Kelly King Holiday Classic
Girls Analysis

Kelly King Holiday Classic Top Performers

2024 5-7 PG Lucy Hood – Rabun County
Rabun County has found their point guard of both the future and the present in Lucy Hood. She caught my eye in the offseason and she’s made a smooth transition from middle school to starting varsity point guard. Hood has a great athletic frame. She’s quick on her feet and plays with toughness. Hood handles the ball extremely well, especially for her age and in Class 2A. She serves as a playmaker, both finding open teammates and shooting the three. She hit 3 threes and finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Her aggressiveness on defense was impressive. She wasn’t afraid to take away air space and did a good job of shutting down Cambridge’s top guard in a 60-36 win. Hood has an All-State future in Tiger and could be the catalyst for a state title run if not this year, next.

2024 5-8 SG Ellie Southards – Rabun County
No one impressed more than Ellie Southards did on Day 2 of the Kelly King Holiday Classic. Tasked with defending 5-foot-11 sophomore Jordynn Dudley, one of the state’s premier slashers, Southards locked her down, holding her to 11 points in Rabun County’s 24-point win. Southards is tough as nails with a great floor presence. She’s a smart player that doesn’t look or play like a freshman. Southards has some physical size to her. She uses her shoulders and strength to score in the paint and rebound exceptionally well. Southards has a nose for the ball and has the toughness to win 50/50 chances. Ellie scores with both hands inside but it was her pretty outside shot that really got her going. She hit two early threes to set the tone before working her way to the basket over the course of the next three quarters while peppering in some mid-range jumpers. Much like Lucy Hood, Southards is a fearless defender that will get into ball handlers. She made Dudley uncomfortable with her tight defense and made her work for every shot. Southards finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 1 steal. The dynamic duo of Southards and Hood has a chance to be one of the best in recent history at Rabun County.

2021 5-8 PG Emma Easterwood – Chestatee
The Emmanuel-signee has been dinged-up lately, but she returned to action and looked good in a 42-33 loss to North Gwinnett. Easterwood plays with great poise. She didn’t let North Gwinnett’s pressure phase her and was able to set up the offense. Easterwood has a smooth attack when getting to the hoop. She uses a nice crossover which gets her past her initial defender before she likes to pull-up short for floaters over the backline. Emma is athletic and plays with a good motor. She was a handful defensively, earning on-ball steals and deflections. Her passing was on full display Tuesday. Easterwood has above-average vision and can float in tough touch passes over the defense. She put up 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block. Easterwood should have a very nice career in Franklin Springs.

2021 5-2 PG Ellie McIntyre – Mill Creek
The tiny Ole Miss soccer-signee was the only source of offense for Mill Creek in a 42-27 loss to Lumpkin County. Much like older brother Blake (North Georgia), Ellie continues the tradition of McIntyre success. The McIntyres are known for two things: their lack of height and their elite shooting ability. McIntyre would snake her way around defenders and get into the teeth of the Lumpkin County defense where she would drop in floater after floater. She buried four floaters and finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal. Her competitiveness and soft touch make up for her lack of size.

2024 5-6 PG Averie Jones – Lumpkin County
It was an ugly game in the nightcap but Lumpkin County found a way to pull away from Mill Creek to secure a 42-27 victory. Averie Jones wasn’t at her best, but it was her ability to do other things aside from scoring that helped the Indians pick up the win. The sharp freshman scores from all three levels and showed some flashes throughout the game. When Lumpkin County had fast break opportunities, she made the right decisions on when to take it herself or drop off to the open teammate. Jones’ all-around floor game was impressive. She finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Her ability to handle the ball and push Isabel Davenport and Lexi Pierce off the ball has helped balance the offense and get Davenport and Pierce open looks on ball reversals. Jones will have a chance to become one of the best players in school history and will learn a lot alongside Davenport, a North Georgia-signee who has blazed her own path in the history books.

2021 5-7 G Bree Barley – North Gwinnett
The speed, athleticism and activity of Breanna Barley caught my attention, which was hard considering she was a blur when racing around the court. Barley’s quickness and speed with the ball caused issues for Chestatee. She was tough to stop when driving baseline, able to beat her defender with a blazing first step. Bree showcased some upside as a playmaker, getting into the lane and finding open teammates. Her energy was primarily felt on the defensive end of the court however. Barley flew in for rebounds and jumped passing lanes with her cat-like reflexes, setting the tone as the Bulldogs held Chestatee to 5 fourth quarter points to grab a 42-33 win. Barley finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. Barley is a Georgia State soccer-signee.