By; Aaron Mayo
Phenom Hoops had the privilege of being able to cover the Battle of the State Invitational at Andrews High School on Saturday, January 8, 2022. Games included Andrews versus Northern Guilford, Charlotte Catholic against East Forsyth, Quality Education Academy took on The Burlington School, and High Point Christian Academy faced Southern Durham high school.
The first game of the day was Andrews versus Northern Guilford. Both teams have a winning tradition and both coaches hold state championships titles under their belt. Northern Guilford has a tenacious defense that tends to overwhelm teams from the start to finish. The full-court defense provided a comfortable lead for Northern Guilford most of the way. Andrews began to be more physical on both ends of the floor which cut the lead to 10 midway through the 4th, but it also got the red Raiders in foul trouble which allowed Northern Guilford to go back up 20. The final score ended up being 70 to 51 and Northern Guilford remains undefeated.
Key players for both teams included the following:
2024 5’7 G Jasmine Harris (NGHS)
Jasmine started off extremely hot from the field scoring Northern Guilford’s first 8 points. Her ball-handling and ability to get to the rim are tough for teams to match. She’s a long guard with a bunch of lethal dribble combos in her bag. She also doesn’t mind banging in the post for some rebounds. She leads the team with almost 6 a game. This kid is a gym rat and her hard work is paying off. She finished the game with 17p, 7r, 2a, 4s, and no turnovers.
2023 5’10 CG Laurel Zlotkowski (NGHS)
Laurel might have been one of the most impressive players of the day. I immediately noticed her size at around 5’10. She can play both inside and out and contributes to the team on all three levels. With her size, she shot over smaller guards and was able to finish around the rim with her back to the basket. She filled the stat sheet in every column. She finished with 15p, 5r, 2a, 5s, shooting 63% from the field.
2023 G 5’5 Alex Belton (TW Andrews)
Alex played well for Andrews. She might have been the fastest player on the court and her aggressiveness sparked Andrews’ flow. She led her team with 7 points in the first quarter. While on defense, she anticipated what the offense was going to do and was able to jump passes and pressure the ball effectively causing several turnovers. She finished the game with 13 points and several rebounds before she eventually fouled out late in the 4th.
The next game was Charlotte Catholic versus the Eagles of East Forsyth. Both teams came into the game with perfect records. There was a clear size difference that was noticeable during warm-ups as Charlotte Catholic had two 6 footers in the layup line. Charlotte Catholic jumped on East Forsyth right from the tip getting the ball into the post where they clearly had an advantage. Charlotte Catholic scored 12 unanswered points to start the game and really never let up from there. After halftime, the Eagles seemed to get in a bit of a rhythm but ultimately couldn’t cut the deficit. The final score was 60-24.
Key players from both teams include the following:
2024 C 6’5 Blanca Thomas (Charlotte Catholic)
Blanca was fierce around the basket. She grabbed almost every rebound within reach and made finishing around the rim look easy. She also ran the floor extremely well which allowed for easy buckets in transition. Defensively she protected the basket well and made it extremely hard for the opposition to finish at the rim. Easily one of the top players in the state of North Carolina in any class. She finished with 21p, 13r, 5b.
2024 F 6’0 Gracynn Gough (Charlotte Catholic)
Gracynn was pretty impressive. She was extremely physical and was able to establish a position in the paint whenever she wanted. She got easy buckets because she moved well without the ball. She was able to stay in front of smaller girls and also step over to help and defend the rim. She finished with a double-double adding another 15p, 10r.
2023 G 6’0 Laniya Simes (East Forsyth)
Although Laniya seemed to get off to a slow start, she began to pick it up and knock down some shots for her team. Her athletic ability and long frame helped her on both ends. She consistently beat girls off of the dribble and got shot after shot over the defenders.
The next two girls’ teams to face off were Quality Education Academy and The Burlington School. Two very good teams with players with serious scoring ability. In the first half, each time Quality Education tried to pull away, the Burlington School would make a mini-run and cut the deficit. In the second half Quality Education turned up the defensive intensity and really honed in on the two guards that did most of the scoring for the Burlington School. This allowed Quality Education to finish on a decent run only allowing TBS to score 2 points in the fourth quarter. QEA won the game by a score of 60-32.
Key players from both teams include the following:
2022 G Raven Preston (QEA)
Raven is an everything type of player. She does what’s required to help the team be successful. She has a high motor and is extremely athletic. This allows her to get steals and deflections, blocks, and rebounds. The Elon commit was able to record a triple-double (11p, 17r, 10a) despite getting two early fouls. She was able to grab rebounds and go coast to coast and find her teammates open in the corner for threes and running down the middle towards the rim.
2024 CG Laniya Scales (QEA)
Scales is a big-time underrated talent. She was able to score on all three levels which made it extremely difficult to defend. Her energy was infectious and she plays with an edge. Although her team didn’t often get beat off the dribble, when it happened she could quickly recover over into help. She exploded in the second quarter and helped her team create some cushion for halftime. She was awarded player of the game and added 19p, 6r, 2s to her season averages.
2022 G Laila Anderson (TBS)
Laila got in a little rhythm to close the first quarter. She hit two 3s late in the quarter to keep things close. Her leadership and poise are one of the many reasons why TBS has been as successful as they are the season. She gets out in transition on makes or misses and tries to distribute and get her teammates involved, but steps up and can get a bucket when her team needs one. Easy to see how Laila is averaging 22 points per game after 14 games.
2024 G Amiyah Ware (TBS)
Amiyah has a sneaky ability to get to the basket. She used her dribble, she used her body and she also used some head fakes and hesitations. She also sees the floor well which allowed her to give her teammates opportunities to make plays. Her motor and upside are reasons why she should stay on your radar. She and Laila combined for 27 of the 34 points against QEA.
The last girls’ game of the day was High Point Christian Academy versus Southern Durham High school. This was a showdown of the guards which featured a bunch of promising guards on each team. Southern Durham hit some big threes in the first quarter to take an early edge. High Point Christian made some defensive adjustments that seemed to bother Southern Durham’s attack. The game went back-and-forth literally until the last second. Southern Durham hit a go-ahead three-pointer from the corner, but High Point Christian was able to get the ball out fast and take the lead back with a pull-up jumper in the last couple of seconds. HPCA edged SDHS by a score of 43-42. A very exciting game by two well-matched teams.
Key players from both teams include:
2023 G Nadiya Hairston (HPCA)
Nadiya is extremely quick with the ball. When she gets out in transition, good things usually happen for her team. She started the game trying to get the ball into her post players and establish a paint presence. She made some crucial baskets down the stretch including must-have free throws and the game-winning pull-up from 15 feet. She was two rebounds away from a double-double, ended with 15 points and 8 rebounds.
2024 G Angel Walker (HPCA)
Angel broke out and had a good second half especially after Southern Durham switched to a zone. She had some tough buckets in transition with contact and displayed different finishes at the rim. She really changed the momentum of the game after she took a big charge. She was the defensive leader of her team and sparked her team for the comeback and to help settle down to maintain the lead when her team got up 10.
2022 G Chloe Richmond (SDHS)
Chloe is a mature guard that put on display several ways to score the basketball. I was impressed with her floater and all-around ability to get to the rim. Defensively, she was scrappy and made it difficult for the opposing guards. She collected a total of five steals and a handful of deflections.
2023 G Rymiah Sanders (SDHS)
Rymiah exploded in the second half and put the team on her back in an effort to come back and take the lead in this game. She scored 9 points late in the game including a 3 from the corner to take the lead. She also added some big rebounds late in the game. Better close out on her quickly because she doesn’t require much space to get her shot off.
