Weekend’s Best: Saturday’s Top Performers In NOVA 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the snow pushing many games to later this month and into the past weekend, I had my eye on several fun games on Saturday. Here are some players who stood out to me.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1159794"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a3543"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1357629' first='Mya' last='Bundick'] was getting face-guarded the majority of this game, and the defense Heritage played on her made her ineffective. [player_tooltip player_id='1159794' first='May' last='Marsh'] took over the majority of the ball handling and shot creation duties, and she did an excellent job. May didn't have a great day hitting jump shots, but she did a nice job getting to the rim. She got the better of star forward [player_tooltip player_id='985809' first='Alyssa' last='Stanford'] several times on the offensive end, finishing or driving by her several times. Her vision was great, too, finding cutters and open shooters. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1213227"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a35bc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1213227' first='Riley' last='Makitka'] always brings energy and a winning attitude to Heritage. The defense she played on [player_tooltip player_id='1357629' first='Mya' last='Bundick'] was outstanding. She face guarded her a lot of the game, navigating around players and never letting her breath. When Mya did get the ball, Riley did a great job using her hands. She didn't have a huge game scoring-wise, but her defense was huge, and she had 7 boards and 7 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["985809"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a361e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='985809' first='Alyssa' last='Stanford'] had a great day as a jump shooter. She had a lot of mid-range and knocked down a handful of threes. Alyssa did most of her work catching and shooting, and was a big threat picking and popping. Her touch is fantastic, and you see that on her shorter mid-range shots, which often get nice bounces. She finished with a game-high 26 points in a Heritage win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Keira Stanford ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Heritage-Leesburg","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a36ee"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the big differences in Heritage beating Woodgrove was what Heritage did on the offensive glass. Keira Stanford led that stat in the first half, and she was all over the offensive glass in this game. Keira knocked down a three in the second half and made a handful of clutch plays late. She hit some late free throws, and she got another Oboard off a miss that sealed this game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1220032"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a374f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">You can't watch an Oakton game without noticing [player_tooltip player_id='1220032' first='Jocelynn' last='Kinlaw']. Jocelynn was all over the glass, and her activity on the glass helped her get to the line a few times. The play that I felt kind of sealed the game was when she got an offensive rebound up 6 with a little under a minute to go off a missed free throw. Her mix of an elite motor, great athleticism, and velcro hands makes her one of the best rebounders in NOVA. She also hit a long 2 when Chantilly was on a big run that helped Oakton settle back into the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["876808"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a37a7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='876808' first='Sophie' last='Toole'] had a couple of turnovers late, but she still had a nice showing for Oakton in this pivotal conference win over Chantilly. Her driving ability and facilitation were great, especially in the first half. She iced this game with 4 straight free throws late as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1251857"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a37fc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Robinson jumped out to a huge lead early against West Springfield, and it felt like they were in total control till mid-way through the 3rd quarter. Robinson's offense stalled out, and West Springfield started to force some turnovers and hit shots. They cut it to an 8-point lead, and momentum was really on their side until [player_tooltip player_id='1251857' first='London' last='Augustin'] went on her own 6-0 run to push the lead to 14 to end the 3rd. Defenders had a tough time staying in front of London, and she is an outstanding athlete overall. She had an eye-popping rebound that she snagged with one hand over numerous people, which showed her athletic prowess. She constantly cut to the basket to get in position in the post, and she had a few tough finishes in traffic. She had 14 points in a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1251849"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69819e46a3851"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1251849' first='Madison' last='Coutinho'] had a great game attacking the rim. She blew by defenders and outraced players in the open court multiple times. Robinson's defense was suffocating West Springfield, especially early, and Madison's speed allowed her to convert off those turnovers in space. She had a nice finish at the rim to ice this game and finished with 12 points. Madison is a good ball handler and elite perimeter defender, and was everywhere on that side of the ball, racking up steals and deflections. A great performance in a wire-to-wire win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->