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GUAA Championships Day One Standouts (Pt. 1) (July 23)

07/24/2022, 7:15pm EDT
By Owen McCue

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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MANHEIM, Pa. — The Girls’ Under Armour Association Championships are taking place Saturday through Monday at Spooky Nook Sports complex with some of the best programs from around the country coming to Lancaster County to compete for the GUAA title and plenty of college coaches filing in to see them.

CoBL had staff on for several sets at Day One on Saturday. Here are a few standouts from the day’s action that we caught:


Michigan Storm's Kennedy Blair goes up for a shot. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Kennedy Blair (2023 | Michigan Storm 17U | Divine Child, Mich.) 

Blair, whose offer list includes the likes of Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Pitt among the recent additions, had the hot hand early for the Storm in a loss to GTS Fusion on Saturday morning. The 5-10 guard scored all 13 of her points in the first half, often getting into the lane with ease and finding different ways to finish while also stepping into a three when given space. She also displayed a terrific ability to pass the ball and used her height to force turnovers on the defensive end as well.

Teagan Colvin (2024 | Northwest Blazers 17U | Liberty, Wa.)

Colvin is one of the top recruits in the Class of 2024 playing up at the 17U level. She finished with a modest seven points in a win over West Coast Elite, but she left her mark all over the game. Colvin also tallied seven assists and sprinkled in some rebounds and steals as well to round out her statsheet. She controls the game with the ball in her hands, easily getting into the lane where she is a crafty finisher and a playmaker. She didn’t let too many shots fly but a pull-up three in transition was pretty.

Alexis Davis (2023 | Books & Basketball 17U | Woodbury, N.J.)

Davis neared a 20-point, 10-rebound outing to help BBA to a tight win over Canada Elite. Her and-one with 39 seconds left gave her squad the lead for good. She made the bucket with through contact with her offhand. The 6-foot small forward who has a long list of Division I offers completely took over the game down the stretch, scoring at will in the paint and controlling the glass on offense and defense. 


Comets' Casey Harter drives to the basket. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Casey Harter (2023 | Comets | Souderton)

The recent Northwestern commit helped turn a tight ball game into a runaway with a dominant second-half performance in an opening round win over the WPA Bruins. Harter scored from outside, drove to the basket and even added a bucket off a backdoor cut. She finished off the terrific outing by adding a fadeaway jumper to beat the shot clock buzzer. Harter did plenty of dirty work for the Comets too and has a penchant for finding away to come up with the ball whether that might be swiping it from opponents or hustling for loose balls and rebounds.

Jillian Jekot (2024 | Comets 16U | Cumberland Valley)

Jekot put on a show as the Comets rolled past IGB in their second game on Saturday. The 6-foot wing scored from pretty much everywhere on the floor in a 23-point outing and it all came naturally in the offense. Jekot, who already holds offers from Drexel, La Salle, St. Joe’s and most recently Temple, drove to the hoop with both hands and displayed her range with three triples. She also chipped into the winning effort with an assist, block and steal on her statline.

Claire O’Connor (2023 | Northwest Blazers 17U | Lakeside, Wash.)

O’Connor says she has about 16 Division I offers at the moment and the reason why was on full display in a win over West Coast Elite on Saturday. The 6-1 guard is a lethal left handed shooter, knocking down four triples in the victory and also showing off her sweet shooting stroke in the midrange as well. She said she is working on expanding her game as well and showed that off in the win, putting the ball on the floor to get to the hoop or pull-up for a jumper. O’Connor also made her presence felt on the defensive end, blocking three shots in the game.

Dallas Pierce (2023 | NY Havoc Blue 17U | Sanford, Del.)

It’s a surprise there was anything left of the nets after Pierce torched them in a win over the Bay State Jags on Saturday afternoon. The Delaware native who committed to UMass in the spring, knocked down nine threes in a monster 30-point outing. Pierce, a strong 5-9 guard, tallied a few assists and rebounds to her stat line as well but the knock down shooting is certainly what stood out on Saturday. Even with defenders trying to chase her off the line she calmly knocked down shot after shot.


GTS Fusion's Ryleigh Thurston drives baseline. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Ryleigh Thurston (2023 | GTS Fusion 17U | Centreville, Va.)

Thurston quietly put together a sensational performance in Saturday’s opening round win over the Michigan Storm. The 5-4 guard played mostly distributor in the first half, setting up her teammates for open looks, often driving baseline before whipping the ball out to the wing for a three. She didn’t score before the break then started finding her own shot in the second half and finished with an efficient 13 points, knocking down three shots from deep. There weren’t too many jaw dropping plays in her highlight reel, but she continued to make the right basketball play over and over to help her team win.

Honorable Mention

Caidence Amartey (2023 | Canada Elite | Southwest Acad., Ontario), Samantha Baker (2024 | Comets | Nazareth), Janay Brantley (2023 | NY Havoc Blue | Catskill, N.Y.), Allison Caldwell (2024 | IGB | Zionsville, Ind.), Kaelyn Carroll (2025 | Bay State Jags | Tabor Academy, Mass.), Mary Copple (2023 | Michigan Storm | Brighton, Mich.), Lyndsey Costigan (2023 | GTS Fusion | Flint Hill, Va.), Mariyan Eniafe (2023 | GTS Fusion | Maret School, D.C..), Carly Hassmann (2023 | Northwest Blazers | Tahoma, Wa.), Nia Henley (2023 | GTS Fusion | Riverbend, Va.), Taliyah Logwood (2024 | West Coast Elite | Oakland Tech, Cal.), Tene McFarquhar Smith (2023 | Canada Elite | Addison School, Ontario), Kamryn Mengel (2023 | Comets | North Schuylkill), Alayna Rocco (2024 | WPA Bruins | North Catholic), Mari Somvichian (2023 | West Coast Elite | Oakland Tech, Cal.) Katelyn Thomas (2024 | IGB | Fishers, Ind.), Janae Tyler (2023 | Michigan Storm | Holt, Mich.), Jayla Tyler (2023 | NY Havoc Blue | Colonie Central, N.Y.), Sophia Vital (2023 | Bay State Jags | Tabor Academy, Mass.), Alexa Washington (2023 | WPA Bruins | Oakland Catholic), Nyadieng Yiech (2024 | Canada Elite | Capital Courts Academy, Ontario)


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