Underclassmen Shine at Holiday Classic Pearl Day 1

The Pacific Office Automation Holiday Classic is underway in Portland, and so far, it's provided the premier girls hoops action that we've come to expect. 64 of the best teams from Oregon, Washington, California, Texas and Florida compete across eight brackets at five different Portland gyms.   While most of the local media focus on the Diamond Bracket and other divisions full of out-of-state teams (understandably so... did you see [player_tooltip player_id='1013738' first='Love' last='Lei Best']'s <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DS1Mr60FNWU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==">game-winner</a> last night against Washington powerhouse A.C. Davis?), I've had the pleasure of taking in the Pearl Bracket at Lincoln High School. Seven of the eight teams in the division are based in Oregon, and it still boasts plenty of talent in its own right. Below are some of the players that stood out to me from those teams in the opening round on Saturday. A heavy emphasis was placed on underclassmen, but not an exclusive one — a couple of juniors were simply too dominant to leave off.    Nguyen is a glue girl, impacting the game in ways that don't show up on the stat sheet. She is laterally quick and tough as nails, allowing her to tire out opposing guards with full-court pressure. What separates the Franklin transfer from other defense-first guards is that she can also put the ball in the hoop. She uses her strong base to finish strong and draw fouls, and her free-throw and three-point shots were also working. She finished with 15 points in Clackamas's 64-59 win over Mountainside.     Manning's inside-outside versatility is invaluable for her team. She has the shooting and quickness of a wing and the tenacity of a post player. As a result, she plays a hybrid stretch-four role in Oregon City's spaced-out offense. The Pioneers struggled from deep against Forest Grove, and Manning was no exception, but she still managed to put in hard-nosed minutes down the stretch, grabbing three steals and helping the defense smother the Vikings for only 12 second-half points.     Luzardo put together a really impressive stretch at the end of the first half against Clackamas, showing comfort both with and without the ball. On a baseline inbound play, she set a sturdy screen to free up her teammate for an easy bucket before making a fantastic spin move on a baseline drive for two points the next possession. Then, on her third time down, she made a nice drive-and-kick read for an open three that her teammate missed, but Luzardo stayed with it, chasing down the offensive rebound and putting it back in. The fact that the Mavericks have an underclassman with her skill and physicality on the bench bodes well for their future.     Snider was a major bright spot in a game where North Medford was otherwise outplayed by Grant. She was all over the court on defense, wreaking havoc in the press and in the half-court. You don't get seven steals in a game without a relentless mindset, and she was playing hard to the final whistle despite her team being down. Her 11 points were mostly created off turnovers she forced, and she does have some ways to go in terms of shooting and shot creation, but she has time to get there. Right now, she already looks like one of the most important players on the Black Tornado as a freshman.     19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, eight steals and a block in three quarters. I think that stat line speaks for itself. Wilson had the single most dominant individual first-round performance in the Pearl Bracket against North Medford. From the opening tip, the Black Tornado had no answer for her downhill drives, her ability to draw fouls, her tight handles, and her incredible conditioning. It didn't look like she lost a step all game, and she may have recorded a triple-double if she played even a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter. On defense, Wilson took the ball away in multiple ways, including picking off lob passes and just plain wrestling the ball away from somebody on a trap.     [player_tooltip player_id='837904' first='Tatum' last='Landolt'] is a floor general who plays with supreme confidence. She can be whatever her team needs her to be on any given night, whether that's a facilitator, a defender or a scorer. On Saturday against Mountainside, she was looking to score aggressively both at the rim and the three-point line, and finished with a game-high 20 points. She is coached by her mother Korey, who excelled for Clackamas as a player in the '90s and recently won a state championship as a coach in 2023. Landolt plays like someone who has been around the game her whole life, and she's such a strong communicator and leader.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Final Scores from Pearl Bracket Day 1</h2>

The Pacific Office Automation Holiday Classic is underway in Portland, and so far, it's provided the premier girls hoops action that we've come to expect. 64 of the best teams from Oregon, Washington, California, Texas and Florida compete across eight brackets at five different Portland gyms.