BOWIE, MD - The inaugural DMVelite 80 Girls was held on September 9, 2017 at Bowie City Gym.

These young ladies walked into that gym not knowing what to expect. We had players come from the DMV, Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, providing a nice mix of talent. Jeremiah Johnson from Enhanced Training Champions took the ladies through a series of drills to get them warmed up and stretched out, followed by a full court pick and roll series led by Jimmy Price of Shot Ready (Basketball Training). The players were broken up into stations run by Coach Stephen Franklin of Ganon Baker Nation/Platinum Grind Elite, Coach Kyle Jordan of Bowie High School (Boys Basketball) and Coach Carrin Brown, who coaches girls basketball of all ages in Charles County, Maryland. 

All-DMVelite 80 Team

Aniyah Patterson (5’5 PG/2019)- Aniyah walked into the gym as if she owned it. One word to describe her is “Tough”. From start to finish, she played extremely hard on both ends of the floor. There wasn’t anywhere on the floor that Aniyah couldn’t get to when she wanted, and defensively, she played tough on the ball defense and dove on the floor for loose balls. Offensively, she could get to the rim and finish, also displaying her pull up mid-range game.

Isabella Tañedo (5’3 PG/2022)- The fact that the coaches and players thought Bella was at least a junior in high school explains how she performed at the event. She worked very well off  pick and roll situations. She showed she could get to the rim when she wanted to and displayed her ability to shoot from behind the arch. The biggest thing that stood out with Bella is that she is a competitor. She never backed down from anyone no matter the players’ rankings or age.

Miranda Porretta (5’7 G/2019)- Miranda can shoot the basketball. Most players that are considered “shooters”, will do just that. Shoot! Miranda showed she could not only, but she showed her ability to attack the basket. She took good shots throughout. You never really saw her forcing anything, which shows she has a good understand of the game.

Kayla Barnes (6’0 F/2020)- Kayla has great size. A 6’0 small forward, that can play inside and out. She has a nice mid-range game. She isn’t afraid to put it on the floor from the out and pull-up if needed. She has the ability to post up. Not afraid to kick the ball out and re-establish herself on the block. She will rebound the ball and look to push the ball up the floor in addition to looking to set her teammates up for shots.

Allie Kubeck (6’1 F/2020)- The great thing about Allie is that she isn’t afraid to speak up. Communication is an important part of the game and that is one of many areas she excels in.  Allie showcased her ability to run the floor extremely well, along with rebounding the ball and starting a fastbreak. She has really good hands making some tough catches in transition. She passes well out of the post.

Olivia Lynch (5’7 PG/2021)- If you are looking for a point guard that knows how to create opportunities for her team, then Olivia is the point guard for you. As a freshman, she instructed her teammates to get in position where they could be successful, as if she were an upperclassmen on the floor. She understood how to get to certain spots on the floor that could create certain high percentage shots for her teammates. She constantly attacked gaps, leaving the defense scrambling to help on her, in which she would pass it off to a teammate for an easy basket or she score the ball herself. She is just a player who loves to share the basketball and see her teammates be successful.       

Laila Grant (5’8 PG/2019)- Laila was very solid at the point position. She did a really nice job finding her teammates in transition. She made very good reads in the half court set. She shot very well from behind the arc. She finished very well around the basket. She has a college size body, which made her tough to handle when she got around the basket.

Team of the Day

Team Black

It is very rare you find a group of players at a showcase event where every last player on the team looks to share the basketball with each other. Not one player on their team took it upon themselves to make it about that one person. They were playing as if they had been playing together prior to the event. The team consisted of Allie Kobek, Michaea Lee, Cai Smith, Amari Jones and Laila Grant. Amari and Laila did a phenomenal job in the back taking turns at the point position. Cai Smith, seeing as though she was one of the youngest players not only on her team, but at the event period, she used her length on the defensive end to get a few deflections. Allie and Michaea played off each other very well. Both ran the floor very well and passed very well to one another in the post and out of the post.    

Honorable Mention

Sasha Marvel (5’7 G/2019) - Sasha was a very interesting player to watch. She is another player that is very solid. She didn’t do anything outside of her skill set. She did all of the little things on the floor. She would make the extra pass to a teammate that had a better shot than she did, get her team an extra possession by getting offensive rebounds, she would knock down a shot when she needed to, and get to the basket.

Amari Jones (5’7 G/2021) - Amari showed she could on and off the ball. She shared the point position with Laila Grant. Most guards can get to the rim but have a hard time finishing, not Amari. She does a really nice job of attacking the gaps in the defense to get clean shots at the basket. She has this toughness about her when she plays. She isn’t afraid of anything.

Marissa Steel (6’0 F/2021) - Marissa has a really long wingspan, and has good hands. She runs the floor very well from block to block. She helps alter shots in the paint on the defensive end. She also has the ability to handle the ball a bit on the perimeter.

Lauren Mingo (5’7 G/2022) - One thing that goes unnoticed with Lauren is her ability to move without the basketball. No matter how many times she would come open from making a cut towards the basket, she would continue to do so finding open gaps in the defense. Most player would get discouraged if they were not receiving the ball when the would get open after cutting to the basket, but Lauren continues to do so very effectively.