Phoenix Country Day at Phoenix Christian Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday, Jan 12th I attended the 2A match-up between the <strong>Phoenix Christian Cougars</strong> hosting the <strong>Phoenix Country Day Eagles</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles were ranked #2 in 3A and were undefeated. The home team was ranked #8.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The undefeated girls looked the part and got out to a fast start and never looked back. They led 74-25 at the end of the 3rd quarter and put in the bench-5.&nbsp; They ended up winning <strong>77-35</strong>. Their size, athleticism and skill were too much for the Cougars and look to be 2A title contenders.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Here were some of the standout players:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443661' first='Olivia' last='Owens'] Phoenix Country Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly thought of point guard and you see why immediately. She hounds girls up the length of the court on defense with her lateral quickness and long arms. She is very fast in the open court and handles it like she plays in college already. She is very comfortable making plays for others and will pick her spots to score. Her transition scoring is top-notch with layups and has a killer crossover and will burst by and use the floater. She threw a couple up the court passes on a rope. Once she gets more comfortable with the deep ball, watch out.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='582391' first='Aila' last='Kaibara'] Phoenix Country Day (Pictured) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A talented sophomore point guard with skill. She has a high feel for the game and is very crafty plus will score it and make plays. She uses a burst of speed or hesitates to get into the paint and will kick it to a teammate. She can hit perimeter jumpers a variety of ways with the catch and shoot, off the dribble or step back on her defender. You see her talking on defense all game long and rebounds well for a guard.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='549384' first='Nara' last='Kaibara'] Phoenix Country Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reportedly one of the top shooters in the senior class and definitely backed it up. She hit 7 triples off the catch. She squares up like you should and has a super quick release with real range. She is best off the catch and gives her teammates space inside the paint to work with, since you can never leave her. Her IQ shines through to get herself open and the preparation before she gets the ball. She told me that she is looking for a smaller school to play for next year and comes with incredible grades.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jadynn Jones PF 6'0 2023 Phoenix Country Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long power forward with good size. The daughter of former NBA player/current Phx Suns president of basketball operations James Jones has tools to like. She is an efficient scorer inside using good post footwork but defensively is where she makes her money. She moves really well in space and will rebound, run the floor and block shots.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='582422' first='Kimi' last='Cahoon'] Phoenix Country Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A leaner pure point guard is very good defensively. She will drive and kick it to a shooter and throw up the court passes and score. She can hit the catch three and will burst by to score. Her defensive presence bothers her opponents up the length of the court. She has quick hands and feet and is a gamer.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='582389' first='Madison' last='Gordon'] Phoenix Country Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger sized freshman shooting guard is a catch and shoot type who will move the ball for the best shot possible. She moves well in space to defend the 1-3 and plays from the neck up. Once their seniors graduate she should get a big jump up in playing time.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='582392' first='Rylie' last='Llyods'] Phoenix Country Day&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rylie did not get a lot of opportunity to shine but she showed enough to see she is a shooter. She can catch and shoot from the three point line and moves the ball to open shooters.&nbsp;Someone to monitor moving forward on a deep roster. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='582390' first='Hannah' last='Fisher'] Phoenix Christian&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring lead guard with a a high IQ. She anticipates passes and get deflections. She has the runner, gives hard ball fakes and will score on dribble drives. Their leading scorer already plays well off the pick and roll game, and should have many big games this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honestye Russell PG 5'3 2023 Phoenix Christian&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>She plays with a huge smile on her face almost the entire game with great passion for the game like a Patrick Beverly type. Very quick on the ball defensively, plays with energy and can hit the 3 and definitely talks all game long. (Almost entertaining) She rebounds well despite her size and is tough on the ball defensively with a huge motor.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->