The eight city high schools gathered at Holy Cross on Saturday for the annual girls basketball jamboree. Holy Cross knocked off Sacred Heart in the final, 14-11, in overtime.
Here are some thoughts from the day:
Holy Cross: Cayla Howard was a tough player to guard for opposing teams with her combination of size, speed and ability to handle the ball. Alyssa Hebb took the job of guarding the other team’s best player, including Crosby’s Tiahna Pulliam and Sacred Heart’s Aamya Rivera.
Sacred Heart: The Hearts are propelled by their experienced guards, Rivera and Mikayla Mobley. Both have been at it for Sacred Heart since they were freshmen, and they will again lead the way in 2019-20.
Crosby: Everyone knows about Pulliam, who was All-NVL, All-City and All-State as a junior. She will be expected to lead the Bulldogs again in 2019-20, but she should have help from others.
Kennedy: The Eagles are led by senior Javilet Soto, who played hard at both ends of the floor. Soto is not afraid to take the big shot, which is a good thing for her team.
WCA: The Spartans are a young team, but they compete hard. WCA had a rough go of it against Sacred Heart, but they blew out Wilby and they hung in against Crosby until the final seconds.
Kaynor Tech: The Panthers are going through a lot with the tragic deaths of classmates Della Jette and Sterling Jette Jr. Kaynor hasn’t been on the court much, and playing its first quarter against Holy Cross didn’t help matters on Saturday. The Panthers were more competitive as the day went on.
Chase Collegiate: The Highlanders are dealing with injuries, so their younger players need to step up and contribute immediately. Those younger players got plenty of time on the court Saturday.
Wilby: Wildcat player Tayler Saunders was all over the floor, diving after loose balls and hustling on every play. Wilby will need her senior leadership to help it improve after a rough 2018-19.
Gallery
Here are my photos from Saturday’s jamboree.
