skip navigation

LBI Event Recap: Select 40 Finals (Cincinnati, OH)

By LBI Staff, 07/28/22, 6:15PM EDT

Share

Cincinnati, OH: The 1st Select 40 national championship tournament for independents was amazing. Very competitive team matchups and individual matchups. Legends U vs. New Heights at the 17U levels was must see TV as the Wisconsin Lakers dominated the field to come out on top. The Legends U 16U squad, led by tourney MVP Sinai Douglas, grinded out a victory over a tough Jason Kidd Select team who got timely shooting from 2025 Olivia Lagos and a gutsy performance from 2025 Gabrielle Abigor. Legends U 15U sealed the deal behind great team play led by the stellar play of 2 of the most talented young guns in the country in 15U Championship Game MVP 2027 Sydney Savoury and the uber-talented 2026 Saniyah Hall. Whether looking for impact bigs like Mary Meng, Quanirah Montague, Kira Reynolds, or Aalyah Del Rosario. Or just simply very, very, very good and consistent basketball play from players like Teagan Mallegni, Jasmine Davidson, Lillian Zeinstra,  Mari Bickley, and more. It was all at your fingertips in Cincinnati.

2024 Madalyn Geers PG | West Michigan Drive Copeland 2024
Competed from buzzer to buzzer. The West Michigan Drive guard was amazing getting to and finishing around the basket with seemingly endless counters to whatever would be shot blockers would have for her. She just impacted the game with her grit and hustle. Geers found a way to score when her team needed it most, as they almost cashed in on a big win in the final four. 

2025 Kemariah Gerton PG | Legends U
She shot the ball at an unbelievable clip FOR THE ENTIRE TOURNAMENT. Not just from three (which she was lights out) but from midrange as well. She scored off the bounce and off the catch and shoot. Gerton was also absolutely electric in transition. Her ability to score in spurts was a catalyst for Legends U's dominant run to the championship game. 

2024 Raniyah Lewis Wing | Houston Skyrise Elite 
Raniyah Lewis peeled back the layers to her game as the minutes waned. The lefty is a big guard who was very difficult to stay in front of and contain. Her court vision off the dribble was great as she finished with several assist. 

2024 Orlagh Gormley PG | MCW Starz Elite 2024 
Can you stay in front of Orlagh Gormley? No! She was so good breaking down the defense and forcing help on Sunday. She has a crossover to a hesitation that’s to die for. And at least for 32 minutes, it was unstoppable. She was so steady and fearless grabbing paint and creating opportunities for herself, but mostly for others. Gormley had a huge showing in from of a baseline full of coaches. 

2025 Kaylene Vivo PG | Troop West Red 16U
Vivo keeps coming and is relentlessly grabbing paint to make a play. A couple assist her, and a couple of baskets; there was pretty much the rhythm all night. She was so quick with the ball, so tough to guard. Her ability to dictate tempo was key to her team being competitive vs. the Mystics. 

2024 Teagan Mallegni SF | Wisconsin Lakers White 2023 
Teagan is a freight train on the court. She played so hard and physical in the Lakers win over Elevate Elite. She dominated by getting to the basket from anywhere on the court. Whether in transition, from the wing, or high post, Teagan was a scoring machine and impossible to deal with. 

2025 Amy Terrian PG | Wisconsin Lakers White 2023 
Amy Terrian plays with a real passion for the game. Always talking. Always engaged. Always pushing herself. She’s skilled off the dribble and shoots the three really well. On a special Wisconsin Lakers 3rd quarter run, Terrian was truly the catalyst for getting the ball where it needed to go while netting a triple herself.

2023 Carlee Casteel | Shock 17U
The best way to describe Carlee’s shot is quiet or still. It’s very effortless and simple, but she is effective and so efficient with it. Carlee knows how to get to her shot; she floats around the perimeter looking for windows and is always shot ready. She’s a player that continuously needs a defender to stick her, or she’ll definitely make you pay. 

2023 Norah Clark | Shock 17U
Norah made an impact from all over the court. She absolutely killed the zone defense from the high post area, driving and finishing or turning and raising up over the top. Norah made great decisions when pushing in transition, always finding better angles for her shot or dishing to her teammates that ran the floor hard. 

