Update on the 2018 Recruits:

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Jaidah Stewart, Kirkwood High School:

Kirkwood advances following a 49-40 win over Oakville

http://www.southcountytimes.com/Art...ectionals-Advance-To-State-Quarterfinals.html

Kirkwood, the defending Class 5 girls state champions, will face Francis Howell Central in the state quarterfinals at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, at the Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University...

...In the third quarter, Everett provided two nifty passes to fellow senior guard Jaidah Stewart, who converted them into layups. Stewart, a Minnesota signee, finished with 10 points. Everett tallied 12 of her points in the first half in helping the Pioneers take a 25-20 halftime lead.
 

Houlfat Mahouchiza, South Georgia Technical College

Mahouchiza's stats: 31 games played with 28 starts. 17.8 minutes/game, 11.1 points/game, 8.3 rebounds/game, 3.2 fouls/game and 82.6% free throw percentage.

The Lady Jets advanced after winning the NJCAA Region XVII title. (The championship game was a 2-0 forfeit because Central Georgia had only four eligible players at game time).

https://www.southgatech.edu/athletics-news/sgtc-lady-jets-win-njcaa-region-xvii-tournament/

The nationally ranked South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets captured their second consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I women’s basketball title and are now only one game away from earning their fifth trip to the NJCAA Division I women’s basketball National Tournament. They Lady Jets are now 27 – 5 overall and 17 – 1 in conference play.

The Lady Jets defeated the East Georgia State College Lady Bobcats in a hard-fought 61 – 52 decision in the semi-final round of the NJCAA Region XVII end of the season tournament. The Lady Jets then took a 2 – 0 victory over Central Georgia Technical College in the championship game when Central Georgia Tech forfeited. Central Georgia Tech defeated Georgia Highlands 78 – 74 with only four eligible players in their semi-final match-up. A team cannot start a game with four players so Central Georgia Tech was forced to forfeit the championship game to South Georgia Tech.

South Georgia Technical College’s Lady Jets will travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina to face Spartanburg Methodist College on Saturday, March 10th at 2 p.m. in the NJCAA District J Championship.


The Lady Jets were able to advance the District J tournament with the help of GCAA Player of the Year Esther Adenike from Lagos, Nigeria. She had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead her team from a come-from behind victory against East Georgia State College in the NJCAA Region XVII tournament. Freshman shooting forward Ricka Jackson was the only other Lady Jet in double-figures and she had 17 points and five rebounds.

Sophomore forward Houlfat Mahouchiza contributed nine points and two rebounds, sophomore guard Dakata Toney added five points and then freshman guard Aubrey Maulden had three points. Kayla Holmes, Cedeja James, and Secret Ethridge each scored two points and Bigue Sarr closed out the scoring with one point.
 

Delaynie Bryne, Ralston Valley

Ralston Valley were knocked out of the tournament by rival Lakewood 61-37. Bryne was held scoreless. Ralston Valley got to the Great Eight by defeating Chatfield 65-28. Byrne scored 22 against Chatfield.

Byrne's season stats: 23 games, 19 points per game and 7.4 rebounds.

In mid-February Ralston Valley suspended four starters for, I think, one game. I don't know if Bryne was one of the players suspended but Bryne did not play in the game immediately following the suspensions. I wasn't interested enough in the details to subscribe to the Denver Post.


http://chsaanow.com/2018-03-02/lake...lston-valley-get-back-5a-girls-hoops-final-4/

The No. 2-seeded and last year’s 5A state runner-up sprinted out to a 15-0 lead in the opening minutes in the girls basketball state quarterfinal game and never let off the gas. The Tigers (23-3 record) ended up with a 61-37 victory.

"They are surpassing my expectations," Lakewood coach Chris Poisson said after the 24-point victory. "It's nuts what they are doing."

Friday’s all-Jeffco state quarterfinal was the third time Lakewood and Ralston Valley had met this season. The Mustangs won the first go-around 59-45 in the 5A Jeffco League opener on Jan. 4. The Tigers got revenge Jan. 26 with a 50-44 win at Ralston Valley.
 

Lesila Finau, Dublin


https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/0...ayoff-game-against-sacramentos-foothill-high/

Dublin High won their home California Interscholastic Federation State Girls Basketball Championships Division III playoff game 62-57 against Sacramento’s Foothill High in Dublin on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The Gaels top scorers were Lesila Finau with 22 points and Mele Finau with 10 points.

