Cherokee Invitational: Champions Repeat

For the third year in a row the Lady Braves from Cherokee High School have won their bracket and championship at the Insider Exposure Cherokee Invitational. For Winston Salem Christian and head coach Delaney Rudd it was another successful tournament where they brought home the hardware. These two teams are loaded with very good high school players, many of whom will continue to play in college.    Every year at this event Stamper doesn't just compete, but holds her own and often outplays some of the other best post players in the South. She did a great job sealing her defender in the post, giving her teammates a target to pass to, and met the basket on post entry passes. Once she had the ball she punished the defense with lay ups, quick half-hook shots over her shoulder, and several turnaround jump shots. Stamper is an elite athlete and used her leaping ability to get multiple offensive rebounds and putbacks in each game. She is an excellent shot blocker and rebounder. She has the size and speed to guard every position on the floor.     Madi plays with a high level of controlled aggression combined with good decision making. She always makes plays on defense in Cherokee's full court press, especially on the ball using her length and quick feet. She got multiple steals and converted them to easy lay ups during the tournament. She got several deflections and jumped in the passing lane to pick the ball of as well. Rogers shot the ball well from three-point range and made mid-range jump shots. In the halfcourt Rogers was able to get the rim often either scoring or converting her shots from the free throw line. Rogers Madi was one of the top performing wing players at the tournament.     Daisee came in with the reputation of being an excellent shooter from deep and she lived up to that torching teams all tournament long from behind the arc. She was especially effective in Cherokee's High-Low offense against teams that ran a zone defense. She was always waiting on the pass and ready to shoot- squared up to the basket with her feet set, and made several threes for Cherokee. Daisee also was excellent running the floor and making herself available on the fast break after a steal or defensive rebound. She showed toughness on the break finishing through hard contact. She is very quick and has good leaping ability which also makes her hard to deal with in Cherokee's full court pressure defense and a good rebounder for a guard.     Makenzie is a bouncy, long athlete that plays the game with high intelligence. She rebounds the ball well, she is a good shot blocker and she does an excellent job finishing in tight spaces around the rim. Michael showed soft hands catching close passes in traffic and elevating over the defender to finish. Michael is especially good in pick and roll situations where she gets a lot of her points off passes from the guard. Michael was active on the boards on both ends and got a few put backs on offense. Michael's has the athleticism to guard multiple positions on defense.     At 6'3 Zakor was a real inside-out threat as she used her size to score inside and great form to hit jump shots from the perimeter. In the post Zakor used spin moves and head fakes to create space and power to finish through contact. Zakor displayed great vision in the post making very good cross court passes to the opposite wing for open threes and hit cutting teammates when the defense collapsed on her. Zakor shot the ball very well from the free throw line.

For the third year in a row the Lady Braves from Cherokee High School have won their bracket and championship at the Insider Exposure Cherokee Invitational. For Winston Salem Christian and head coach Delaney Rudd it was another successful tournament where they brought home the hardware. These two teams are loaded with very good high school players, many of whom will continue to play in college.