Category: Girls Basketball

Kieonna Christmas becomes 10th prep player to post a quintuple-double

Kieonna Christmas celebrated December with an ultra-rare quintuple-double, becoming one of just 10 prep players to record that stat line.

Social media was abuzz this week as Kieonna Christmas’ outstanding December game sent shockwaves around the basketball corners of the internet.

The Fonda-Fultonville (New York) High School senior posted an unbelievable stat line: 11 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals, 10 blocks, according to Penn Live. In doing so, she drove the Braves to a 55-50 win over Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons (Schenectady, N.Y.) in overtime.

According to MaxPreps, Christmas is the 10th prep player to record a line of double-digit numbers in each of those categories. This game was just the 13th time it has happened.

Hall of Famer and former WNBA star Tamika Catchings is the first recorded prep player to do so, according to MaxPreps. In 1997, she recorded a line of 25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals and 10 blocks.

Aquillin Hayes, a girls basketball player who graduated in 2011, is recorded to have recorded a quintuple-double three times in high school, while Takiya Webb, Class of 2010, did so twice.

Only three players to do so were boys, and two of them happened last year, according to MaxPreps: Jaydon Awe and Thomas Armbruster both accomplished the feat from Jan. 20-27, 2023.

Overtime posted highlights of Christmas. Based on the jerseys, it looks like some highlights took place against Notre Dame, while others were from another game:

At 6-foot, Christmas is the tallest player listed on the MaxPreps roster. She used that size effectively to get to 10 steals and blocks apiece, the toughest of the five double-digits to attain.

Fonda-Fultonville is 9-13 this season, having bounced back from a four-game losing streak to pick up wins in its last two games. The Braves have a game against 17-5 Mechanicville (N.Y.) on Sunday.

Washington HS athletic department sees punches thrown at basketball game, injuries in running drill

A Shelton High School girls basketball player got into a brawl on the court, and a running drill at school allegedly resulted in injuries.

Punches were thrown during a girls high school basketball game in Washington on Jan. 31, the second incident involving the Shelton High School athletic department over the last couple weeks.

During the game between Shelton and Aberdeen, two players were going after the ball when a scuffle ensued. The video of the incident appears to show the Aberdeen player reaching around the Shelton player’s neck to go for the ball, and the Shelton player reacted defensively and aggressively by tackling the opponent and throwing three punches before a teammate pulled her off. Local podcast The Scrimmage posted the video onto social media platform X:

According to KIRO7, the Shelton player, who is 18 years old, was issued a criminal citation and will appear in front of a judge.

The player who was punched was evaluated for injury and able to return to the game, according to The Scrimmage. Aberdeen went on to win the game.

Just a day before, some parents at Shelton High School contacted KIRO7 about a different incident in which football players in a weight-lifting class took part in an “impromptu running drill.” Allegedly, the coach took student-athletes to the girls wrestling room to practice running the ball up the middle instead of taking it to the outside. In the drill, other students would tackle the person performing the drill, and there were allegedly no pads or helmets, parents who spoke to the outlet said.

Parents alleged that injuries included a concussion, a broken finger and a broken rib.

The police department told KIRO7 that it had not received any calls or reports about the incident.

Pair of Long Beach high school coaches resigned in January due to parental treatment

Two head coaches from Long Beach high schools, Erin Carey and Curtis Boyer, described parental harassment that led to their resignations.

A pair of high school basketball head coaches in Long Beach, Calif., announced resignations last month due to what they described as harassment from parents.

In early January, Wilson High School girls basketball head coach Erin Carey told The562 she was stepping down due to “relentless criticism on my integrity and character based on decisions I made within the program.” Assistant coaches DJ Butler and Samantha McComb also resigned from the program during winter break.

On Jan. 25, Millikan High School boys basketball coach Curtis Boyer told The562 he was leaving his role in the wake of parents yelling at players during in-game huddles to not listen to Boyer, as well as challenging him about playing time during games and following him to the team bus.