Dublin will next travel to Sacramento to play Christian Brothers High School on Saturday, March 10, at 6:00 p.m


From a few weeks back:

https://www.calhisports.com/2018/02/14/norcal-socal-players-of-the-week-5/

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Girls Player of the Week
Lesila Finau
(Dublin) Sr.

For the first time this season, we go to the CIF North Coast Section East Bay area for our girls award winner and land just southwest of majestic Mt. Diablo where we find this 5-foot-10 senior wing.

Dublin isn’t a big school state power, but until Lesila or “Sila” as she’s known came to town they weren’t even on the radar screen. Now, with Sila leading the charge, the Gaels are 23-3 and 11-1 in the always tough East Bay Athletic League – Valley division and poised to snag a high seed in the upcoming NCS Division I playoffs beginning next week.

Last week, and even in her first game this week, Sila was the real deal. In an 81-48 victory over Livermore, the Minnesota-bound Finau had a double-double 34 points and 13 rebounds with five assists and four steals. She came back against Livermore Granada with another double-double after finishing with 29 points and 12 rebounds with five steals and three assists.

This week Sila helped the Gaels win their fifth straight since a loss to state-ranked Carondelet (Concord) with another double-double after scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a win over Dougherty Valley. On the season, Finau is averaging 21.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.1 steals and 4.9 assists per game.

A bright spot for Dublin fans is her little sister, 5-foot-10 junior wing Mele Finau, has one more year left as a Gael. She’s currently averaging 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
 

Thanks, Iggy. Really difficult to tell what the Gophers are getting with next year's class. Although the stat line for Finau looks intriguing. I find it curious that Byrne was held scoreless in her final game, while averaging 19 points per game for the season. Either way, it's difficult to determine if next year's frosh will be able to contribute immediately. I only hope that soon after the season you'll be providing us with the stat line for a grad transfer post or power forward. I'm thinking that next year's Gopher team will again have a good chance to make the NCAA tourney, even without adding anyone, however it would be a lot easier if one of the frosh or a grad student transfer can contribute immediately. Even if Stollings can't get a grad transfer post, she has a scholarship in her pocket that she could give to a power forward, or even another top quality shooting guard. If not, will Brunson be replacing Wagner in the starting lineup and will Bello be the starting post? We didn't get to see a lot of Gonzalez, the guard from Spain who left the team early in the season, however from what I saw in just a few games, she might have been able to fill the open guard slot, as it seems she had a variety of talents. Brunson, certainly has the speed to fit into the Gophers up-tempo offense, but I don't know if she'll be able to be a regular offensive contributor. We've seen her shoot and make an occasional 3 and we've seen her drive to the hoop on occasion, but at least in the bench role she played this year, she seemed to be somewhat hesitant on offense. Who knows...that might change if she is inserted into the starting lineup. And Bello, I think she could have a breakout year next year, either at the post or as a forward.
 



Ignatius L Hoops said:
Delaynie Bryne, Ralston Valley

Ralston Valley were knocked out of the tournament by rival Lakewood 61-37. Bryne was held scoreless. Ralston Valley got to the Great Eight by defeating Chatfield 65-28. Byrne scored 22 against Chatfield.

Byrne's season stats: 23 games, 19 points per game and 7.4 rebounds.

In mid-February Ralston Valley suspended four starters for, I think, one game. I don't know if Bryne was one of the players suspended but Bryne did not play in the game immediately following the suspensions. I wasn't interested enough in the details to subscribe to the Denver Post.


http://chsaanow.com/2018-03-02/lake...lston-valley-get-back-5a-girls-hoops-final-4/

The No. 2-seeded and last year’s 5A state runner-up sprinted out to a 15-0 lead in the opening minutes in the girls basketball state quarterfinal game and never let off the gas. The Tigers (23-3 record) ended up with a 61-37 victory.

"They are surpassing my expectations," Lakewood coach Chris Poisson said after the 24-point victory. "It's nuts what they are doing."

Friday’s all-Jeffco state quarterfinal was the third time Lakewood and Ralston Valley had met this season. The Mustangs won the first go-around 59-45 in the 5A Jeffco League opener on Jan. 4. The Tigers got revenge Jan. 26 with a 50-44 win at Ralston Valley.
Click to expand...