2025 Jasmyn Cooper | MCW Starz 2024
Jasmyn was unstoppable at times today. She required double teams and help defenders throughout. She worked so hard and gained a deep post position in the paint that defenders were almost helpless in what they could do with her. Jasmyn was extremely tough and battled the whole game, finishing contested shot and drawing multiple fouls on the other team.

2023 Landry Allen and 2023 Gracie Kelsey | Southwest Elite 2023
Landry and Gracie were a tandem that really took on quite the load for their team. Landry’s 6’3” lengthy frame allowed her to use a turn around jumper over the top of defenders very nicely. Gracie played with toughness and physicality that complimented her counterpart well. She backed down players deep inside and played through the contact, allowing her to often make her way to the charity stripe. 

2024 Zoe Guice | Ohio Lady Hoopsters
Zoe was the consummate floor general and leader of her team. She showed continued leadership qualities on both ends of the floor, directing traffic and getting her team into half-court sets. She scored the ball at a very high rate while still keeping her teammates involved and engaged. Zoe hit threes out of set calls, got to the rim often, and had numerous steals for easy transition buckets for a big win to start the day off.

2023 Addison Markowski  | Nebraska Supreme 2023
When the opposing coach yells out to one of his players, “she’s killing you, she’s absolutely killing you, " you know you are doing something right. Markowski is a super physical player that seeks out the contact for her benefit. She drove hard to the rim and, with good body control, was able to finish some tough shots. Her team did a great job of executing their half-court sets to get Markowski some easy looks from behind the arc. 

2024 Lola Donez | Jason Kidd Select 2024
Wow, was this young lady solid today? Lola was completely disruptive on the defensive end, getting in passing lanes and flying to the basket for some easy points. She got her hands on the ball so often and tied up numerous players, unaware. Her speed change in the half-court was problematic and impossible to stay in front of. When Lola got to the paint, she just elevated over the top of defenders and knocked down some tough midrange jumpers.

2024 Orlagh Gormley | MCW Starz 2024
Her quickness and speed, coupled with really good ball control, were very difficult to deal with. She blew past her defender and seemed always to make the right decision. She hit floaters over the top of interior players, went around girls in the paint with some fancy footwork, got out in transition, and was electric!

2024 Avery Mills | Carolina Waves 2023
Her overall floor game is very polished. You saw the leadership qualities from the beginning; she directed traffic and encouraged teammates. Her ability to read screens and certain actions also showed off her high IQ. As she was defended by the others team's obvious best defender, she managed to grind her way to the lane still and make several good plays at the rim. When given ample space, she also knocked down shots from behind the arc. 

2024 Mariah Clayton | Team Lex Loaded S40 2024
Her impact was felt all over. Mariah played her heart out from start to finish, playing a ton of minutes, too, I might add. She was slashing her way to the basket and racking up the three-point plays using her strength and body control. She hit baby floaters and nice midrange jumpers just because she continued to move and cut hard in the quarter court. Because she ran the floor hard, the ball also managed to find her in transition. 

2025 Lila Donnelly | Elevate Elite 2025
Lila stood out today with her ability to play with the ball in her hands from the point guard spot or off the ball as a primary scoring option. She could come off screens and knock down long shots, drive to the lane, and finish some contested looks. Lila ran the team when she wasn’t scoring and did a good job setting up teammates. 

2023 Cadence Dykstra | West Michigan Drive Copeland 2023
Her physical style of play was simply way too much for her opponents to handle today. Her superior strength allowed her to muscle her way to the rim and power up through contact. She was able to repeatedly back down smaller defenders and finish with ease. She had great bounce and speed almost to dominate the boards from the guard position too.

2024 Kennedy Milligan | Carolina Waves 2023
This young lady put it all together. She scored in bunches and from all over. She slashed her way to the rim in a closely fought game and finished with good body control. With the shot clock winding down, she made a really nice play cutting hard back door for a bucket. Kennedy kept up her intensity on the defensive end as well, getting out in passing lanes and showing very good speed in the open court.

2023 Kate Ratliff | Ohio Lady Hoopsters Impact 2023
Kate was cooking today! She used a wide arsenal to show off her polished game. She converted several iso situations from the perimeter, played back to the basket, and bullied girls in the paint for points. Her floor game and  IQ were evident all over as she made the right reads and hit the cutters. Kate also played extremely hard on the defensive end, drawing charges and rebounding the ball amongst some big trees down low.