POA Holiday Classic: 9 Formidable Freshmen

Nine high school freshmen girls basketball players inspired respect through their capable play in big games at the POA Holiday Classic, which took place Dec. 27-30 in Portland. This list of freshmen includes [player_tooltip player_id='1013738' first='Love' last='Lei Best'], [player_tooltip player_id='1014114' first='Kendall' last='Dawkins'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1208223' first='Bella' last='Amens'], who all helped Oregon's No. 3-ranked Tualatin in wins on its way to earning the Platinum Title on Monday. Tualatin has since been ranked No. 2 by the OSAA Coaches Polls.    Tualatin freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1013738' first='Love' last='Lei Best'] is the best high school point guard in Oregon right now. At 5-foot-7, Best can score from all three levels—the pull-up three, the midrange runner/floater, the scoop layup—and she is a creative playmaker with a high basketball IQ. Best has excellent body control and is deceptively calm on the dribble, unfazed by getting picked up full court as she gets her team into its offense. She beats the first defender at her own pace, selling a fake and bursting, or sensing when the defender rests and she blows by. Best pushes the one-handed pass to the wing or makes the bounce pass in the lane to the forward for the assist. She has the crossover, the between, the behind the back, the hesitation, the stutter step, and more in her bag. Best has the instinct to sneak out to receive the long pass for the easy transition bucket. She can be a defensive menace like Hannah Hidalgo, getting in those tight spaces to trap the dribbler and steal the ball from behind. Best averaged 25 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals in the two games she played in the Platinum bracket at the POA Holiday Classic.     Tualatin freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1014114' first='Kendall' last='Dawkins'] is a power forward who can finish through contact and the foul with physical drives to the basket for the strong reverse layup and hit catch-and-shoot threes when they are needed most. Dawkins can sell the fake on the perimeter to burst by her defender, taking the baseline. She can cut in the paint to receive the ball in the lane for a bucket. She fights for rebounds on both sides of the court. Dawkins is athletic, able to save the loose ball before it goes out of bounds and finish from awkward angles under the basket. The freshman isn't a natural point guard, but she was able to find a way to run things for Tualatin and lead them to defeat eighth-ranked Benson in the Platinum bracket Championship at the POA Holiday Classic. Dawkins is a physical defender, getting a hand on the inside pass or the dribble in the paint. Dawkins averaged 12.3 points and 5 rebounds in three games at the tournament.     Benson 6-foot-2 freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1013457' first='Jayla' last='Lackey'] is an athletic force on both ends of the court. Lackey is a big target inside, creating points in the paint with the spin for the bucket underneath. She's got great midrange form pulling up from the baseline, turning around in the middle of the key, or kissing it off the glass on the runner just outside the lane. Lackey occupies the opposing big or draws the double-team to create more action for her teammate <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/samarah-massey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Samara Massey</a> inside. She's heads-up on transition with a quick and decisive outlet pass from a steal or defensive rebound. Lackey protects the rim on defense, getting blocks as a help defender or directly on opposing centers. Lackey did an excellent job battling Oregon's No. 1-ranked center Mayen Akpan in the paint—holding Akpan to 13 points and 7 rebounds, her personal POA Holiday Classic game low—which contributed to Benson's win over second-ranked South Medford in the semifinal. Lackey averaged 8.5 points, 7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1 steal in the Platinum bracket at the tournament.     The 6-foot-0 shooting guard from Grants Pass makes back-to-back tournament lists. [player_tooltip player_id='1124499' first='Millie' last='Lathen'] efficiently knocks down the catch-and-shoot 3 from the wing and the corner. Grants Pass is good at driving the baseline and finding Lathen behind the arc on the drift. She has excellent ball fakes and the ability for excellent passing: launching passes full court in transition to lead her teammate straight to the bucket, whipping cross-court passes from one side of the arc to the other, passing over double teams with her long arms, and zipping it inside to the player in the paint. Lathen is good at driving to the basket, especially to the left—off a hesitation or spin—for the athletic finish through contact. She had some good post play, drawing a foul after sealing off a defender inside and selling the dribble away fake to turn and take it to the rim. On defense, she can beat the dribbler to their spot and cut off the baseline, contain the player in the corner,  jump the passing lane for the steal, and strip the big on the putback. Lathen could up her physicality to consistently win 50/50s, box out to secure rebounds, and make strong bursts to receive passes and blow by the first defender. Change of pace and hustle could increase Lathen's game. She has a high ceiling. Lathen averaged 13 points, 4 reb, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 2 blocks in the first two games in the Emerald bracket of the POA Holiday Classic. She was 2 of 5 and 3 of 6 from three-point range.     