CLASS 6A: Young Standouts

Prep Girls Hoops Kansas Scouting Report

Israel Potoczny

March 17, 2020 @ 12:00 PM

The opening round of the Kansas 6A state championships opened on Wednesday with quarterfinal play at Wichita State University in Wichita. Olathe East beats Wichita-Heights, 49-48.; Topeka over Olathe North, 79-55; Liberal over Olathe South, 41-33; and Derby beats SM Northwest, 44-39. The Kansas High School Activities Association announced on Thursday the remaining state tournament games will not be played. Here, Prep Girls Hoops takes a look at several young standouts. [player_tooltip player_id="94011" first="Ashlyn" last="Alloway"], 5’9, F, 2022, Olathe North A quick and strong player who has good size and the ability to rebound and make plays inside. A sophomore who contributes on the perimeter and inside. Alloway scored six points, eight rebounds, one assist and three steals against Topeka.She is great at forcing turnovers and has the handles to keep the ball herself in transition and go coast-to-coast and score. Maryn Archer, G, 2023, Derby The freshman standout continued to look strong for Derby as she showed up on both ends of the floor. She has good handles and good size and is physical and quick to get back on defense. She finished the game with eight points and one steal and was perfect from the free-throw line hitting all four of her attempts. Archer didn’t look to score as much as she usually does but was active and shows a lot of poise for her age considering the moment. Addy Brown, 6’2, G/F, 2023, Derby The freshman forward looked to make plays as a rebounder and scoring option for Derby and was strong with the ball and showed ball security and a willingness to make the extra pass. Brown was on the floor the longest for her team and despite only shooting 30 percent from the field, showed a lot of potential given her mobility, overall size and flexibility. She finished the game with six points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. An impactful player and a young one at that. Ashley Carillo, 5’5, G, 2022, Liberal A quick and fiery young guard who brings speed, solid handles in the ability to create some get the ball to a teammate. She can score and is confident with her shot but she doesn’t have to score in bunches to make a strong impact. She’s a good team player and her offensive game will improve with more reps. Carillo led her team with four assists and one steal and a bucket. [player_tooltip player_id="94007" first="Tamara" last="Harris-Webster"], 5’9, F, 2022, Shawnee Mission Northwest A good sized small forward who looks to attack the basket and score from outside. She can rebound and plays physical on the perimeter and inside as she has good size and speed. Harris-Webster had three points, three rebounds, one steal, one block and one assist against Derby. She’s a smart overall player for Northwest and just shows up in a variety of ways when she’s not getting the bounce. Yiibari Nwidadah, 6’0, C, 2022, Olathe North An impressive young center who shows a lot of upside given her frame and two-way play. Nwidadah shows an ability to dominate as a rebounder and shot-blocker and can post up as well. She is good in an up-and-down style of play and can play an old-school style in the low post. Nwidadah had a strong game against Topeka scoring eight poist, 10 rebounds (eight on the offensive glass) one block and one steal. [player_tooltip player_id="125023" first="Saniya" last="Simmons"], 5’1, G, 2022, Olathe North Simmons adds speed and scoring to the floor for North. She’s young and is still learning her role on the team on offense. But she has the ability to rebound on defense and can score from the free throw line and as a slasher. She can handle the ball and creates with her dribble and plays well for her size. Simmons had five points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals. [player_tooltip player_id="124991" first="Reagan" last="Ponzer"], 5’7, G, 2022, Olathe South Another guard for South who plays quick and looks to compete even when he shot isn’t falling. Ponzer is listed at 5’7 and runs the floor well as a transition defender and competitive player with a lot of energy. She’s young still and sees a lot of playing time for her age but she is still learning how to contribute with the ball. Tae Thomas, 5’6, G, 2022, Topeka Another sophomore guard for Topeka who is playing well and has good speed. Thomas had four rebounds against Olathe North and added four points, two assists and one steal. She also had a 3-pointer and was efficient on the offensive glass.