2A State Championship Game Standouts

The 2A state championship game featured Melbourne vs Bigelow. This was your classic David vs Goliath as Bigelow was attempting to upset the heavily favorite Melbourne Bearkatz. Melbourne was going for their 4th consecutive state championship game and they completely dominated Bigelow. Both teams had players that played hard so let’s take a look at some players that stood out. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="304704" first="Kenley" last="McCarn"] | Wing | Melbourne | 2022</strong> The 5’10 UT-Martin commit proved to be the best player on the floor. Her skills were on full display. She slashed, finished at the rim, made the three ball off the dribble going left and right, did an excellent job in transition being under control and getting to the rim for the finish, she saw the floor well, and displayed excellent footwork. Defensively, she was a solid on-ball defender. When she wasn’t guarding the ball she got to her help positions early. She completely dominated the game by outscoring Bigelow herself with 31pts on 11-20 from the field with 6 three-pointers and 3-4 from the free-throw line. Kenley was named tournament MVP. <strong>Kaitlyn McCarn | Guard | Melbourne | 2024</strong> She’s the younger sister of [player_tooltip player_id="304704" first="Kenley" last="McCarn"] but she is out to make a name for herself. Kaitlyn had really good defensive intensity while on the floor. She did a great job of pressuring the ball and forcing her opponent into uncomfortable positions on court. Offensively, she also made some catch and shoot threes, handled the ball well, and made good decisions. <strong>Halle Skidmore | Guard | Melbourne | 2023</strong> Some players are asked to score while others role may be to play defense, rebound, or knock down shots. Whatever the role is you have to accept it and play it to the best of your abilities. On this night Halle was a distributor. She led the team in assist with 4 while also pulling down 3 rebounds and throwing in 5 points. <strong>Myra Willingham | Guard | Bigelow | 2023</strong> Myra had the difficult task of handling the ball vs Melbourne’s pressure defense. It was suffocating at times as various players would pick up the point guard full court. The pass-first point guard’s main focus was to get the team organized in the half-court. <strong>Jenna Starks | Post | Bigelow | 2022</strong> The 6’1 post player had the size advantage over Melbourne but she got limited touches in the paint. When she was able to catch on the low block she able to make something happen. <strong>Emma Wilson | PG | Bigelow | 2022</strong> Emma also had the task of handling the ball vs Melbourne’s pressure defense. She too looked to get the team organized and into their offense. She picked her spots to be aggressive. She finished the game with 7 points and 7 rebounds to go along with 2 assists. <strong>Aubrey Evans | Forward | Bigelow | 2023</strong> When you lead the team in scoring and you are playing in the state championship game your opponent will do everything in their power to try and slow you down. Aubrey started the game off by making plays for others and displaying good hands in the post for some finishes around the basket. It wasn’t her night offensively but defensively she had her moments with interior defense and defending on the perimeter. &nbsp;