The Lady Prospects 17U Red season concluded last week in Denver, CO at the USJN Mountain Madness. The group composed of Faith Brintle(Council Grove), A’Kia Fain(Junction City), Erica Gartner(Labette County), Kate Hanson(Royal Valley), Avery Lewman(Maur Hill-Mount Academy), Dakota McQueen(Wetmore), Kendall Michalski(Washburn Rural), Madelyn Moya(Lansing), Carrington Ream(Metro Academy), Jordan Schoenberger(Chanute) and Taryn Schuette(Sabetha) competed in front of 90+ coaches from the D1, D2, D3 and NAIA levels.

Their first game was against EJ Hoops 17. EJ Hoops is coached and run by former 14yr veteran NBA player Ervin Johnson. At 6’11, he stood out from the rest of the coaches at the tournament. The Lady Prospects jumped out early to a 18-2 lead and won easily, 45-29. The second game proved to be a little tougher test against the Boulder Rockies Black. Once again, the Lady Prospects jumped out to big early lead, which helped them hold on to a 47-43 victory.

The second day of competition began with a matchup of 2-0 teams with the Eclipse SW 17. The early start and physical play, led to a game marred with turnovers and bad shooting. At the end of regulation, the game was tied at 25. A big three and some free throws helped the Eclipse edge out the Lady Prospects, 27-30. Disappointed from their performance in the first game of the day, the Lady Prospects jumped all over their second opponent, the NW Illusion 17 with a 73-47 victory.

At 3-1 in pool play, the Lady Prospects captured the 2^nd seed and faced BC Denver, who was the 1 seed from another pool, in bracket play. Kate Hanson(Royal Valley) was a featured player in this game by National Basketball Showcase, because of her play in the tournament. BC Denver jumped out early hitting shot after shot. But the Lady Prospects didn’t give up dominating the offensive boards and hitting some timely three’s. But in the end, BC Denver proved to be too much and defeated the Lady Prospects 49-58.

It was  great experience for the ladies from small towns in Kansas. Overall during the season, they faced teams from Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. In the process, they traveled to Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver to compete. Look for big things from these ladies during the high school season.