Moore and Jones Tournaments: Day One Standouts

Before heading up to Jones for the evening, I was able to catch the first two games of the John Nobles Invitational at Moore High School and got to see the Choctaw Yellowjackets take on the Norman North Timberwolves. The undefeated Yellowjackets opened with a 25-4 first quarter and really never looked back; winning the game 59-35 after emptying the bench very early in the fourth quarter. In the second game, the host Moore Lions faced off with the Millwood Falcons. The Lions outscored the Falcons in all but one quarter and moved to the winning side of the bracket with a 53-30 victory. Once I got to Jones, I caught Bethany and Woodward which turned into an absolute barn-burner after Woodward used a 24-10 fourth quarter to come back and tie the game at 60. A buzzer-beater by sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="318173" first="Avery" last="Marchino"] ended up winning it for Bethany, 62-60 as Woodward came up just short. In the nightcap, host team Jones absolutely destroyed Perkins-Tryon with a tremendous defensive effort as they shut them out for both the first and third quarters and wound up 55-15 victors. [player_tooltip player_id="321749" first="Hannah" last="Fields"] | 5-11 G/F | Norman North | 2023 | <a href="https://x.com/HannahGFields2">@HannahGFields2</a> As a scout who sees a TON of players from day to day, they can all start to blend together. I’m just being honest with you here. It can get hard to remember who plays for what team and stuff like that. Anyways, I saw Norman North warming up and Hannah is that player that you see and you’re like "ohhhh, this is the team that has that one girl!" I feel like that’s probably the way every opponent is too. If you’re playing the Timberwolves, you better be prepared for big number one! She is a tall, strong, powerful guard who has the build and handles of a Division-I point guard. She loves defending and with her wingspan, she is a real handful on that end of the floor; a true disruptor. Hannah scored 11, good for second on her team, and tied for second in the game. She scored from inside and midrange and was five-for-five from the charity stripe. The No. 94-ranked junior (probably changing soon, by the way) has an offer from SWOSU and undoubtedly more to come. [player_tooltip player_id="211906" first="Kylee" last="Hunt"] | 5-5 PG | Choctaw | 2022 | <a href="https://x.com/Kyleeshari1">@Kyleeshari1</a> It never fails that you release rankings a few days prior to seeing a player who you had seen a while ago who may have been off or something, then you see her again and she just blows you away. Welp. It happened again. [player_tooltip player_id="211906" first="Kylee" last="Hunt"] is the real deal. She ended the game with four points, but as we all know, that doesn’t matter at all. From the outset, her defense was the difference-maker. Her quick hands forced numerous steals in one-on-one situations. She moved down the court and dished the ball to a teammate for the finish. She is an unselfish player who does all of the little things, plus some. She is currently ranked No. 140 which is far too low. It would make her the No. 26 PG in the state. After seeing her today, I can tell you she is a top-5 point guard in her class. Coaches, this is your chance. She is an uncommitted senior and I am telling you to reach out. You will not be sorry. Maddie Bills | 5-9 G | Moore | 2023 | <a href="https://x.com/madeline_bills">@madeline_bills</a> Maddie is currently unranked and, again, that is an oversight on my part. She is about to be ranked and it will be a pretty high one. From the outset on Thursday, Maddie was a standout. Involved in every play, her length and speed was a problem on the defensive end for Millwood from the word go. She moves very well for a long, tall player and gets up and down the floor. She has a quick stroke with a nice high release and can flat out score the ball. She showed the handles, speed, and vision of a top-level point guard and was an absolute revelation on a very, very good Moore squad. Bills is going to be one to watch from here on out with this Moore squad and on the grassroots scene with the Shock. [player_tooltip player_id="315218" first="Brandie" last="Harrod"] | 5-10 G/F | Millwood | 2025 | <a href="https://x.com/HarrodBrandie">@HarrodBrandie</a> Brandie is another one of the really tall guards in the class of 2025 which is absolutely loaded with talent and she is no exception to that rule. She can do it all. Also, I should add, I didn’t measure her but I think