For the first time, the DMVelite Super Team Showcase featured a girls division. Here's a look at some of Saturday's standouts:
Ijeoma Okere-(MD Shock 7th)- Ijeoma showed good pivoting skills around the basket. She did a nice job on keeping the ball high when rebounding the basketball. She ran the floor very well.
Saniya Blakey-(MD Shock 7th)- Saniya won most 50/50 balls (loose balls). She played hard from start to finish. She did a nice job getting in the passing lanes. What she lacks offensively she makes up on the defensive end.
Dakieran Turner- (MD Shooting Stars 7th)- She had nice soft hands around the basket. When she was able to utilize her size she did a nice job playing with her back to the basket. She looks to post up strong and be a force down. She is an undersized post, but if she hits a growth spurts, watch out! Its very rare you find actual post player who like to play with their back to the rim.
Kortnei McMurray- (MD Shooting Stars 7th)- She is a lefty, that can score the ball from 10-feet and in, long and athletic. She is able to use both hands effectively. She was able to show her ability to get to her spots on the floor and score the ball.
Taylor (TJ) Jackson- (MD Finest 7th)- TJ uses both hands around the rim. She did a really nice job using her body to gain extra offensive possessions for her team. She showed her ability to finish around the rim and play tough defense in the paint.
Meaghan Cole- (MD Finest 7th)- Meaghan was in attack mode all day putting defenders on their heels. Showing her explosiveness and speed. She showed her ability to get to her spots on floor. She understood the difference between taking good shots and bad shots. Nice combo guard.
Dakota Jones- (MD Finest 7th)- Dakota did a nice job controlling the tempo of the game. She was able to show leadership out on the floor and did a nice job finding her teammates in transition.
Hannah Dereje- (MD Finest 7th)- She is tall and long. Able to block shots, she is still in the developmental stages but has a ton of potential.
Norma Thornhill-(MD Shock 8th)- She has a nice mid-range game. She used her long frame to block shots in the lane.
Sarah Austin-(MD Shooting Stars 8th)- Really nice combo guard. She was a leader out on the floor. She has great size, very athletic. Overall she seemed to have an understanding of the game. She showed her ability to pass the ball and get to the lane. She has a lot of potential.
Regina Walton-(MD Shooting Stars 8th)- Smallest one on the court, but it did not stop her from making an impact on the game. She showed her ability to knock down open shots mid-range and behind the arch. She seemed to make the right play rather it be passing the ball to an open teammate or taking the open shot. She also controlled the tempo of the game.
Lauren Mingo-(MD Shooting Stars 8th)- Lauren was a utility player. Whatever needed to be done on the floor, she did it. She showed her ability to handle the ball, finish around rim, knock down shots, rebound the ball, play tough defense. You name it, she did it.
Taylor Ball-(MD Finest 8th)- Taylor moved extremely well without the ball. She was aggressive on the offensive end posting up strong. She was able to use her body to her body around the rim to her advantage.
Taniya Lawson-((MD Finest 8th)- Taniya is a nice size for a wing player. She was steady, under control, and shot the ball extremely well. She played tough on ball defense. She is a solid player.
Maniah Barnes-(MD Finest 9th)- She did a nice job scoring the basketball in the paint. She defended in the paint and stayed focused the entire game. She was very vocal out on the floor and tried to play the game the right way.
Brooke Anya- (Team Take Over 9th)- One word to describe her is “TOUGH”. She rebounded the ball very well. She finished around the basket. She got loose balls. She went after the ball. She didn't let it come to her. She helped her teammates defensively.
Haley Sabol- (Team Take Over 9th)- Haley is very skillful. She has good pivoting skills, uses both hands around the basket, showed she could handle the ball, she was a really nice post player.
Yaa Yaa Afriyie-(S.T.A.T.S. 9th)- Yaa Yaa played hard the entire game no matter the score. She displayed her ability to handle the ball and get to the basket. You can tell she really wants to get better.