I was able to get the story without any cost. Try this: https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/...etball-suspensions-todd-casebeir-castle-view/

It adds more context but it isn't completely clear who did what, but it does imply Delaynie was both suspended and injured and as a result missed 4 games. I sure hope IF she was involved she discovers some empathy and learns to treat others better going forward. I don't want a bully on the gophers no matter how good.
 

Ragnor said:
I was able to get the story without any cost. Try this: https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/...etball-suspensions-todd-casebeir-castle-view/

It adds more context but it isn't completely clear who did what, but it does imply Delaynie was both suspended and injured and as a result missed 4 games. I sure hope IF she was involved she discovers some empathy and learns to treat others better going forward. I don't want a bully on the gophers no matter how good.
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Thanks. The paywall still popped up but not before I gave the article a quick skim. I don't have a reaction one way or the other.
 

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high...cle_d8a79420-24d0-11e8-82e9-1f1d0ece9047.html

Jaidah Stewart's Kirkwood team won it's quarterfinal 52-39 over Francis Howell Central and advances to Thursday's semi-final. They also got some pregame advice from Chauncey Billups. Yes, the article confused who has signed with whom. Everett is not a Minnesota signee.


High school girls basketball players don't often get to meet an NBA all-star, especially right before one of the biggest games of their season.

So when Kirkwood senior guard and Minnesota signee Jayla Everett and her teammates got the chance to interact with former NBA all-star guard Chauncey Billups, she took his words to heart.

“He talked to us about preparing for each game and taking advantage of it,” Everett said. “I feel we went out and took advantage of our chance tonight.”



Stewart got the chance to enjoy a special moment in the fourth quarter as a pair of free throws with just more than a minute left gave her 2,000 for her career between her time at Webster Groves and Kirkwood.

“It's just a great accomplishment for my high school career because not too many people can say they've done that in their time,” Stewart said. “I'm excited. I'm happy for it. I am really glad we got the win, though, because it's my first tie going to state.”

Stewart led Kirkwood with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Everett added 18 points and sophomore forward Natalie Bruns pitched in 10.
 



Houlfat Mahouchiza's season continues following a 62-42 win in the District J Championship at Spartanburg Methodist. There is a box score but it does not include minutes played. Mahouchiza scored 7 points on 2-4 shooting (1-1 from three and 2-2 from the line). She had 6 rebounds and committed 4 fouls.

http://njcaa.org/sports/wbkb/2017-18/div1/boxscores/20180310_cp95.xml?view=boxscore


Lesila Finau's season ended with a 43-38 loss to Sacramento's Christian Brothers in the CIF State Girls Basketball Tournament. I have not found a box score.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
Lesila Finau video from early December.
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Not sure why we needed another topic on 2018 recruits. The last one had gotten too muddy? Anyway, that was some nice footage on Finau. Has a bit of flash to her game.
 

Shades said:
Not sure why we needed another topic on 2018 recruits. The last one had gotten too muddy? Anyway, that was some nice footage on Finau. Has a bit of flash to her game.
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You're right, this should be combined with the 2018 recruiting thread. I totally missed it the other night.
 

I’m worried that having so many PG’s might work against the Gophers in the slight chance that Bueckers is looking at the Gophers. Kinda takes away that “they really need me” angle.
 



Well, if Bueckers is going to subscribe to the "they really need me" storyline, maybe she'll play for the Badgers. If she decides to play for UConn, it's a safe bet to say that Geno will already have some point guards in the pipeline.
 

Shades said:
I’m worried that having so many PG’s might work against the Gophers in the slight chance that Bueckers is looking at the Gophers. Kinda takes away that “they really need me” angle.
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No they really need her. Far as I’m concerned there can be more player’s banners hanging from Williams Arena
 

tripledouble said:
Well, if Bueckers is going to subscribe to the "they really need me" storyline, maybe she'll play for the Badgers. If she decides to play for UConn, it's a safe bet to say that Geno will already have some point guards in the pipeline.
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C’mon, I think you know what I mean.
Being the hometown team: Advantage Gophers ☑️
Having a NCAA-worthy team: (hopefully) Advantage Gophers ☑️
New practice facility: Advantage Gophers ☑️
Feeling of family hanging with the team: Advantage Gophers ☑️
Being overloaded at PG: Hope it won’t be the deal breaker ��


Are there any more positive or negative check points?
 

