Champions Challenge 15U Sunday Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Champion Center was full of great basketball action in the 15U division. Here are just a few of the players that stood out to me on day 2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1264437' first='Kinley' last='Peterson']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='713127' first='Wisconsin' last='Legends'] Black (Fox Valley Lutheran)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was my first time watching Peterson play, in-person, and I came away impressed with her game. Smooth ball-handler with a mature feel for the game that you do not see in many freshman. She was FVL's leading scorer this season, at 15.6 ppg, and it is easy to see why. Equally comfortable handling with either hand, Peterson ran lead guard and had no problem getting to her spots knocking down mid-range, finding cutting teammates or showing off her quick release knocking down multiple three balls in the first game of the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='874404' first='Ava' last='Cumicek']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='712778' first='Purple' last='Aces'] (Notre Dame Academy)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cumicek (5-8) out of Notre Dame Academy was one of the more impressive players that I watched over the weekend. Only able to catch glimpses of her game Friday, I was glad I watched her early game on Sunday. One of the more dynamic offensive players, she showed a quick first step blowing by defenders with the ability to finish with either hand over and through traffic while bringing physicality. When given any space, on the perimeter, Ava showed a very quick release knocking down three long balls keeping the defense on its heels at all times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1236090' first='Elly' last='Gardner']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='1824595' first='Team' last='Prime Nation'] (Columbus Catholic)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1236090' first='Elly' last='Gardner'], coming off a 20.8 ppg freshman season, for The Dons, was easily one of my top performers for Sunday. On a loaded [program_tooltip program_id='1824595' first='Team' last='Prime Nation'] squad, she stood out with her scoring ability knocking down seemingly, not only every three-ball that she shot, but getting to the basket, at-will and finishing consistently with either hand. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1814253' first='Keatyn' last='Schnoor']</strong>-Court 45 Hodges (Solon, IA)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5-10 Schnoor, out of Solon HS (IA), made my list of top performers on Sunday. Showing a nice all-around game, Schnoor finished with 18 points, in the game I watched, scoring from all three levels knocking down three 3-pointers to go along with 5 boards. On the defensive end, Keatyn gave her opponents fits with tenacious on-ball defense accounting for maybe 5-6 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1814489' first='Legaci' last='Lewis']</strong>-Pink Panther Elite (Milwaukee)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a bit of a slow start, Stretch-4 Lewis (5-10) got red-hot towards the end of the first half and into the second during her last game of the day. With 8 at halftime, she exploded in the second half with five 3-pointers, some from around 21-22 feet, to finish with an unofficial 25 points and 11 boards. What really impressed me was her decision making. When the defense extended out to prevent her from shooting, she made accurate passes from the top of the key/wing area to open teammates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->