PGH Freshman Showcase Team Nine Breakdown (Part Two)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last weekend, in Appleton, we had our third PGH Freshman Showcase. I enjoy seeing the new faces of high school basketball before the season, and plenty of players at the event will make their mark on the high school season this winter. Today, we're discussing all the players from Team Nine of the 5v5 portion of the event and highlighting what they brought to the floor. We'll keep this up until we wrap up all ten 5v5 teams that played at the Freshman Showcase.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='900151' first='Norah' last='Eidahl']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eidahl did an excellent job of rebounding in traffic and earning her team extra possessions. I liked the physicality she brought to the floor and how well she controlled the area around the basket. I was also impressed by her ability to handle the ball and make plays. She didn't have many chances to express herself in that way, but I thought there was something there with her ball handling.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1227879' first='Annie' last='Dean']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dean was among the most impressive defensive prospects at the event, excelling in both the 3v3 and 5v5 portions. She is an athletic wing with plenty of length that helps her make plays on the defensive end. Anytime I saw her playing, she made life difficult for the opposing offense, whether she was defending the ball or off the ball. No matter where she is on the floor, she will be a player who excels on the defensive end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1307706' first='Tenley' last='Neal']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Neal may have been the most impressive lead guard I saw at the event. Her ability to control the ball and make plays for her teammates jumped out to me. She sees the floor well, passes her teammates open, can get downhill, and plays with enough aggressiveness to keep defenses on their back foot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1166542' first='Olivia' last='Johnson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson takes care of the ball and does a solid job of being a player who can make things happen for her teammates. I also loved that she kept her head up with the ball in her hands and took advantage of anything she could on the offensive end of the floor. I also thought that Johnson did an excellent job as a help-side defender on the other end of the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1313499' first='Isla' last='Christensen']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christensen was a physical frontcourt player who defended well around the basket. She did an excellent job of initiating contact on the defensive end of the floor without fouling. She also made some plays around the basket offensively that caught my attention, and she has room to grow on that end of the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->