Well, in the off chance that Bueckers ever decided to play for the Gophers, I'm guessing that she won't have to worry about who the current point guard is. I would imagine that she'd step into the starting spot immediately. But I wouldn't print her name in the game programs just yet...with some of the offers she already has, she'll be able to go anywhere she wants. It would however be nice for the Gophers to get a marquee player of her talents to take this program to another level.
 

https://www.southgatech.edu/athleti...tive-trip-njcaa-division-national-tournament/

The victorious Lady Jets face Casper College on Monday the 19th at 4:00 PM in the first round of the NJCAA championship in Lubbock.

Recap of Saturday's win:

Coach Frey and the Lady Jets made the long drive from Americus, GA, to Spartanburg, SC over the weekend and managed to secure the 69 – 42 District J Championship victory Saturday. Freshman guard Alyssa Nieves from Tampa, FL came off the bench to lead the Lady Jets in scoring with 18 points. Nieves had four three-pointers and was seven of 14 overall.

She and GCAA Player of the Year, Esther “Nike” Adenike, a sophomore forward from Lagos, Nigeria, were the only two Lady Jets in double-figures. Nike had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Freshman forward Ricka Jackson from Ewa Beach, HI and Kayla Holmes, a sophomore guard from Stone Mountain, both added nine points. Jackson had five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Holmes also had two rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Sophomore guard Dakata Toney added eight points and then sophomore forward Houlfat Mahouchiza scored seven points and had six rebounds and two assists. Bigue Sarr, freshman center from Kaolack, Senegal, tossed in five points, Cedeja James had two points and Sceret Ethridge closed out the scoring with one point.

“We felt like if we could take advantage of Spartanburg inside we had a good shot,” said Coach Frey. “To Spartanburg’s credit, they stayed in a zone most of the day and forced us to make shots from the perimeter. For the first time in a month, we were able to do that.
 

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high...cle_be36ef9e-28b0-11e8-b271-8f200d753042.html

Kirkwood and Jaidah Stewart defeat Liberty and move on to the class five final versus Kickapoo.


An air of irritation lingered in the postgame press conference for the Kirkwood High girls basketball team Thursday.

It didn't have anything to do with missed assignments or poor shooting by the Pioneers, who beat Liberty of Kansas City 51-29 in a Class 5 state semifinal at JQH Arena to move within one victory of repeating as state champion.

It was all about chicken wings, much to Pioneers coach Monica Tritz's irritation.

“Obviously, I told them they could have Hooters but I don't remember saying that,” Tritz said. “I don't care, if they want Hooters, I said we'd get Hooters.”

“Coach, you did,” senior guard Jayla Everett interjected.

“That's fine,” Tritz said. “We're going to have pizza and we're going to have Hooters because some people don't want wings, some people want pizza.”...

Everett scored a game-high 16 points and fellow senior Jaidah Stewart added 14 points and nine rebounds as the Pioneers advanced to their third consecutive Class 5 title game.

Kirkwood (27-3, No. 4 in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings) plays Kickapoo (28-3) at 2:40 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of the 2016 championship won by Kickapoo.
 

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high...cle_d31e05dc-2a36-11e8-be1c-cb43879b6519.html

Jaidah Stewart leads Kirkwood to class 5 title.


That motivation did the trick as the Pioneers got even with a resounding 67-50 win over Kickapoo in the Class 5 title game at JHQ Arena on the campus of Missouri State University.

Kirkwood (28-3) claimed its second successive state championship with a strong all-around effort from start to finish...

Senior guard Jaidah Stewart led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds, both team highs. Natalie Bruns chipped in with 12 points and six blocks.

...Kirkwood exploded with a 20-point outburst the second period to stretch the lead to 30-17. Stewart hit back-to-back 3-pointers to highlight the run. She also added a nifty back-door layup near the end of the first half.

“She was hot,” Kirkwood coach Monica Tritz said of Stewart. "Today was definitely a great day for her to shoot well."

The Pioneers pushed the lead to as many as 27 points in the second half before coasting home.
 

I'm not good at judging talent compared to the outstate players. I can't but notice that many of the girls in the MN State Basketball tournament aren't going to the U. Are they shunning us or are they simply not good enough?
 


