Haven Wildcat Classic Day 1 Quick Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My first of three back-to-back mid-season tournament stops was Friday night for the first round of the Haven Wildcat Classic. The very competitive opening night included KBCA 3A #1 Halstead, #7 Cheney and #8 Haven. 5As Valley Center and Maize, 4As Andale and Circle, and always competitive 3A Garden Plain. Interestingly all four 3A schools are among the teams in the Halstead sub-state. Below are just a handful of the players I that caught my attention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='982107' first='Brooke' last='Grimes'], 5'7", SG, Andale, 2027 - After seeing the Grimesless Indians get clobbered by Valley Center early in the season it was great to not just see her play for the first time but also see where the team is at. The team is vastly improved and not just because they have the all-stater back. Clearly not 100% Grimes' impacts did not require scoring (5 pts including a 3). Her experience, passing ability and basketball IQ made everybody around her play better. The team turned the ball over less, took better shots and defended better as a unit. She and point guard [player_tooltip player_id='999825' first='Abbi' last='Winter'], who poured in 20 points, clicked well together. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Macey Batt</strong>, 5'7", CG, Cheney, 2025 - Batt hustle and speed in transition as well as defensive work on Andale's [player_tooltip player_id='982107' first='Brooke' last='Grimes'] was very disruptive to the Indians. She consistently beat opponents down the floor each way and turned offensive chances into buckets and free throw attempts. She went 7/9 from the line on the way to 15 points. She also was very competitive on the boards. Definitely my first choice on the team to lock up an opponent's best shooter in future games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='675832' first='Anna' last='Duncan'], 5'11", SF, Valley Center, 2025 - Duncan caused a substantial amount of defensive misery for Circle. Despite getting into very early foul trouble she went off for 23 points. Whether in transition, off rebounds or mid-range chances and especially off screens and curl plays the Thunderbirds just had no answer but to foul her...and that did not work out well either. She went a sparkling 13/14 from the line! Her headiness, transition speed, quick hands and toughness around the boards helped her gather numerous offensive rebounds and a few steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1268034' first='Rilynn' last='Patry']</strong>, 6'1", C, Haven, 2028 - Without question Patry is one of the top young players in 3A and easily one of the top bigs in the class regardless of classification. She brings to the table a athletic frame, speed, a quick bounce to her hops and an ability to play well with Haven's experienced, standout forwards [player_tooltip player_id='616756' first='Sienna' last='DeFrain'] and [player_tooltip player_id='544003' first='Avery' last='Brawner']. Putting up 15 points and pulling down over a dozen rebounds, she was gamely but futilely challenged by Garden Plain forwards within 8' of the hole. Fouling her was about the only way she was slowed down, Patry only sank 1/8 from the line. When Brawner got into foul trouble and DeFrain went down briefly with an injury on a breakaway she provided scoring and rebounding to help stem an Owl rally.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1265256' first='Reese' last='Stuhlsatz']</strong>, 5'10", PF, Garden Plain, 2026 - It was great to see Stuhlsatz and company after their sub-state loss a season ago. She and the rest of Owls are vastly improved. On both ends against Haven's sizeable and talented bigs, she just flat battled. While I lost track at 9 Stuhlsatz may have had a double-double given she scored 12 points. Fast, very smart, strong and with good hops also generated a couple steals. A fierce, athletic, hard-nosed team who will not be an easy out come the post-season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1216007' first='Bailey' last='Bernal']</strong>, 5'10", PF, Halstead, 2027 - The Dragons are a well coached, experienced bunch who can generate points in bunches off turnovers and perimeter passing. The athletic, active and solidly framed forward was very impactful around the hoop with her scoring and rebounding. I really liked how well, like the rest of the Dragons, she boxes on both ends of the floor. Off the offensive rebound she showed good bounce to go back up with the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lexee Shipp</strong>, 5'8", PG, Maize, 2026 - After falling down quickly to Halstead after one quarter 18-5 it took awhile for the Eagles to realize they were a better team than what they showed. Shutting down Halstead in the second the team emerged in the third with confidence, especially Shipp. While she only registered one bucket it was her passing, hand speed defensively and hops that were on display. Shipp has a great frame at the PG position and she combined that with her hand speed and some lateral quickness to disrupt passes and drives. Shipped boxed well and showed good bounce on her mid-range jumper.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gracie Tucker</strong>, 5'11", SF/PF, Circle, 2025 - Circle has a couple experienced, physical leaders at the guard spot but the Tucker sisters (Molly is a 2026) are the most athletic and speedy forwards the Thunderbirds have. Gracie Tucker, who is arguably the Thunderbirds' best pure athlete, was the most successful player defending Valley Center big [player_tooltip player_id='969771' first='Taylor' last='McDonald'] because she was physical, showed great hops and good bounce on rebounding and on her shots. Tucker only put up 3 points including 1/2 from the line but she showed a textbook one dribble move jumper off a mid-range catch. I get that she is a non-starting senior but Tucker can play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->