“The way it’s gotten is that the last few weeks I’ve been stressed, I’m not sleeping, it’s really been getting to me,” Boyer said to the outlet. “I don’t need it — I poured everything into this program, blood, sweat and tears for eight or 10 hours a day.”

Both head coaches led their respective programs to success during their tenure. Carey helped lead Wilson to a CIF-SS Div. 3A championship in 2020, and the team maintained a record over .500 the next two years. Last season, the Bruins went 11-12 and, as of Feb. 4, are 9-13 this year.

According to The562, Boyers in 2022 helped Millikan get its first-ever state playoff win, as the team advanced to the regional semifinals. This season, after two important players transferred, the team is 6-18.

Both former head coaches spoke to NBC Los Angeles over the past week.

“I’m hoping it’s a wake-up call. Just cheer your kid on, just be a parent,” Carey told the outlet.

“You let the coaches coach, and the players play, and just be a parent. It’s not happening anymore,” Boyer said.

Lexi Isebrand pulls off an insane shot in an Iowa basketball game

Check out this shot from an Iowa girls basketball game.

Lexi Isebrand pulled off one of the best plays of the week on Friday night, a combination of agility and awareness to make a spectacular basket.

A guard for Forest City (Forest City, Iowa), Isebrand’s circus shot came in a 70-35 win over West Hancock (Britt, Iowa). With the win, Forest City improves to 15-4 and has sole possession of first place in the North Iowa Conference.

Now, on to the play. This is all sorts of fun from Isebrand.

On a fast break and dribbling to her left, Isebrand seemed to draw some light contact (no foul was called). With her back turned and falling backward, Isebrand put up a two-handed, looping shot that fell in with a perfect swish.

Quite the play (and awareness) from the sophomore guard):

 

Isebrand also plays volleyball for Forest City.

Was it a real circus shot? Based on the incredible rarity and difficulty of it for sure, there is an aspect of it being a circus shot.

But this was a good bit of awareness from the sophomore guard rather than a trick play. Circus shot? Maybe simply a smart shot.

A South Carolina girls basketball team won their opener 95-0

A girls high school basketball team posts a shutout.

The score is simply incomprehensible.

The Dutch Fork (Irmo, South Carolina) girls basketball team opened the season on Friday with a 95-0 win over Lamar (Lamar, South Carolina). That is right.

It bares repeating: Dutch Fork won their season opener 95-0 over Lamar.

On one hand, scoring 95 points in a high school basketball game is incredibly rare. It is an incredible amount of points to score. But to then hold an opponent to no points is…well…it just doesn’t happen.

And it doesn’t happen with this kind of margin between the two teams.

In a comment on social media, one person questioned the sportsmasnhip of the winning school, saying that Dutch Fork probably used a full-court press the entire game. There is no tap-dancing around that tweet, which implies that Dutch Fork ran up the score and didn’t let up.

Interestingly enough, the program responded to the tweet and defended their head coach:

 

Well, that will make Lamar feel better…’The score could’ve been much higher’…

Last season, Dutch Fork went 14-10.

There were no stats for the game given that the poor high school student charged with being the scorekeeper first ran out of ink and then developed severe arm cramps midway through the first quarter when trying to keep up with the action.

Elite youth basketball camp to take place during NBA summer league, WNBA All-Star Weekend

Jr. NBA is launching a new event during NBA Summer League with 40 elite youth basketball prospects from around the world.

Elite youth basketball players will get the opportunity to take part in a camp run in conjunction with the NBA Summer League and the WNBA All-Star Weekend from July 12-16, the league announced Thursday morning.

Forty highly regarded 13- and 14-year-old players from 17 different countries will take part in the Jr. NBA Showcase. The kids will join skill development workouts, practices with teams and exhibitions, in addition to taking part in three-point, dunk and skills contests.

The exhibition games, which will take place on July 15, are scheduled to stream live on the NBA app.

Participants will also join an NBA Cares program and undergo life skills and leadership development sessions. With the event in Vegas in the center of the NBA summer league action and WNBA All-Star Weekend, players will have the chance to receive this tutelage from current and former NBA, WNBA and G League players and coaches, the league said.

