Some of the best young high school basketball players in the state reside in the 13th Region. It was a point proven over the weekend in Louisville at the Run 4 The Roses Classic as the Northside Queens rolled to five victories in five games.

Harlan County sophomore guard Jaycee Simpson, who led the Lady Bears last season with 11.3 points per game, was one of the seven players on the squad that also included Laylee Phillips, Ella Hubbard, Allie Gray and Sophie Gray of North Laurel, Maci White of Clay County and McKenzie Fannin of South Laurel.

There were 2,200 total teams representing 48 states and 11 countries playing at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville. The Northside Queens competed in the Class of 2029 division, even though Simpson was the only sophomore on the team. The other six players will be freshmen this season.

The Northside Queens defeated Missouri Phenom of St. Louis 66-48 and Lady Nation Elite of Michigan 71-17 in pool play. They defeated Mid Penn Motion Blue of Pennsylvania 48-41 in the quarterfinals and Alabama Smoke 49-33 in the semifinals. Northside defeated Atlanta Select Red 46-25 in the finals.