Paris Kea
ELITE 100 guard Paris Kea exploded for 29 points on Wednesday.
*Photo by Ty Freeman.
MARIETTA, Ga. The second day of the Summer Invitational proved to be even more eventful than day one. Today teams moved into bracket play, which meant that the concentration and emotion elevated as teams continued to play in front of a packed back wall of college coaches. Here is a look at some of the highlights of day two.
In the feature game of the evening, coach Jay Bee Betheas All Ohio Black team knocked off the Lady Phoenix 65-55 in the semifinal of the @JLHemingwayPSB bracket. This game featured a showdown between two elite 100 guards in the class 2014. Kelsey Mitchell of Princeton, Ohio, who has been tabbed the No. 1 player in the rising senior class by ProspectsNation.com, matched up with Paris Kea of Greensboro, N.C. Kea, who is currently ranked No. 77, played Mitchell toe-to-toe throughout the night.
For the first 24 minutes of the game Kea did what she normally does, which is be a pass-first point guard and put her teammates in a position to score. However, in the second half Kea decided that she needed to be a scoring option first to get her team back in contention. Her game-high 29 points put an exclamation mark on already impressive July for the uncommitted rising senior. She has had multiple college head coaches in to see her already at the Summer Invitational. Kea played at a high level and she and her team flirted with upsetting the favorites from the Buckeye State.
All Ohio received a big effort from Mitchell, who scored a team-high 19 points, despite struggling from the field much of the night. It would be her frontcourt teammates, Kathryn Westbeld and Makayla Waterman, both of Kettering, Ohio, who would step up and help ensure victory for the ladies from Ohio by chipping in double-digit point totals each.
Westbeld impressed observers once again with her skillful finishes in the lane and timely rebounds. In addition, a strong performance from Alexa Hart, a 6-foot-4 center from Columbus, Ohio, was needed to pull this win off. Her shot blocking presence kept the Lady Phoenix from gaining easy buckets in the lane.
#ProspectsNationTV: Game of the Day All Ohio Black vs. Lady Phoenix from the #PSBSummerInvitational:
AROUND THE RIM
♦ Class of 2015 guard Cierra Rice has been a quiet, but key contributor for All Ohio this week. Her ability to rebound the basketball from the guard position has been clutch. Rice has the skills to be a focal point player, but she has adapted nicely to being a productive complementary player this year.
♦ Coach Delaney Rudd boasts a frontline that disrupts drivers in the lane. At 6-5 Akela Maize has length that is matched by few in the country. Her developing offensive skill set and her mobility on the defensive end have several regional schools intrigued.
♦ Class of 2015 post player Reaunna Cleaver of Elizabeth, Ky., is a physical low block presence for Kentucky Premier. Her ability to defend and rebound put her in the conversation alongside some of the better post players in the class.
♦ Class of 2014 scoring guard Yaktavia Hickson continues her scoring barrage during the month of July. Her 36 points in tonights game cements her Elite 150 Watch List status when ProspectsNation.com expands its rankings in the fall. Follow @JLHemingwayPSB