Tahia Brown-Stangherlin- (MD Shooting Stars 9th)- Tahia always made a play when needed. Rather it been making a shot, or playing tough defense to cause a turnover. She was a key factor in helping her team come back from a 16-point deficit to beat Fairfax Stars (Baltimore)
Isabella “Bella” Tanedo- (MD Shooting Stars 9th)- Bella is the youngest member of her team (Class of 2022), but you would not be able to tell by her level of play. She was always in control. She stayed cool, calm, collected like a veteran on the floor. She never backed down from a challenge.
Madyson “Butta” Hinton-(MD Shooting Stars 9th)- Butta plays with a lot of confidence. She showed her ability to play inside and out. She sets the tone for her team offensively. Once she gets going, you better believe her team is going to rally behind her.
Bradyn Griffin- (Fairfax Stars Brown)- Bradyn was a tough presence around the basket. Seeing as though she was one of the only post players for her team this particular day, she had the task of defending the other team’s more experienced post player. This young lady held her own. She was one of the youngest players on the floor, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. She moved well without the ball, finding open spots for her teammates to pass her the ball and finish the play.
Maikya “Bubbles” Simmons- (Fairfax Stars Brown)- Just looking at Bubbles with her laid back, seemingly always smiling personality, one would think her approach to the game would be the same way. That is far from the truth. The moment her team needed a play to be made, you better believe she found a way to make it happen, which lead to steals, and open shots for her teammates. She showed she could finish in transition under control with contact.
Gia Cooke- (Fairfax Stars Brown)- Another Class of 2022 player, playing up on an older team. Showed her ability to run an offense and get her hands in the passing lanes. The one thing that stood out most was her ability to set the defender up for a seemingly unstoppable crossover. Once she set her defender up, it was almost as if they were helpless. You could see it coming but couldn't’t do anything about it. She used this patent crossover to get into the teeth of the defense and either find an open teammate for a shot or get a shot of her own.
Team of the Day
MD Shooting Stars (Morris)- One of the most highly anticipated games of the day, Fairfax Stars (Baltimore) vs MD Shooting Stars (Morris) was nothing far from amazing. It was a playoff-like atmosphere. After going into halftime with a significant double digit deficit, most teams would have probably given up at this point. MD Shooting Stars showed the true meaning of believing in each other and never giving up. They turned up the pressure defensively, causing turnovers which resulted in easy baskets at the other end. These young ladies were relentless every position. They would not go down without a fight. Resulting in a 20-point plus swing to come out victorious.
Fairfax Stars (Brown)- It is rare that you find AAU teams that actually runs a system let alone be able to execute. AAU basketball has been under a lot of scrutiny because of the lack of skill development and ability to run a system. Unlike most teams, it is evident that this is not the case for these young ladies. They showed their ability to execute on the offensive and defensive end of the floor. Setting back screens, pin down screens, being able to make the proper cut off of the screen, being able to run the offense and hitting the third or fourth option. Defensively, being able to get in the passing lanes, understand the offensive player weaknesses and making them uncomfortable. They showed they could play a different level of basketball.
Player of the Day
Kennedy Fauntleroy-(MD Finest 8th)- She can flat out play. She is smooth, can knock down jumpers and get to the rim. She allows her teammates to get involved and when it’s time to take over the game she showed her ability to do that on both ends of the floor.
Aurea Gingras-(Team Take Over 9th)- She is a point guard extraordinaire. She was a joy to watch. She made the right passes to the right players at the right time. With her level of play, you would have thought she was a senior point guard. She played with a purpose and understood what she wanted to get done.
Caramina Tanedo- (Fairfax Stars Brown)- A female version of James Harden. The most impressive thing about her game is her ability to shoot the ball. It was almost like every time she shot the ball, you expected it to go in. She moved very well without the ball, and showed she could get to the rim.
*Team DMVelite evaluators is made up of former Division 1 level college coaches*
