DENVER – Being comfortable on the basketball court is important for any player, especially for a shooter. And Heritage (Littleton) standout Lauren Huggins is one of the best long-range shooters in the state.
A relaxed Huggins showed off her considerable prowess Friday during The Show high school all-star girls basketball game at the Pepsi Center. The University of Colorado-bound senior scored a game-best 15 points to lead her Blue Team to a 69-48 victory over the White Team.
All of Huggins' points came via the 3-pointer, one from NBA distance, as she went 5-for-6 from behind the arc to earn Most Valuable Player honors in the 12th annual event. The 6-foot-1 standout said having played in the game last year helped her performance.
"It was a pretty comfortable environment for me," said Huggins, who added three rebounds and an assist. "Last year I was a lot more nervous than I was this year, and I think being relaxed came through today."
Huggins teamed with Simone Evans (14 points) of Overland (Aurora) to help the Blue Team, which featured six Division I signees, race to a big early lead. Each scored six points in the first quarter en route to double figures.
"I've played with a lot of these girls before, and it's fun to be able to showcase your talents with most of the top kids in the state," Huggins said.
Evans, who averaged 19 points a game for Overland this past season, also enjoyed her all-star experience, but admitted it took some time to get settled in with her teammates.
"It was so different because it's a different set of girls and I hadn't seen a lot of them play before or anything like that," said Evans, who is considering continuing her playing career at Western Nebraska. "During the game I had to learn how everybody moves around, what every person does on the court. It was different, but I had a lot of fun."
Other standouts for the Blue Team included Marquelle Dent of Regis Jesuit (Aurora) and Grand Junction's Jamie Derrieux, who each added 11 points. Dent will play next season at Wyoming, while Derrieux was one of three Northern Colorado recruits on the Blue Team. Bay'lee Purdy or Deer Trail and Rebecca Howell of Bishop Machebeuf (Denver) also will play for the Bears.
Leading the White Team were Alexus Johnson of Monarch (Louisville) and Brittany Hernandez of Class 4A champion Air Academy (US Air Force Academy). Johnson, a Grambling signee, totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Hernandez added six and 11.
The Show, which is sponsored by the Denver Nuggets and the Gold Crown Foundation, features the top 20 players in the state regardless of year in school or classification, as selected by statewide media. The games will be televised on Altitude several times in April. Check altitude.tv for broadcast times.
Blue Team 69, White Team 48
Blue 20 – 12 – 16 – 21 – 69
White 10 – 16 – 8 – 14 – 48
Blue Team
Marquelle Dent (Regis Jesuit) 5 1-2 11, Jamie Derrieux (Grand Junction) 3 3-4 11, Simone Evans (Overland) 5 3-3 14, Stephanie Giltner (Holy Family) 1 2-2 4, Katie Heckman (Regis Jesuit) 0 2-2 2, Andi Houck (Centaurus) 0 0-0 0, Rebecca Howell (Bishop Machebeuf) 2 0-0 4, Lauren Huggins (Heritage) 5 0-0 15, Bay'lee Purdy (Deer Trail) 2 0-2 4, Khadijah Sayyid (Peak to Peak) 2 0-2 4. 3-pointers: Huggins 5, Derrieux 2, Evans.
White Team
Laura Beckman Sedgwick County 0 4-5 4, Kim Cerjan (Doherty) 1 0-0 2, Ashton Davis (Monarch) 2 0-0 4, Kailey Edwards (Legacy) 2 2-4 6,, Mikala Gordon (Pueblo South) 2 0-0 4, Brittany Hernandez (Air Academy) 3 0-0 6, Alexus Johnson (Monarch) 5 1-1 12, Amanda Martinez (Arapahoe) 1 0-0 2, Michaela Neuhaus (Highlands Ranch) 3 0-0 7, Taylor Torres (Palmer) 0 1-2 1. 3-pointers: Neuhaus, Johnson.
