The final games in the 64
th Annual Sandra Meadows Classic Varsity Girls Tournament demonstrated some of the fierce competition that was present at this event. In the Consolation Final, Colleyville Heritage defeated San Antonio Wagner 54-49. Freshman Bryn Gerlich lead Colleyville Heritage with 20 points, and Oklahoma State commitment Amber Ramirez lead Wagner with 22 points.
The Silver Bracket final revealed a win for Duncanville over Vista Ridge, 54-45, in a very high-energy game. Duncanville’s 6’0” freshman Zarielle Green is an ultra-skilled player that brought an impressive liveliness to the team down the stretch. 6’4” junior post Ciera Johnson dominated the paint and played at a very high level of competition. Her combination of skill, size, athleticism, and work ethic will allow her to compete well at the next level. 5’11” junior Madison Townley’s highly versatile skills and ability to leave everything she has on the floor makes her the total package. Vista Ridge is led by Texas Tech commit, 5’5” senior Japreece Dean, who has excellent guard skills and leads by example. Other standouts include sharpshooter, 5’9” junior Mikayla Christian, with her unbelievable range, and Nikki Cardano-Hillary, a 5’5” sophomore guard with a good skill set and an intense passion for the game.
The fifth and sixth place game between McKinney North High School and Richardson High School had Richardson trailing by eight points going into the fourth quarter, but outscored McKinney North 20-6 in the final stretch of the game. Richardson prevailed, winning the game 59-53, and national recruit Arleighshya McElroy was the game’s high scorer with 24 points.
McEachern, GA defeated FTW Trimble Tech 88-71 for the third place victory. The game featured multiple high-level players including McEachern’s backcourt combo, Te’a Cooper, a 5’8” senior Tennesseee commit who had 34 points, and 5’8” junior Jada Lewis, who added 29 points to the team’s total and is one of the nation’s top recruits. Trimble Tech turned a lot of heads this week with wins over Duncanville and Richardson. The game was back and forth for three quarters, and they trailed by only four going into the final frame. They were lead in scoring by seniors Karrington Brown with 33 points and Lakendra Bassett with 13 points. Brown is a McNeese State commit and Bassett is a highly skilled guard who could be a huge asset for many teams at the next level.
The tournament ended up a high note on New Year’s Eve when Conway, AR (10-4) defeated Frisco Liberty (18-3) 53-33 in the championship game. After trailing by one point at the end of the first quarter, Conway was up the rest of the game. Conway was lead in scoring by 5’7” senior Kianna Speight, a Davidson commit with 15 points. 5’8” senior and Arkansas commit Jordan Danberry was tournament MVP and added eight points to the team’s total. 5’7” senior Asia Willard was named the tournament’s Outstanding Defensive Player. Frisco Liberty was lead in scoring by Rebecca Lescay with 19 points. The 5’8” sophomore had a strong tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Majestie Robinson, a 5’6” senior, had seven points and was named the tournament’s Outstanding Offensive Player.