I watched a lot of the Minnesota State High School girls tourney. Although there were some DI prospects, most of the upperclassmen were not BIG quality. Some very intriguing underclassmen though. Beuckers is obviously the crowned jewel from that group. Hopkins' Battle is only an 8th grader and she'll be interesting to watch as she progresses. I thought sophomore Jensen of Lakeville North is worth watching as she progresses, as is frosh Carson of Eastview. The sisters from Roseau are terrific players but size may be a bit of a problem with them in the BIG. Same goes for soph Peschel of Sauk Centre. Unfortunately, height can be a major factor in recruiting players for the next level. I think Giebert of Eastview has already committed to play with SDSU, where her sister is. Lots of talent on the floor, especially in the 4A game, but again not a lot of upperclass power conference prospects that the Gophers should be going after.
 

Houlfat Mahouchiza and the Lady Jets defeated Casper in the first round of the NJCAA tournament 77-65 in OT. Mahouchiza converted a steal into a layup and subsequent foul shot to tying the game at 60 with 14 seconds remaining forcing overtime. Mahouchiza played 25 minutes with 9 points and 5 rebounds.
 

https://www.southgatech.edu/athleti...r-10-seed-in-first-round-of-njcaa-tournament/

Game story from the Lady Jets win. I didn't point out that Mahouchiza's playing time was limited, as usual, by foul trouble. SGTC plays Seward Community College (Liberal, Kansas) today.


Lubbock, Texas- The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets upset the 10th seeded Casper College Thunderbirds 77 – 65 in overtime in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Women’s National Basketball Tournament in Lubbock, Texas, Monday.

“I am so proud of this team,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “I kept telling them that we were the best 23rd seeded team ever in the national tournament and that we had the opportunity to come out here and do some things that no other 23rd seeded team had ever done.”

The Lady Jets believed their Coach and despite trailing 34 – 24 at the end of the first half, South Georgia Tech overcame that 10-point deficit and pulled off an outstanding 77 – 65 victory in overtime. “That is a 22-point swing in 25-minutes and that is hard to do especially against a 10th seeded team in the NJCAA National Tournament,” said Coach Frey.

Casper College entered the tournament with a 31 – 2 record and had a 21-game winning streak prior to the loss to the Lady Jets. The Lady Jets are now 29 – 5 overall and will advance to the Sweet Sixteen round where they will meet the seventh ranked Seward County Lady Knights at 9 p.m. EDT. The Lady Knights are 30 – 3. The game will be broadcast live on WISK-FM 98.7.

SGTC sophomore forward Houlfat Mahouchiza from Nice, France, made an old-fashioned three-point play in the final seconds of regulation to tie the game at 60 – 60. She went in for a lay-up and was fouled. The basket counted and then she sank the free throw to tie the game and force it into overtime.

Houlfat finished the game with nine points, five rebounds, and two assists. She got into foul trouble early in the game and only saw 25 minutes of playing time in the 45-minute contest.
 

samloupete said:
We are not recruiting them!!
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Didn't realize that they weren't good enough. I know in other sports its always leaves a black mark on the program when someone chooses to go elsewhere. In this case when they have chosen to go elsewhere and a guy like me looks at the signings, I think we aren't getting them and wonder what is going on.
 

https://www.southgatech.edu/athleti...lege-in-njcaa-division-i-national-tournament/

Houlfat Mahouchiza's season ends with the Lady Jets loss to Seward County:

Lubbock, Texas- The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets overcame a 12-point half-time deficit against the seventh ranked Seward County Community College Lady Saints to pull ahead 81 – 79 with 2:17 seconds remaining in the last game of the Sweet Sixteen round in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Women’s National Basketball Tournament in Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday. But Seward College held the Lady Jets scoreless in the final two minutes and captured the 88 – 81 victory.

“We had the opportunity to pull this out,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “I am so proud of these girls for not giving up. They gave 100% effort and showed a lot of people that we were much better than a 23rd seed in this tournament.”

Seward County Community College is the best women’s three point shooting team in the NJCAA across all divisions and they certainly lived up to that billing by hitting 17 of 34 attempts from the three-point line. Twelve of those 17 three-pointers came in the first half. They were successful on 54.5% of their three point attempts in the first half and ended the game shooting 50%.

Sophomore forward Houfat Mahouchize scored 15 points and had four rebounds.
 


Now that we have a coach, we can return a little focus to the players.

Lesila Finau's senior mixtape.
 

Does 247SPorts or any of the recruiting sites cover Women's Basketball?
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:

Now that we have a coach, we can return a little focus to the players.

Lesila Finau's senior mixtape.
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I'm impressed at how she can finish at the rim, that's the thing that stands out the most. She looks like she gets a little wild/careless at times with the ball though. Looks good though.
 

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