Saturday Standouts in Tampa

On Saturday, I pulled a double header with Plant at Brooks DeBartolo at 1:00 and Bloomingdale at Carrollwood Day at 6:00. Plant came out strong with a 6 points lead after the first quarter, but got outscored by a score of 25-10 in the next two. They finished strong by outscoring BDCHS 20-12 in the 4th, but it was too little too late as the Phoenix beat the Panthers 42-41. Both of these teams work very well together and will see a lot of success the rest of the year. In the second game, Bloomingdale couldn’t find much offense with a great game on both sides of the ball played by CDS. It was all CDS with a final score of 47-29. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="243947" first="Tyra" last="Kennedy"] - Brooks DeBartolo - 2023</strong> Tyra is one of the smoothest guards in the Junior class, and she’s fitting in well on a good team that is now 8-2. She started the game off slow, but shot well from the charity stripe and had some big buckets even when her shot wasn’t falling. Tyra finished with 11 points including a layup that put them up by 3 and sealed the game. She’ll only get better playing on this team and seeing some tougher competition. I’m really impressed with her craftiness and handles that make her tough to guard for any opponent. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91647" first="Morgan" last="Sieper"] - Plant - 2023</strong> Morgan came out strong with 7 early points before finishing with 9 for the game. She’s got good size for a guard and her shot is looking more confident each game I watch. She has good court vision and can handle the ball whenever they need her too. I think she still has room to grow by using her height as a true guard. Her defense is improving week in and out, too. Plant sits at 8-3 now. <strong>Ceniya King - Carrollwood Day - 2022</strong> Ceniya had the best offensive performance I saw yesterday by a long shot. She started the game with three quick 3’s, and ended with 21 total points on five 3’s. When I saw CDS earlier this year, they didn’t have Ceniya or [player_tooltip player_id="219928" first="Leah" last="Barnes"], but they look like a whole new team with these two starters back. She’s a small guard, but she does handle it well and has a smooth stroke. Look for her to be a leader on this new look CDS team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="349386" first="LeighAnn" last="Hanley"] - Carrollwood Day - 2024</strong> LeighAnn had her way with a smaller Bloomingdale team on 10 easy points. She’s really smooth around the hoop, has good hands with a soft touch, and is a strong finisher. It’s hard to believe she’s only a Sophomore as one of the top post players in her class that looks experienced, too. Keep an eye on this talent with her 10-1 squad! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="247216" first="Aissa" last="Diallo"] - Bloomingdale - 2023</strong> There wasn’t much that went right for Bloomingdale, but they played hard on every play until the final buzzer went off. Aissa shot well from the foul line, and finished with a team-high 12 points. She didn’t shoot it particularly well, but she ended with 5 boards and did a little of everything against one of the best teams in the state. Better days are ahead for the 10-1 Bulls!