there’s a chance she’s taller than 5’10" now... just from the eye test. She is long and does a really good job of finishing inside thanks to her explosive athleticism. She transitions from guard to post with ease when it is necessitated by her team’s lack of size at any given time. When playing the point, she shows great handles and despite her length does a good job protecting the ball. Inside, she defends well against bigger players who may feel like they can push her around due to her lightweight. They can’t. She is explosive and swats a lot of shots with her ability to sky for the ball. Harrod is a problem no matter where she plays on the floor. Kayten Donley | 6-1 F | Bethany | 2025 | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14400293/Kayten-Donley">Hudl</a> Speaking of outstanding 2025’s, Donley is officially on the radar. I wrote about her before after seeing her on the grassroots circuit, but somehow failed to rank her when it came time for the freshmen to be recognized. That is not the case anymore. She plays on a team with perhaps the best freshman in the state and she is most definitely not overshadowed. Donley is a big who defends well inside against the biggest of bigs. She is physical and unafraid of a challenge. She shows great vision and passing ability for a six-footer and has a very well-rounded game for such a young player. She showed off a killer midrange jumper, even fading away a little at times. As her shot continues to develop, Kayten could most definitely become a D-I prospect along with her much higher profile Bethany teammate. Thessaly Pfeifer | 5-6 G | Woodward | 2023 | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13804510/Thessaly-Pfeifer">Hudl</a> Pfeifer was everywhere for her Woodward squad, especially as they mounted a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback. She was a defensive stopper for her squad the entire game and really turned it on during the comeback, forcing several crucial turnovers. On top of playing a great game defensively, Pfeifer scored just more than half of her squads points with 31 total. Another amazing scoring stat was Thessaly was 15-of-15 from the free throw line with 13 of her points coming in the fourth quarter. Talk about clutch! Pfeifer was in on every play for her Woodward squad as they pushed a much bigger and - by most accounts - better Bethany squad to the brink. She played a phenomenal game! [player_tooltip player_id="309978" first="Keziah" last="Lofton"] | 6-0 G/F | Bethany | 2025 | <a href="https://x.com/KeziahLofton32">@KeziahLofton32</a> The No. 1-ranked player in the class of 2025 played like the No. 1-ranked player in the class of 2025 on Thursday despite having just recovered from Covid and clearly not feeling 100%. Jordan’s flu game has nothing on this kid. She absolutely filled up the stat sheet and her 22 points were only the tip of the iceberg. She showed her whole arsenal and it was glorious. She is explosive when going to the rim; lightning quick really. She is one of the most athletic players in the state regardless of class. Her vision and handles are top-notch and the best part about it is that she is unselfish. Lofton consistently makes the best basketball play for her team passing around the solo defender under the basket to the teammate cutting to the rim for the easier basket. It is this winning mentality that has her awash in Division-I scholarship offers as a freshman with undoubtedly more to come. [player_tooltip player_id="197944" first="Boston" last="Berry"] | 5-7 PG | Jones | 2023 | <a href="https://x.com/boston_berry">@boston_berry</a> Our No. 5-ranked player in the class of 2023 is a legit Division-I prospect. Berry is a tremendous all-around player and deserves all of the offers she can get. She lost several offers as happens sometimes with college coaching changes, but I won’t even get started on how unfair that is for players. Instead, I’ll tell you how amazing she is. Berry has incredibly quick hands on defense and is tenaciously fast when it comes to staying in front of her opponent; evidenced by her taking several charges in the game. She probably had the highest basketball IQ of any player that I saw all day. Boston is the consummate point guard with great handles, speed, vision, and the ability to pass with power and intent. She can fill it up from deep, score from inside, and showed a nice jumper from midrange. [player_tooltip player_id="197944" first="Boston" last="Berry"] seriously has it all. There is not enough praise that I could heap on her or her all-around game!