Final-4 Faceoff: 17U F/16U G Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday April 3rd I attended the Prep Hoops Girls&nbsp;<strong>Final-4 Faceoff&nbsp;</strong>tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched 10 different teams play and here were my</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">17U Forward/16U Guard Standouts</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1733377' first='Lydia' last='Polk'] [program_tooltip program_id='713210' first='Bella' last='Vista Prep'] (Desert Dream Supreme 17) (Pictured left)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tall and long wing forward who collects steals in bunches, grabs rebounds out of her area and pushes the pace. She will score with her back to the basket or get fouled and/or hit the three making her a very tough cover.&nbsp;She is just scratching the surface of her potential. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1808216' first='Layla' last='Jones'] [program_tooltip program_id='713210' first='Bella' last='Vista Prep'] (Desert Dream Supreme 17)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long power forward who moves gracefully from end to end. She runs the court well and will score on put backs and tough contested layups. Her out of area rebounding really stood out and she brings a big motor to the court.&nbsp;She is another that would be on the all upside team. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1121674' first='Kaitlyn' last='Christensen'] Mountain View Mesa (Foundations Basketball Club 17)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly skilled wing forward who can score it from inside and out. She has a cerebral approach to the game and will score with deceptively quick bursts to the basket and get downhill to score with either hand. She also has a sharp mid-range pull-up she likes to use and rebounds well in her area.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105322' first='Aryanna' last='Harrison'] Millennium (Peak-Hollerbach 17)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long guard/wing who is a very good defender in space. She gets deflections and rebounds with her length and will grab out of area rebounds and closes out about as well as you can. She was arguably the most active defender I viewed on Friday night.&nbsp; She is also a capable three point shooter and had some incredible passes up the court perfectly in stride.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brooke McCartney PF 6'3 2027 Eastlake/ID (Meta Hoops 17)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A face-up power forward with rare size. She is very strong and skilled. She will score with a nice-looking mid-range pull-up and transition layups plus contested layups in traffic. She is also a very good passer for her position and size.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1318483' first='Alexa' last='Longmire'] Casteel ([program_tooltip program_id='722275' first='Valley' last='Basketball Club'] 16U S40)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A good sized point guard for her class is a natural scorer. She is very good on the ball defensively and moves her feet well with good lateral quickness. She will score with a quick first step to the rim and can change speeds as well. She will throw impressive passes up the court and knows how to play for her age.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1811159' first='Emily' last='Luedeke'] Casteel ([program_tooltip program_id='722275' first='Valley' last='Basketball Club'] 16U S40)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger guard for an eighth grader has a pretty looking three point shot. She squares up like you should and gets the ball out of her hands quickly with a quick trigger. She is a good rebounder and makes smart reads with the ball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1810667' first='Macey' last='Wadsworth'] Highland ([program_tooltip program_id='722275' first='Valley' last='Basketball Club'] 16U S40)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger sized scoring sophomore guard is an intelligent and competitive player. She will rattle in threes off the catch, score with offensive rebound put backs and handles it well in tighter spaces to get past her initial defender.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->