ATLANTIC CITY, NJ- It was an exciting May Live Period weekend down in Southern New Jersey as many of New York's best 17u teams made it down to Atlantic City for the Atlantic City Showcase run by Select Events Basketball.

With over 400 college coaches on hand representing schools from Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3, it provided just about everyone on hand an opportunity to showcase themselves in front of programs that could eventually be the right fit for them.

Focusing on the teams today, many of the Empire State's best came and brought their best showing that regardless of who the opposition is that New York's best can play and hang against anyone. It was a great three days of action and with it now officially behind us let's recap the action from the 11th Grade teams we saw and took in the action of from down near the Jersey Shore.

Things could've gone a lot different for this Lady Stars team had they been able to close out games a bit better, and had they been at full health. The loss of wing shooter Breanna Lott (Mohonasen '20) who injured her ankle last weekend left them without a major threat on the perimeter shooting the ball, though both Mekkena Boyd (Champlain Valley, VT '20)and Selenya Gonzalez (Springfield Central, MA '20) did good jobs attacking the rim and finishing at the basket. Going 1-2 in pool play, both of the Lady Stars losses were by 4 points, and in each of those games they led in parts of the second half showing just how close you can be against other quality teams from either winning or losing. In the Lady Stars consolation game, they made easy work of MCW Starz 59-41 as it was their most complete game of the tournament with Boyd scoring 20 in the win and showing that when it all comes together they can be a very dangerous team.

Of all the New York teams participating this past weekend in Atlantic City its BNY Select who will go back home with the most disappointment, and not because of their performance on the court as a team. After winning their opener against Central PA Dynamite 47-38 in what was the first game back in 8 months after shoulder surgery for Syracuse commit guard Kiara Fisher (Elmira '20) it was Fisher who would go down with what looked to be a very serious knee injury in game two against the Maine Firecrackers. She was taken off the court on a wheelchair and the prognosis still isn't known as of yet. BNY would drop that second game and the game with DC Premier as the team as a whole had to be shaken. Zaria DeMember-Shazer (Elmira '20) had a strong weekend inside though, while Quinnipiac bound Jillian Casey (Horseheads '20) continued to show off a tremendous shooting touch in what had to be a rough weekend mentally for the group from Section 4.

If you want to call a team bruised and battered then City Rocks might be the team that most fits that bill. Saniaa Wilson (Bishop Kearney '21) is still out with her hand injury, Baylee Teal (Penfield '20) tore her ACL during the April Live Period, and while she fought through it and played Dolly Cairns (Saratoga Springs '20) is currently dealing with back issues. Put all that together and it wasn't going to be the best team performance from the powerful City Rocks program but they did open up the tournament with a blowout victory over Stars Elite from Pennsylvania, and with Lexi Green (Pittsford-Mendon '21) holding her own in a tremendous 19 point outing against the NJ Freedom, they nearly snuck out a second win over one of New Jersey's best. Kaia Henderson (New Hartford '22) was fantastic on the ball all weekend long and if their health overall can come back, expect City Rocks to be a power each time out.

While the AC Showcase didn't start out on a great note for the Fusion who lost handily in their opener to CT Storm, things got better and better as the games went on. Georgia Haverlock (Ithaca '20) was a strong shooter from the perimeter who made the most of her opportunities from the outside when she got them, especially in Elmira's win over BBA New York where she had 15 points. Kahlia Rivera (Elmira Notre Dame '21) was a versatile weapon as well who played both inside and outside for the Fusion. It may not have been a pool winning weekend for the Fusion but they are a young group playing up with just 2 of their 10 players being in the Class of 2020 meaning that as time goes along you can expect to hear more and more from this up and coming talented group.

The first team that we are going to talk about that won their pool this weekend, this Blue Flames 17u team doesn't get the same kind of talk amongst people when you compare it to their 16u team but don't sleep on this group as they have a ton of versatility, great shooters, and can mix it up inside when need be. It was really the shooting of Abby Conklin (Irvington '20) and Gwenn Sabato (Masters School '20) that led Empire to a 2-1 record in pool play as both were able to get off great looks in tight spaces to advance on a tiebreaker to the playoff round. It was there that Alexa Quirolo (Ursuline School '20) and her 6' size became a major weapon as she would drop 13 points in their tough 43-36 loss to the NJ Belles, though if anything came out of this weekend for the Blue Flames it’s that this team has depth, talent, and because of their ability to run and shoot, compete with just about anybody.

When you have someone of the ilk of Sonia Citron (Ursuline School '21) on your team expectations when you enter a tournament are sky high. Playing in one of the toughest pools as well meant challenge after challenge for the Hoopers who would get 16 from Citron in their opening which was a 58-41 win over KLow Elite out of Philadelphia. Team Rio would be next after that, and they did a good job at containing Citron, though inside both Caitlin Weimar (Hen Hud '20) and Manhattan commit Emma Wilson-Saltos (Preston '20) did a solid job on second and third chances at the rim. The Hoopers would fall though to Rio 44-35 in a low scoring contest, and then would drop their finale in pool play to the Germantown Lady Panthers by 1 in a heartbreaker. They responded well with a 53-51 win over Comets UAA team in a consolation game to close things out as the Hoopers showed to be a long, athletic, and very deep team.

Losing their first two pool play games by a combined 6 points proved that this wasn't going to be a weekend to remember for I-90 Elite. Danielle Haskell (Franklinville '20), a guard who is already off the board and committed to Canisius, was near impossible to stop once she put her head down and attacked the basket as she was a major bright spot, as was Jessica Cook (Cicero-North Syracuse '21) who used her size at 6'2" and her strength to bully defenders with her back to the basket to finish with ease at the rim. I-90 Elite would end up beating the pool winner GTS Fusion 56-48 in their pool play finale as Cook had 16, with them then going up early and never looking back in a 59-44 win over the Miami Suns in a consolation game victory.

We seem to be talking about injuries a lot here but with Cara McCormack (St. John the Baptist '20), a Holy Cross commit, not on hand because of an hand injury, and star 6'3" big Danielle Hippner (East Meadow '20) getting hurt in Lightning-Flynn's final pool play game, it was a struggle for this group as well. Before getting injured Hippner was proving to be one of the more difficult post players to contain because she had such great footwork and a soft touch. They lost their first two pool games before taking a 33-30 win over HEAT Hoops in the finale with Gardner-Webb commit Emily Gillis (Division '20) showing off her shooting touch from the outside in that win and in their consolation matchup combining for 6 made three's in her final two games of the weekend.

Playing in what was easily the toughest pool of the weekend in Atlantic City against Elevate Elite, NJ Sparks EYBL, and Comets UAA, it may not have been a weekend where the Renegades won a bunch of games, but it was a weekend where everyone on the team played in front of dozens of college coaches, and many of them showed they could play and compete and thrive against anybody. Losing to the Comets by just 5 and to Elevate Elite by just 8 in games that were both closer that the final point margin indicates, Janelle Brown (Longwood '20) was one of the best on ball leaders of the weekend as she was strong both creating for herself and for others, while the size of Remi Sisselman (Portledge '21) at 5'11" on the wing allowed her to be a mismatch against anyone. Beating KLow Elite 46-34 in their consolation game was a nice way to end the weekend as well for a team that will have a lot of buzz moving forward.

Going 1-2 in pool play doesn't speak of the entire story of how the weekend went for New Heights as most of the attention on the team goes to star Kateri Poole (Msgr. Scanlan '20), who had a fantastic weekend showing off the fact that she is a true playmaker in every sense of the word, but Shcira Fowles (South Shore '20) was a major force inside with good size and strength, and then you add in the versatility of wing Chloe Wilson (South Shore '20) who had great moments showing she can be a wing player who can drive and shoot. The other guards too led by Selma Markisic (Xaverian '20) were fearless and tough as well. They downed Mass Rivals Gauntlet team in a thriller that saw Fowles hit the game winning corner three off a great drive and kick feed from Poole as the wins may not have been there this weekend, but the individual all-around play more than was.

Not the biggest team you would find down in Atlantic City, this Extreme Hoops team was dependent quite a bit on how they shot the ball in each game they played. Both Kate Peek (Millbrook School '22) and Sierra Linnin (Albertus Magnus '22) are playing a couple age groups up and are lefty shooters who at times this past weekend showed they could take over games, especially in their 66-56 victory to start the tournament off against Philly Triple Threat. They combined for 8 made three's in that win, and while they were solid the rest of the way it was the lack of size that hurt them a giant the NJ Belles and Loudon Flight as outside of Erin Lofaro (Marlboro '20), who did do a tremendous job around the rim for her 5'11" size, they didn't have many others who could make a difference in the paint and on the glass. It was a good weekend though and a building block for the players and team moving forward.

Both Gauchos teams would win their pools as the program definitely looked as if it was among New York's best. The Platinum team didn't make things easy on themselves with a pair of 1 point wins in pool play, but it's not by how much you win that counts at the end of the day. Reyna Scott (Nazareth '22) looked like a future star on the ball controlling the Gauchos-Platinum offense throughout the weekend, while wings Jordan Obi (Choate Rosemary Hall, CT '20) and young Jayda Johnson (Hamden Hall, CT '23) are already known commodities and among the top in their classes. Offensively things sputtered out in their opening round playoff game against GTS Fusion, but the talent across the board was deep and had a lot of coaches watching.

The Black team is primarily comprised of Buffalo's best as guards Angel Parker (Cardinal O'Hara '19) and her sister Aaliyah Parker (Cardinal O'Hara '21) were two of the keys cogs along with a good looking off guard in Tashawni Cornfield (Lake Shore '20) who was great from the midrange as she consistently would pull up and knock down shots in the lane for this Gauchos team that won two of their three pool games by 17+ points. Leading by 5 at the half over JBHoops of Pennsylvania in their opening playoff game, foul trouble ended up costing Gauchos-Black as they would fall 47-45 in a tough one. It wasn't the end result they wanted but the fact that so many of the Black team's best had strong outings this weekend bodes well for them as a group in the weeks ahead.

The Havoc also had two teams that both made noise this weekend as even though the Blue team gets most of the attention, the Grey team rose up and put together a great weekend as well. It was another strong weekend for Sophie Phillips (Cambridge '21) who ran the point and was a dead eye shooter from downtown knocking down four in one game against the Maryland Belles in a comfortable win. Easily the Havoc-Blue team could've gone 3-0, especially after Logan Thayne (Hoosick Falls '20) hit a crazy 70 foot three ball at the halftime buzzer against Books & Basketball to go up 6 at the half. They didn't hold that lead and fell for the only time this weekend in that one 54-45 in a game that the winner won the pool. In their consolation game it was another easy 64-43 win over MCW Starz (Jesus) with Bella Stuart (Shenendehowa '20) having a strong outing to show why she received her well-deserved first Division 1 offer.

The Grey team fared a bit better as while they didn't play in the as challenging bracket the likes of Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent '20) and Makayla Blaker (Colonie '20) were near impossible stop much less contain as they won two of their three games by double digits in pool play led by a 53-23 shellacking of Triple Threat Elite. Kiley Snow (Whitesboro '20) was a long and athletic wing as well who showed she could shoot the ball at a good percentage in a 47-40 semifinal win over KLow Elite (Silver), and while it was close throughout the Grey team wouldn't be able to finish it off with a title as Roberts had 12 but the Havoc would fall to BTB Academy in their title game 54-44, though it was a great effort throughout for a Havoc-Grey group that now should earn more respect.

It all boiled down to the final pool play game for the Heat as they took on an EVOElite team that was unbeaten coming in. The Heat had already dropped a game but if they could get the win here it would push them into first place and atop the pool. It was then Catherine Finnerty (Msgr. McClancy '20) who took over as she went and knocked down 4 big three's, three of which came in the second half as the Heat would take a 47-41 win to advance them to the playoffs and a game with Rebels Basketball Academy. Going up early it was Jordan Welle (Moore Catholic '21) who was able to be a tough stop because of her 5'9" size and ability to switch it up and play inside and out, but a late run by their opponents would knock out the Heat 43-36. It wasn't the way they wanted to end their AC Showcase run, but Finnerty and Welle both had to open eyes with their play this weekend.

After winning their opener against the Maryland Belles in a game that had Colleen McQuillen (Cresskill, NJ '21) score 17 in the win the weekend after that became about the interior presence that Jamie Waldron (Monroe Woodbury '20) has become. She showed flashes in the past of what she could be but against the likes of Books & Basketball and the NY Havoc Blue team it was the 6'1" forward who proved to be a valuable force inside going off for double-doubles in each game. They lost both by single digits so it wasn't a successful result, but Ring City would down City Rocks in their consolation game with Waldron going for 26 in that victory, while Tanasha Mills (Albertus Magnus '20) also showing that she is a capable and tough lead guard who can fight through contact and get to the rim in a big way.

In a pool with three teams that had maybe more known talent then they did, it was a strong weekend for the Rising Stars who got a great weekend from guard Brianna Fitzgerald (Island Trees '20) to help them win their pool and advance to play playoff basketball. Fitzgerald averaged just over 14 points per game in pool play action including a 17 point game in a win over NEX Elite-Russell out of Massachusetts in their final pool game to send them into extra basketball. Keleysha Petit-Frere (Farmingdale '20) was a rugged and tough finisher at the rim as well, and even though the Rising Stars would drop their playoff opening it was a weekend where many eyes went on them and many of the Stars top players responded with strong and eye opening performances.

More attention goes to the Royals 16u team but led by Lydia Sweeney (Grand Island ‘20) this 17u group more than held their own as it was Sweeney who led the team in scoring and Brooke Jarvis (Christian Brothers Academy ‘20) who was an athletic and solid wing who played multiple positions for a Royals group that went 2-1 including a 8 point win over a Jersey Cardinals team that features a pair of Division 1 targets. The Royals would fall 47-45 in their consolation game but overall it was a solid weekend for the Syracuse based team that featured a lot of versatility and show promise moving forward the rest of the spring and summer.

WNY Lady Lakers-Red/WNY Lady Lakers-Blue

Last but not least it’s the Lady Lakers who were the champions of the weekend as both Red and Blue came out with titles. The Red team is comprised of Class of 2020 stars and boy did guard Alahna Paige (Irondequoit ‘20) who was one of the quickest and shiftiest guards of the weekend. When you add in Emily Tabone (Our Lady of Mercy ‘20) and Katie Bischoping (Pittsford-Mendon ‘20) who could play anywhere from the 1, 2, or 3 spots and they were a dangerous and quick team who were able to Rebels Basketball Academy 53-37 for their title behind Paige’s game high 17 title game points.

For the Blue WNY Lady Lakers team they are more of a Class of 2019 All-Star group as Dyaisha Fair (Edison Tech ‘19), who is headed to Buffalo, was able to dominate all guards she came across, while Lytoya Baker (Bishop Kearney ‘19) hit the game winning runner at the buzzer in their final pool game to send them into the playoffs. Once there this Lady Lakers team rolled defeating CBC City Rocks (Nails) 72-52 in a dominating championship game winning performance to bring a second title back to the Rochester area.

TOP PERFORMERS (FRIDAY)

TOP PERFORMERS (SATURDAY)

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