PGH Battle in the Sunflower 17U : Saturday Standouts

Farha YMCA, Andover, Kansas, hosted the final PGH Southwest Circuit event of the summer, Battle in the Sunflower. The 17U division attracted teams from Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. The event is always fun because I frequently see players, including from other states, that I saw earlier in the summer mixed in with others I gain a first look of. While not an exhaustive list, below is a number of players that stood out Saturday's day one.    Burgert brings good size, length and solid transition speed to the power forward spot. She was very active on both ends of the floor, showing athleticism defending; rebounding and working out of a variety of offensive positions.     Hawk showed herself to be a versatile scoring threat. She was the team's top three point threat, knocked down mid-range jumpers off two-dribble moves and paint opportunities inside. To create entry pass chances she solidly held a denying defender off with a forearm while and calling for the ball with the other hand. Defensively she consistently helped on drives from the weak side.     Jensen's great size was a problem in itself but add her diverse skill set and transition speed into the mix and you have a player most teams had to double or triple team. Jensen showed quick footwork on both ends, smarts in finding the open shooter out of double teams and scoring ability with turnaround jumpers and finishes with either hand.     Niblack is a young, lengthy guard/forward with a good ability to handle in space. She also showed perimeter range.     Ross is the straw that stirs the [program_tooltip program_id='1097677' first='High' last='Impact'] drink. The point guard has a terrific handle, works very well in transition with her head up to make the good finishing pass, a quick step to get into the lane and finishing ability     Versatile is the one word I can use to describe Sleder's game. The floor savvy guard ran the point, fought through a variety of half and full court pressure situations, and shot the ball well on the perimeter. She showed good quickness on both ends, defending solidly and exploiting space in defenses to create offense and finishing.     Right out the gate Sparks showed solid shot blocking/challenging ability by walling up or helping from the weak side. She competed well against a wide variety of frames and opposing posts' abilities on both ends of the floor. Offensively she extended well and showed athleticism scoring around the hoop, cleared rebounds, showed a good handle when needed and transitioned well.

Farha YMCA, Andover, Kansas, hosted the final PGH Southwest Circuit event of the summer, Battle in the Sunflower. The 17U division attracted teams from Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. The event is always fun because I frequently see players, including from other states, that I saw earlier in the summer mixed in with others I gain a first look of. While not an exhaustive list, below is a number of players that stood out Saturday's day one.