Six-foot-4 [player_tooltip player_id='1013188' first='Ceanna' last='Forney'] has a great left-handed fadeaway hook shot game inside and can drain the three—Jesuit has a set play to find her for the catch-and-shoot from the wing off of a high screen flare. She has great footwork down low and can finish high and soft of the glass with either hand. Forney's height and long wingspan helped her block two shots against Oregon's No. 1-ranked center Mayen Akpan. She sets good screens up high and moves the ball quickly around the perimeter to get the assist on a three-point shot. Forney can move well off the ball and is a big target running the lane or posting up underneath. She can catch and pop for the easy bucket or make the crisp kick-out pass to shooting hands on the perimeter from the post or the controlled drive. Forney averaged 9.5 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in two games in the Platinum bracket of the POA Holiday Classic. She's only going to get better, smarter, and stronger. Forney is on my Freshmen Watchlist.     Five-foot-11 freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1125435' first='Eva' last='Lindahl'] came off the bench for Grants Pass and produced some significant offense as a small forward. Lindahl quickly knocked down a big three to give the Cavers the momentum in the second quarter of the semifinal against Emerald bracket Champions Caruthers. She and fellow freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1124499' first='Millie' last='Lathen'] produced most of Grants Pass's fourth-quarter points. Lindahl drove from the perimeter and backed down guards to make tough baskets: a turnaround midrange over two defenders, a fadeaway from the middle of the floor, and a putback after a spin move to the rim. On defense, Lindahl was involved in a tough trap that resulted in a 5-second call, and she quickly helped to knock the ball out from the big's hands on the putback. Lindahl averaged 15 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in two games in the Emerald bracket of the POA Holiday Classic. She shot 4 of 8 and 1 of 2 from three-point range.     Freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='1208223' first='Bella' last='Amens'] put in good work off the bench for Tualatin, scoring an efficient 12 points in 15 minutes and making big plays in the semifinal against Bishop O'Dowd (Calif.). Amens is fast and precise. She's got a nice drive and dish, a sweet pull-up midrange, and an athletic take to the bucket. Amens is active on defense with quick feet and involved in more steals than the box score shows. She contributed to several scoring plays on transition: driving hard to the basket and finishing through contact and the foul, finding the breakaway player for the easy bucket, beating everyone on the fastbreak dribble for the coast-to-coast layup, and running the court to receive the pass for the open layup. Amens comes up with little hustle plays that add up, like blocking a big's putback from the baseline and running down the loose ball. Amens averaged 8 points, 2.5 steals, and 2 assists in the Platinum bracket of the POA Holiday Classic.     Freshman guard Bailey Griffin is a combo guard for Southridge who has good ball-handling skills with the between and the crossover, can bring the ball up to start the offense and beat the first defender to create open looks for teammates. She has a good positive dribble to beat the press and find the open teammate ahead. Griffin looks to pass first—the backdoor bounce in the lane, the drive and kick-out to the perimeter—but she can hit the catch-and-shoot three or blow by all the way to the basket for the spin in the paint and the finish off the glass. She runs off the ball well. Griffin fights for position to get offensive rebounds, and she's heads-up after the defense rebound for the quick outlet pass to make something happen in transition. Griffin is a good defender with active feet and active hands: stealing the pass from the top of the zone, closing out the ball handler at the top of the key, poking the ball away from the dribbler in the press, and running down the dribbler on the break to get the stop and steal. Griffin averaged 13 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1 steal in two games in the Emerald bracket at the POA Holiday Classic.     [player_tooltip player_id='1231681' first='Camryn' last='Herzberg'] is another freshman guard for Southridge who defends well and runs the court on both ends. Herzberg consistently gets back on defense to kill the break. After missing a corner three, she immediately ran back to pick off the outlet pass from the opposing rebounder. That's hustle. She also gets out on offense for the outlet pass or takes it herself quickly up the court after a defensive rebound. Herzberg's not afraid to drive through the lane or through traffic and can finish through contact, draw the foul, or kick it out to create the open look for a teammate. Herzberg can hit the open catch-and-shoot from three-point range, including a big-time three to put Southridge up against Silverton late in the fourth quarter of the Emerald bracket semifinal. Herzberg reads the ball well and jumps the passing lane for the deflection or steal and gets hands on passes inside at the top of the zone to create turnovers. Herzberg averaged 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in two games at the POA Holiday Classic.

Nine high school freshmen girls basketball players inspired respect through their capable play in big games at the POA Holiday Classic, which took place Dec. 27-30 in Portland. This list of freshmen includes Love Lei Best Love Lei Best 5'7" | PG Tualatin | 2028 State OR , Kendall Dawkins Kendall Dawkins 6'0" | SF Tualatin | 2028 State OR , and Bella Amens Bella Amens SG Tualatin | 2028 State OR , who all helped Oregon's No. 3-ranked Tualatin in wins on its way to earning the Platinum Title on Monday. Tualatin has since been ranked No. 2 by the OSAA Coaches Polls.