Players that caught our eye on Championship Saturday

<strong>Ashlynn Van Tassell, Cameron, C, So., 6-3</strong> - Ashlynn Van Tassell polished off an outstanding Class A tournament with a huge championship game against Gilmer County. <img class="size-medium wp-image-397929 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Ashlynn-Van-Tassell-239x300.jpg" alt="" width="239" height="300" />Already owning the size advantage, the Dragon simply took it to the Titans all-day long, all-game long. On a day when Cameron turned the ball over 29 times and didn’t exactly see its heavy hitters knocking down shots, Van Tassell tallied her third straight double-double. For the day, she scored 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting. Along with her scores, she ripped down 19 boards, thus breaking the overall state tournament record for rebounds in a tournament. She started the game with low post moves, moved on to causing shot alteration from the Titans, and then showed her grit by hitting game-tying free throws with four seconds left in the game. It was a masterful ending to a masterful state tournament for the sophomore. <strong>Maci Neely, Cameron, SG, Fr., 5-7</strong> - Neely has a short memory and doesn’t linger on her shooting stats even though she is a shooter. She puts her misses behind her and simply focuses on the next shot. She’s intense. She comes determined. She always thinks the next one is going in, even if she closes her eyes before releasing the shot. Not much is going to bother this young lady over the next few years after she nailed the state championship game-winner for Cameron, so her ceiling is high. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153374" first="Leslie" last="Huffman"], Parkersburg Catholic, SF, Sr., 5-10</strong> - The Parkersburg Catholic senior <img class="size-medium wp-image-375205 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/Leslie-Huffman-scaled-crop-1440x945-1642013757-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />saved her best for last. On the biggest and brightest stage, she stepped up and led her team to a state championship. After three close calls, she crushed the final game of her career. She tallied 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting and couldn’t have looked better on defense or running the Crusaderettes’ offense. There simply wasn’t anything else coach Marty Vierheller could have asked of her. Even with a bit of a slow start offensively, she shifted gears to her specialty, defense, and hounded Wyoming East players. There never came a point the Warriors gathered themselves for breathing room. Exhale for just a minute and the pressure went back on five times more than before. <strong>Jocelynn Thorn, Parkersburg Catholic, SG, So., 5-4</strong> - While Wyoming East’s main focus for Saturday’s game centered around shutting down [player_tooltip player_id="153374" first="Leslie" last="Huffman"], they left out a big factor in their game preparations: Jocelynn Thorn can shoot the basketball. <img class="size-medium wp-image-375214 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/Jocelynn-Thorn-scaled-crop-1577x1036-1642014125-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />That’s exactly what the smallest player on the floor did in the state championship game. Sensing her team needing her points, she went to work from behind the arc. By the time she was finished, she’d connected on 3 of 6 triples and scored 17 points for the Crusaderettes. Her points serve as both motivation and heartbreak. Her second 3 all but ended the game in the third quarter. By expanding Parkersburg Catholic’s lead to 26 points shortly after halftime, essentially putting away the game. She followed that up minutes later with a 3 ball to answer [player_tooltip player_id="153409" first="Hannah" last="Blankenship"]’s trey. She looked confident shooting and hitting her shots. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153372" first="Peyton" last="Ilderton"], Logan, G, Sr., 5-6</strong> - Rough days at the office don’t bother [player_tooltip player_id="153372" first="Peyton" last="Ilderton"]. <img class="size-medium wp-image-275000 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/04/Peyton-Ilderton-300x300.jpg" alt="Photo by Landon Persinger" width="300" height="300" />She’s okay if the going gets tough. Even if the tough stuff happens to be stifling Fairmont Senior defense and foul trouble, she keeps her composure. She stays calm, takes a deep breath, and refocuses on her work. That could be big free throws or constantly battling her Thunder teammate, [player_tooltip player_id="153370" first="Marley" last="Washenitz"], it doesn’t matter. Give her a job and she’s going to do it through any circumstances. For example, Ilderton stayed calm when Fairmont Senior pulled away in the third quarter of the state championship game with Logan struggling. She simply regrouped her teammates and herself, went out, and fought until the end. Hitting a pair of game-winning free throws, she wrote the perfect ending to her career as a Wildcat. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153399" first="Meredith" last="Maier"], Fairmont Senior, C, Sr., 6-0</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id="153399" first="Meredith" last="Maier"] often doesn’t <img class="size-medium wp-image-380425 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/07/Meredith-Maier-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1643138578-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />receive the credit she deserves for her work down on the block. Often times, her effort goes overshadowed with Fairmont Senior winning most of its Class AAA games by 35 plus points. That wasn’t the case Saturday in the state championship game. In a contest featuring enough bricks to build a factory, Maier’s rebounding skills were brought to the forefront. They were out for all to see. No one educated in basketball denied her worth. Without her rebounds, the Polar Bears don’t get one final chance to win the game in regulation. Her 12 boards pressured Logan and left the title game close until the final seconds. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153371" first="Dionna" last="Gray"], Huntington, PG, Sr., 5-4 -</strong> What is there to not like about this young lady? She’s got everything you want. Her handles are superb. <img class="size-medium wp-image-392904 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/Dionna-Gray--scaled-crop-1904x1251-1645831594-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Her shot is solid. Her court vision is great. You don't want her guarding you on defense. There’s really nothing she doesn’t have. It’s so easy to see why she’s going to Kent State. It’s just impossible to pass up on a talent like hers. She's a two-time Class AAAA state champion and one time Gatorade Player of the Year. It really is a perfect mix for any Division I program.