Blackville Hilda-Hawk Invitational: Soaring at the Nest

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first half of the regular season is dominated by midseason tournaments. One of the annual ones that occur around this time every year is the Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational – except this time was a bit larger than usual.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A grand total of 10 girls teams took part as opposed to the usual eight that converge on the 1A school in the easternmost realms of the CSRA. This was because Allendale-Fairfax and the host Hawks earned automatic byes to the second round.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We at Prep Girls Hoops also made the trip to Blackville-Hilda for this year's festivities. Here is a look at some of the noteworthy names that caught our attention. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":828638,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='843526' first='Jada' last='Wilson']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Williston-Elko","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400u0022u003eSometimes, an early morning rise can sap a player's performance. That was not the case for this standout 2025 for Williston-Elko. Her 1A Blue Devils earned a 56-29 victory over 2A Pelion to begin this year's Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational. With 18 points, Davis paced a Williston-Elko offensive output that the Panthers had few answers for. Much of what she got accomplished scoring-wise was close to the basket and she displayed her versatility by showcasing her skills in the backcourt as a guard and in the frontcourt. Defensively, she can come from seemingly out of nowhere to wreak even more havoc for the opposition.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-658d4ce2d6f7c"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":828642,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kalani Tolen","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'5u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12123","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Pelion","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400u0022u003eEven on rough days at the office, a few bright spots emerge. For 2A Pelion, Tolen proved to be a bright spot in what was a rough matchup against 1A Williston-Elko. While the Panthers were on the bad end of a 56-29 decision to the Blue Devils, Tolen tallied nine points to key Pelion's efforts. Tolen had the only 3-pointer the Panthers managed to convert on for the game. In addition, she also displayed her ability to handle the ball amongst a group of opposing defenders. In addition to what she does basketball-wise, her athletic career has also included competing in track and field events.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-658d4ce2d7060"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["558730"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":828645,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400u0022u003eIt is not often that 5A teams make the very rural trek to Blackville-Hilda for this tournament. White Knoll did just that and played its first game of this year's Hawk Invitational against 3A Swansea. It may not have been the best played of games, but Hayes displayed what she could get accomplished with a 22-point performance. The junior guard and team captain displayed leadership capabilities, the ability to handle the rock amongst opposing defenders and proficiency with a midrange jump shot. 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Her team was in a close contest with Ridge Spring-Monetta on Wednesday through the first two quarters. The second half was a Hunter-Kinard-Tyler rout and Youmans was the key catalyst in said rout with a 26-point performance. Youmans displayed that she runs the floor well and is a gifted attacker of the rim. Her 3-point shot also gives opposing teams problems and she proves her worth to a team further with her rebounding and overall defense.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-658d4ce2d71bd"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":828656,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1002998' first='Eva' last='Sapp']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Blackville-Hilda","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400u0022u003eBlackville-Hilda successful defended its home court on Wednesday evening in large part thanks to Sapp's superb play. 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There is a reason why she is one of two team captains for the 2023-24 rendition of Blackville-Hilda hoops.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-658d4ce2d7292"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["171804"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":828659,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400u0022u003eMickell was chosen by the SCBCA as a Preseason Top 5 1A Senior selection. 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