A Star Studded Matchup Between Two Southwestern 4A Teams

Before the game between Myers Park and Independence even started, everyone in the gym knew [player_tooltip player_id="116872" first="Jessica" last="Timmons"]’ (Independence, G, 2021) name as she was recognized for being the all time leading scorer for females in Charlotte Mecklenburg County and second all time for both genders in the county. Now, let’s get to the game between two strong teams in the Southwestern 4A conference that displayed many future collegiate players. Myers Park came out with the victory, but they certainly had to battle all 32 minutes for the win with the score of 45-43. Here are some of the standout performers. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Jessica-Timmons-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790054.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-256339 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Jessica-Timmons-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790054-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>Timmons, the NC State commit, is money when she gets a shot, and her shot selection is superb as she knows when to be patient to show it off. It almost seems like she thrives off of contact looking for ways to post up against opponents when she doesn’t have the ball, and she certainly shows no fear driving through the paint. Her aggressiveness with the ball helped lead Independence back to having a chance to win the game. She finished with 18 points. [player_tooltip player_id="201033" first="Braylyn" last="Milton"] (Independence, G, 2021), the Cincinnati commit, can do a little bit of everything like drive the ball, pull up for a shot, or box out for a nice rebound. She frequently shows off a talented floater from the middle of the paint, but she definitely doesn’t shy away from contact taking it all the way to the basket. Her shooting, especially three pointers, kept the Patriots in the game right up until the end, and she was able to drain some free throws with the game on the line. She finished with 16 points. [player_tooltip player_id="252847" first="Kaylee" last="Carson"] (Independence, G, 2024) is an exceptional ball handler knowing exactly<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Kaylee-Carson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790124.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-256341 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Kaylee-Carson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790124-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> when and how to move with the ball to get by her opponents. She moves from end to end handling the ball finding herself close to the basket in no time. Her vision of the court is beyond her years with finding open teammates and seeing a perfect path to put the pass in order to get it to them. Her vision translates well on defense knowing how to anticipate the offense’s next move to grab steals, and she converted these to fast break points on multiple occasions. She crashes the boards grabbing rebounds, too, showing that she constantly finds way to contribute. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Gracie-Breckenridge-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790189.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-256343 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Gracie-Breckenridge-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790189-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="170" height="111" /></a>Gracie Breckenridge (Independence, C, 2021) is a strong presence inside grabbing rebounds for her team and making it difficult for anyone to score near her in the paint. She had some nice second chance opportunities that she converted to old fashioned three point plays fighting through contact. [player_tooltip player_id="116914" first="Mia" last="Xerras"] (Myers Park, PG, 2023) continues to show leadership at such a young age. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Mia-Xerras-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790265.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-256345 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Mia-Xerras-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790265-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> She controls the ball the majority of the time for the mustangs making sure she lets a play develop correctly. She is patient waiting to find the right spot for her shot, but she has a quick release that is very hard to guard. There is certainly a reason Independence focused a lot of their best defenders on her specifically. She finished with 8 points. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Reese-Wilson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790315.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-256347 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Reese-Wilson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790315-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="253286" first="Reese" last="Wilson"] (Myers Park, SF, 2024) was showing off her stroke from behind the arc, too, hitting multiple three pointers in the first half increasing the lead for her team. She certainly did not seem like a freshman with how calm she was at the end of the game. When Independence was trying to come back, she swished multiple free throws and scored a fast break lay up to make sure Myers Park sealed the deal. She finished with 14 points. [player_tooltip player_id="201042" first="Nia" last="Nelson"] (Myers Park, SF, 2021), the Howard commit, was making moves all over the<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Nia-Nelson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790367.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-256349 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Nia-Nelson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790367-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> court showing separation to score a three pointer and driving to the basket blowing by her defenders. Her strong defense showed up at just the right times grabbing steals and causing deflections when her opponents were trying to come back in the game. She finished with 9 points. [player_tooltip player_id="252851" first="Jerin" last="Truesdale"] (Myers Park, PF, 2024) does a great job driving the ball to the lane finding the open areas to score. She came out of nowhere showing speed in transition to block multiple shots on fast breaks. She is an excellent rebounder going up to meet the ball in the air rather than waiting for it to come to her. Her aggressive defense was causing problems for the Patriots, especially when they tried to drive the ball in the lane. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Janey-Thompson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790421.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-256351 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/Janey-Thompson-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1613790421-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="219811" first="Janey" last="Thompson"] (Myers Park, G, 2022) was doing an excellent job boxing out her opponents even making them go into foul trouble with over the back calls. She had some nice strips on defense pushing the ball the other way and even finding a teammate for a transition three pointer. She showed off her shot from behind the arc, too, making it obvious she is not just a facilitator.