced missed shots without fouling. Jaylynn scored a full-speed contested layup and outraced the defense in transition to elevate for a soft, Jason Williams-like floater off the glass. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#21 [player_tooltip player_id='991524' first='Olivia' last='Pifer'] 2025 KYP FS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olivia corralled a defensive rebound and then pushed in transition to create a scoring opportunity. She worked for offensive rebounds and showed her efficiency outside, knocking down a 3 from the corner and the wing. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#10 Ella Tasca 2026 Chase the Dream Arroyo</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ella was an effective scorer for her team Saturday morning. She drilled two wing 3's off the catch, drove and scored a high contested floater, and created space off the dribble with wide lateral pushouts. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#24 [player_tooltip player_id='254283' first='Claire' last='Roberts'] 2025 Bluegrass Basketball</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Claire was on fire offensively for her team Saturday morning, drilling many 3's, and scoring an offensive rebound put back. Claire created turnovers with deflections and steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#3 Alivia Brown 2025 Rockford Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alivia flew down the floor in transition with her push-out dribbles and either scored layups or forced defenders to pick her up and leave a teammate open. She sealed defenders in the post and battled for offensive rebounds then scored off two feet. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#25 [player_tooltip player_id='908941' first='Tiareyona' last='Holmes'] 2025 Pride 21</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tiareyona crossed her defender over to drive from the wing and score off two feet in the paint. She blew by her defender again with a crossover, but recognized the help and dished to an open teammate. Tiareyona attacked on a drive then scored a floater off two and finished another layup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='879343' first='Alanah' last='Dubose'] 2026 [program_tooltip program_id='715843' first='Kentucky' last='Elite']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='879343' first='Alanah' last='Dubose'] combined behind-the-back snaps, crossovers, and push-out dribbles to create space to score or create shots for teammates. She stole the ball then scored a full-speed layup in transition, made another one, and buried 3's outside. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#1 [player_tooltip player_id='885374' first='Ariyana' last='Sutton'] 2025 Bluegrass Girls Basketbal</strong>l</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ariyana impressed me with her complete game Saturday morning. She threw a skip pass assist from corner to corner and beat her defender on a hard drive with a spin dribble and left layup off the glass. Ariyana stole the ball away and closed out fast, but under control. She put her shoulder into the defender's chest then elevated to score a contested floater. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#24 [player_tooltip player_id='862420' first='Emerson' last='Gregory'] 2025 KYP FS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emerson scored with efficiency in the paint. She outworked the other team for offensive rebounds and scored multiple contested put-backs inside. Emerson finished with her left hand and attacked downhill on her drives. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#21 Abby Metzger 2025 Rockford Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Abby made all of the plays to help her team compete and be successful this morning. She scored many offensive rebound putbacks off two feet in the paint and scored contested shots. Abby was praised by her head coach as a glue player who increased her vertical through hard work in weight training and is an outstanding student. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#0 [player_tooltip player_id='906921' first='Kaylynn' last='Millander'] 2025 Michigan Knights</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaylynn showed off her athleticism again on Saturday. She scored a contested floater through a foul, left finishes off two feet, layups, and used an advanced lateral dribble crossover combo with a step back to bury a triple up top. Kaylynn fired a one-handed pass full court on the money to her teammate in stride and has the toughness to be face-guarded by the opposing teams top defender and meet the challenge. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#32 [player_tooltip player_id='885362' first='Sophie' last='Pridemore'] 2025 Bluegrass Basketball</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophie was relentless inside for her team Saturday morning. She battled in the paint for offensive rebounds and finished many put-backs off two in the paint. Sophie sealed her defender in the low post with a strong base and excellent technique. She plays with great effort and wrestles for 50/50 balls on the floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->