Jr. NBA is one of the league’s global youth basketball development initiatives. This event in July, which will be the first time the league has hosted it, is seen by the NBA youth development officials as another way to bridge the gap from elite international youth leagues to high school programs like Basketball Without Borders.

Events like these are a way for viewers to start learning about the next crop of players who have an opportunity to make noise at the college or NBA level. Many of them are still unknown to the vast majority of basketball fans, but there are some more recognizable names like Erick Dampier Jr., who was measured at 6-foot-8 as a seventh grader and is the son of the former NBA player Erick Dampier, and Lincoln Cosby, a student in the class of 2027 who is listed somewhere between 6-foot-7 (per 247Sports) or 6-foot-8 (his Instagram account).

The full roster can be found below:

Boys International

  • Wael Aguenaou, Marrakesh, Morocco
  • Emmanuel Ahamefule, London, England
  • Nicolas Alejandro Gonzalez Martin, Montevideo, Uruguay
  • Petar Bjelica, Belgrade, Serbia
  • Lun Jarc, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Nate Langmaid, Melbourne, Australia
  • Kaito Nakamura, Hyogo, Japan
  • Joel Ntale Kabugi, Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Saul Octavio Quiroz Duarte, Tijuana, Mexico
  • Mamadou Sow, Thiés, Senegal

U.S. Boys

  • Isaac Bongen, Portland, Oregon
  • Mason Collins, Columbia, South Carolina
  • Lincoln Cosby, Liberty Township, Ohio
  • Erick Dampier Jr., Ridgeland, Mississippi
  • Derek Daniels, Washington, District of Columbia
  • Ahmad Hudson, Ruston, Louisiana
  • Tyrone Jamison Jr., Shreveport, Louisiana
  • Gabriel Nesmith, West Palm Beach, Florida
  • Babatunde Oladotun, Silver Spring, Maryland
  • Tyler Sutton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Girls International

  • Zeina Ayman Haleem, Cairo, Egypt
  • Klara Bilusic, Zagreb, Croatia
  • Shannon Dominique Susila, Surabaya, Indonesia
  • Rabeniamina Kaloniaina Tiffany, Antananarivo, Madagascar
  • Nada Maksimovic, Belgrade, Serbia
  • Oghenetega Precious Ogbodu, Lagos, Nigeria
  • Florencia Ribolla Wilson, Mercedes, Uruguay
  • Ayvah Ricli, Perth, Australia
  • Barbora Subova, Brno, Czech Republic
  • Aislin Tamez Torres, Monterrey, Mexico
  • U.S. Girls
  • Jezelle Banks, Wilmington, Delaware
  • Ryan Carter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Sydney Douglas, Upland, California
  • Miciah Fusilier, Camden, Arkansas
  • Lillie Graves, Lafayette, Indiana
  • Lauren Hassell, Clarksville, Tennessee
  • Micah Ojo, Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Jordyn Palmer, Oxford, Pennsylvania
  • Qandace Samuels, District Heights, Maryland
  • Nation Williams, Las Vegas, Nevada

“The Jr. NBA Showcase will provide a platform for elite players from around the world to further develop as players and leaders, showcase their potential and create lifelong memories at what will be the epicenter of basketball in Las Vegas this summer,” NBA Senior Vice President, Head of Youth Basketball Development David Krichavsky said in a statement.

“Together with Nike, the NBA and WNBA are committed to improving the youth basketball experience at all levels of the game, and the Jr. NBA Showcase provides an opportunity to help prepare standout 13- and 14-year-old players for the next step in their basketball journeys.”

Montverde Academy girls basketball wins back-to-back GEICO Nationals

Montverde Academy girls basketball went on a massive second-half comeback led by Sahnya Jah to win back-to-back GEICO Nationals championships.

For the second year in a row, Montverde Academy has proven itself as the best girls basketball team in the country. On Saturday, the Eagles took down Long Island Lutheran 60-54 to win the GEICO Nationals championship.

