Skyhawk Holiday Classic: 2023

The calendar year of 2021 is drawing to a close, but not before several end-of-calendar year tournaments take place as 2021 goes in the history books and transitions to 2022. One of those tournaments was the Skyhawk Holiday Classic, hosted on the campus of Hammond School in Columbia. Several girls and boys teams converged to the Midlands for the multi-day event. Hammond itself is having a good year, basketball-wise with both its girls and boys teams putting together stellar seasons. Prep Girls Hoops was on site at Hammond School for Tuesday’s slate of games. Let’s take a look at 2023s that showed up big. <strong>Janiya Swinton – 2023 – Wilson HS</strong> – Swinton also came up clutch on a number of big plays that kept the Tigers in it with Midland Valley from start to finish. She will make quick passes to her teammates, is active away from the ball and will make a number of hustle plays – such as saving the ball from going out of bounds and maintaining Wilson’s possession. Swinton got out in the open floor for a few transition buckets and drew contact which enabled her to get to the free throw line. She concluded the game vs. the Mustangs with a 10-point effort. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-368855" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/1E33E3A7-9C3E-4BF8-B5DB-002A6B3AC80E.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="158943" first="Amiyah" last="Ferguson"] – 2023 – Timberland HS</strong> – Prep Girls Hoops recently noticed Ferguson and the rest of the Timberland squad prior to Christmas at the She Got Next Christmas Classic at Aiken High School. She is a dynamic talent that has garnered the attention of college coaches – including those at North Dakota, Hampton and North Greenville. Ferguson can and will score from anywhere on the floor and can throw opposing defenses for a loop with how efficient she is as a passer. Defensively, she is a consistent threat to steal the ball and offensively she will absorb plenty of contact, putting her at the free throw line. Ferguson scored 13 points in the Wolves’ game with Concord Academy. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="368645" first="Makayla" last="Watkins"] – 2023 – Timberland HS</strong> – Watkins is a frontcourt force for the Wolves. She got the start for head coach Allen Gethers’ Wolves against Concord Academy and stayed out of foul trouble for the game. She only had one personal called against her in addition to scoring early and often. Watkins scored 12 points and six of those 12 occurred in the first quarter of play. She will haul in rebounds from either the offensive or defensive end of the floor. Anyone looking to score in the interior with her patrolling the paint better make sure they can get around her as she can block shots. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="254155" first="Tateyoina" last="Harris"] – 2023 – Camden HS</strong> - Head coach Natalie Jeffcoat-Norris’ Bulldogs are already tough enough to deal with in the paint because of their star 2024 in [player_tooltip player_id="171798" first="Joyce" last="Edwards"]. Add in the presence of Camden’s 5-foot-10 junior who can play the three, four or five and winning low post and rebounding battles against the Bulldogs is even more of a tall task. Harris will score her fair share of points, particularly around the rim, can corral in rebounds and block plenty of shots. She started slow, scoring-wise, in the Bulldogs’ hard-fought 58-49 over host school Hammond but finished with 10 points – all in the second half. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172056" first="Kimyah" last="Foggie"] – 2023 – Legacy Early College</strong> – In LaTrese Davis’ second season at the helm for the Lions, his team has already eclipsed and surpassed its win total from last season. Foggie is a reason as to why the Lions are 12-2 this season as opposed to 9-12 in 2020-21. Foggie defends well and will have no problems shooting 3-pointers. She will attract a lot of contact and will find her way to the free throw line. She was one of four Legacy Early College players to finish with seven points in the team’s game with Lower Richland. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-370518" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/12/318AA2AC-0BD6-49C0-8344-BD5AAEA3F931.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="266063" first="Skylan" last="Swindoll"] – 2023 – Legacy Early College</strong> – What Foggie does for the Legacy Early College backcourt, Swindoll does for its frontcourt. Swindoll is in her first season wearing Lions colors after she transferred from Easley. She had the first points of the game via a 2-pointer near the rim and played an integral role as to why the Lions raced out to a 12-5 lead over Lower Richland as the first quarter of that game concluded. On a couple of occasions, she got fouled which placed her at the free throw line. She as well had seven points in the game with the Diamond Hornets. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="194863" first="Kamya" last="Hatten"] – 2023 – Legacy Early College</strong> – Lions head coach LaTrese Davis will have big shoes to fill once Foggie, Swindoll and Hatten depart from the high school ranks after the 2022-23 season. Hatten will pull down rebounds and can make creative passes that can set teammates up to score. She has a mindset to attack the rim and understands that she at times will get bumped on her way to the basket which will place her at the free throw line. She can intercept passes and cause many a problem on defense. Hatten was another of five Lions players who had seven points.