Talented Young Guards at the Girls Nixa Invitational Tournament

Earl Austin January 27, 2026 @ 03:36 PM

Prep Girls Hoops Missouri takes a look at a group of talented young guards from the Classes of 2027 to 2029 that we watched at the Arvest Bank Girls Nixa Invitational Tournament.   [player_tooltip player_id='1039479' first='Kinley' last='Larsen'] (Strafford): The 5'8" 2028 guard was one of the top standout performers in the tournament. She averaged 24 points in leading the Indians to a pair of victories. She scored 28 points in last Friday night's big victory over Kansas City power Lee's Summit West. She showed her deep shooting stroke by making six 3-pointers in the game. She moves well to the open spots and she also can create shots off the dribble. She also handles the ball well in the open court to score in transition.     [player_tooltip player_id='777615' first='Grace' last='Means'] (Troy): The 5'10" 2027 guard had her best game in the opening of the tournament when she scored 18 points against host Nixa. She is a very skilled offensive player who was getting buckets from all three levels. She was very smooth on the drive and she was scoring in traffic in the lane. She also hit back to back 3-pointers in the first half. She also showed her playmaking skills with her ball handling and ability to pass.     [player_tooltip player_id='1231700' first='Paelyn' last='Gilmore'] (Republic): A 5'4" 2027 point guard who is a sparkplug for the Tigers with her speed and quickness along with her high energy. She is a tough cover with her ability to get into the lane on dribble penetration and knock down 3-pointers. In the first game against Helias, she drained three triples with a couple of them coming from the volleyball line. She was also playing the passing lanes on defense and hustling for loose balls.     [player_tooltip player_id='777634' first='Sway' last='Jones'] (Battle): A 5'11" 2027 guard who is one of the very talented young prospects in the Mid-Mo area. She is a three-level scorer who plays the game in a very smooth manner. She scored on a nice hesitation move that would freeze the defender. She also came off a curl screen to knock down the 17 footer off the catch. She also dialed it up from 3-point range, which included a step-back move off the dribble.     [player_tooltip player_id='913052' first='McKayla' last='Ledsworth'] (Lee's Summit West): The 5'7" 2029 guard had a strong opening game against Cape Notre Dame as she scored 13 points off the bench. She had her 3-point shot working as she knocked down three triples. She has excellent quickness and ball handling ability to be an excellent playmaker. She also had a couple of steals in the open court, which led to transition buckets.     [player_tooltip player_id='1277002' first='Zoey' last='Page'] (Lee's Summit West): A 5'6" 2029 guard who had a strong opening game against Cape Notre Dame with 11 points. She has a nice combination of quickness and strength which enables her to be an excellent defender. She's tenacious and she moves her feet well. She also attacks well off the dribble. She gets downhill very well to score in the lane.     [player_tooltip player_id='947140' first='Lydia' last='Goodin'] (Strafford): A 5'6" 2027 point guard who has good quickness and who plays a solid overall floor game. She was impressive on the defensive end where she could hawk the ball and provided some good on-ball pressure. She also distributes the ball well with the ability to penetrate and find the open teammate.

Prep Girls Hoops Missouri takes a look at a group of talented young guards from the Classes of 2027 to 2029 that we watched at the Arvest Bank Girls Nixa Invitational Tournament.