With the win, the Eagles finish their season with a record of 26-1, dismantling practically every opponent in their path.

This game was not one of those in which Montverde led wire-to-wire. The Eagles trailed by 16 points in the third quarter, needing a massive comeback to get ahead.

That comeback was led by Sahnya Jah, who had 15 points in the second half alone to finish with a game-high 20. The University of South Carolina commit, ranked No. 40 on ESPN’s top 100 list, was a bully in the post during the comeback, and topped it off by picking up the offensive rebound, putting it back up, and getting fouled as the layup dropped:

Cori Allen contributed 15 points during the game, making three 3-pointers.

The Montverde defense also picked up in the second half, allowing Long Island Lutheran to make just six field goals in the final two quarters, according to SportbookLive. LuHi missed all nine 3-point attempts they took in the second half.

With the victory, Montverde caps off a wildly successful run led by their three players on ESPN’s top 100 list: Jah, Baylor commit Letycia Vasconcelos and Mississippi State commit Mjracle Sheppard. Just because those three are heading off to Division I basketball doesn’t mean the Eagles’ cupboard is empty — led by 2024 four-star Vivian Iwuchukwu, Montverde will aim to be right back at the GEICOs next year.

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NFHS Network’s Weekly Top 10 Basketball Highlights

USA TODAY High School Sports is back with the final NFHS Network basketball Top 10 plays of 2023.

From the high school hardwood across the country, USA TODAY High School Sports is back with the final NFHS Network Weekly Top 10— a look at the best of the best from both girls and boys hoops in 2023.

Featured Teams this week:

  1. Eastlake High School (Wash.)
  2. Brophy College Prep (Ariz.)
  3. Mead High School (Wash.)
  4. Jesuit High School (Ore.)
  5. Indian Land High School (S.C.)
  6. Sierra Canyon High School (Calif.)
  7. Autaugaville High School (Ala.)
  8. Central-Phenix City High School (Ala.)
  9. Chandler High School (Okla.)
  10. Tenino High School (Wash.)

About the NFHS Network: The collaboration with over 40 high school state athletic/activities associations, and PlayOn! Sports, provides fans with the ability to live-stream high school sports on any device, from wherever they are: 27 different regular season and postseason sports, plus other high school activities that highlight the accomplishments of student-athletes, student-broadcasters, and high schools.

We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY HSS operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

GIECO Nationals: Preview the 4 girls basketball teams competing for the championship

Preview the GEICO Nationals girls basketball tournament featuring McDonogh, Long Island Lutheran, Westtown and Montverde.

Four of the best girls basketball teams in the country, including the top two teams in MaxPreps’ rankings, will be displaying their prowess at the GEICO Nationals this week.

McDonogh (Md.), Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.), Westtown (Penn.) and Montverde Academy (Fla.) will vie for the prestigious championship on March 31 and April 1, with the opening games taking place on Friday.

Between those four teams, nine players are ranked on ESPN’s lists for the classes of 2023 and 2024.

Here is a quick rundown of the teams ahead of the game action.

Find the GEICO Nationals schedule here. Read the boys GEICO Nationals basketball tournament preview here.

GEICO Nationals boys and girls basketball schedule

See the schedules, times and how to watch the GEICO Nationals boys and girls basketball tournaments from March 30 – April 1.

The GEICO Nationals are set to begin this week as eight boys high school basketball teams and four girls high school basketball teams will compete to dictate the respective champions of the prestigious tournament.

Over 10 games from Thursday through Saturday, dozens of highly ranked prospects will play in games televised on ESPNU and ESPN2, with the boys championship scheduled for ESPN.

The eight boys teams playing are Paul VI (Va.), Link Academy (Mo.), IMG Academy (Fla.), Prolific Prep (Calif.), AZ Compass (Ariz.), Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.), Sunrise Christian (Kan.) and Montverde (Fla.).

The four girls teams are McDonogh (Md.), Long Island Lutheran, Westtown (Penn.) and Montverde.

Here is the schedule. All times listed in Eastern.