8 Standout Players from Barlow Trail

On Friday, Prep Girls Hoops named <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2024/12/barlow-trail-first-team-all-tournament/">5 top players to First Team All-Tournament at Barlow Trail</a>, a girls basketball event that took place at Barlow High School in Oregon on the weekend of Dec. 6-7. But we would be remiss not to highlight these additional players who made significant contributions to their teams early in the season. Here are 8 players who deserve honorable mention:    Beaverton's 5-9 sophomore transfer [player_tooltip player_id='832048' first='Dara' last='Oluwafemi'] is calm and collected directing traffic as the point guard for the Beavers. She has great vision and playmaking abilities. Oluwafemi can beat the first defender and drive to the rim, or find teammates cutting in the paint with a perfectly timed and weighted bounce pass for the assist. She led the Beavers in scoring with 9 points in her first game of the season, 7 came in the second half after the underclassman adjusted to South Medford's experienced defenders who picked her up full-court. Beaverton trailed by more than 30 at halftime, but Oluwafemi came out with determination on the first play of the third quarter and drove strong to the basket for the finish. And-1. She hit a catch-and-shoot wing 3 and a pull-up 3. She sold the pump fake from the arc, took the space, and pulled up for a middy. Swish. Her form looks great. Oluwafemi added another 9 points in her second game. She brings the ball up under pressure, goes between the legs, and makes the bounce pass through the double-team to break the press. She dribbles beyond the arc to the wing, looking up, tween-tween to lull the defender, then sinks a pull-up 3. Oluwafemi is averaging 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2 steals after four games, three against ranked opponents.     South Medford junior [player_tooltip player_id='991248' first='Dyllyn' last='Howell'] grew her game in the offseason and stood out as a 3-and-D player at the Barlow Trail tournament. Howell is athletic and can defend well in the paint and out on the perimeter. She has good vision and passing, she sneaks out on transition and guns for the basket on the dribble. Howell averaged 10.5 points in her first two games of the season, earning fast-break layups and assists after steals. She also showed off her range with three 3s, and her shooting form looks good from the pull-up and the catch-and-shoot. Howell plays well off of teammate [player_tooltip player_id='833633' first='Sara' last='Schmerbach'], and I will be watching for the transition game from that duo this season. Howell is averaging 11 points and 3 steals per game after four games.     Beaverton 5-11 sophomore wing [player_tooltip player_id='925981' first='Ruby' last='Foord'] is athletic and strong. She was effective in the paint on both ends at Barlow Trail, averaging 9.5 points in 2 games. Foord has the ability to take the ball hard to the basket and finish strong through contact and the foul. She makes quick cuts and has the coordination and timing for the catch-and-step layup finish. Foord can protect the rim on defense and block in the key. She's fast off of the steal and can take the ball coast-to-coast for the scoop layup or draw a defender and dish for the assist. Foord is an exciting young player and is averaging 11 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.3 steals after four games, three against ranked opponents.     Barlow 5-10 senior [player_tooltip player_id='917839' first='Rachel' last='Jones'] has a 3-and-D dimension, but she was also effective in the paint at the Barlow Trail tournament. She averaged 16 points in her first 2 games. Jones is athletic, strong on boards (defensive and offensive), can make the block in the paint, and can hit from 3—she sank three catch-and-shoot 3s in the second half against Beaverton. Jones has nice footwork in the key, and can play with her back to the basket, turning on her defender to finish cleanly off the glass. She takes the ball strong to the bucket and doesn't avoid contact. Her ability to keep the ball high on the put-back after an offensive rebound is nice too.     5-9 junior wing Alexia Braden is a hustle defender and she's creative in the paint on offense, averaging 9 points in 2 games at the Barlow Trail tournament. She has the ability to make the strong offensive rebound high and finish with a put-back through contact and the foul, or a hustle offensive rebound low and step-through the defense to finish cleanly off the glass. Braden has great footwork in the key, one particular crafty take led to a left-handed layup. She can also back down a defender in the paint for the easy bucket. Braden hit one catch and shoot middy that made me wonder if it was a regular feature of her game—we will have to see! She had a big time stock (block + steal) that led to a coast-to-coast layup. Braden takes the ball hard to the basket and doesn't avoid contact to draw the foul. She gets to the line. Braden averages 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.3 steals after four games, three against ranked opponents.     Barlow 5-4 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1220175' first='Kinzie' last='Hopkins'] is a shooter! She was effective from the 3-point line at the Barlow Trail tournament. You cannot give her a free look from the arc after she's hit one. Hopkins scored 15 points in her first game of the season, all from the 3-point line. She's good at keeping possession and moving the ball in and around from the wing. She's also a decent playmaker, finding open looks for her teammates, including a sweet backdoor bounce-pass assist. Hopkins was cold from long distance in her second game and forced some bad looks in frustration, but in the second half she found her stroke after teammate [player_tooltip player_id='917839' first='Rachel' last='Jones'] started heating up. I look forward to seeing if Hopkins continues to light it up from the 3-point line for Barlow this season.     West Salem wing Lily Griffin is the only freshman from Barlow Trail to make the honorable mention list. Griffin scored averaged 7.5 points off the bench for West Salem in her first two games of the season. She's athletic, aggressive, and confident. She's not afraid to take players on and drive hard to the basket for a contested layup or to draw a foul. She crashes the offensive boards and gets the rebound and the put-back. She attacks the basket for the finished full-court layup after the steal on the wing. West Salem trailed Barlow in the first half and Griffin started the second half to help her team come back for the win. Griffin is tenacious and plays for a team that doesn't back down.     South Medford junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1142997' first='Jordan' last='Barlow'] stood out in her first game at the Barlow Trail tournament for her tough defense in both the press and on the perimeter while only committing 1 foul. She picked up Beaverton's point guard full-court, beating the dribbler to her spot, and getting her hand on many passes—a few for steals to layups or assists. She held her mark to 2 points in the first half and tallied a block. On occasion Barlow ran point in transition, and she did so effectively with confidence. She looks to score on the dribble and can find the uncontested lane all the way to the basket. Barlow has good help-side defense awareness and attempted to take a charge. Although it was ultimately called a block, it was a close call and her read showed good instincts. She crashes the offensive boards and extends the possessions for South Medford.

On Friday, Prep Girls Hoops named 5 top players to First Team All-Tournament at Barlow Trail, a girls basketball event that took place at Barlow High School in Oregon on the weekend of Dec. 6-7. But we would be remiss not to highlight these additional players who made significant contributions to their teams early in the season. Here are 8 players who deserve honorable mention: