Over this past weekend and into early this week we at NYCHoops.net made the trip down south to the suburbs of Washington D.C to take in the USJN 17u National Championship. Played at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at the MGM National Harbor, it was a perfect setting to get one last chance this AAU season to see some of the better programs and players from New York State.
Expectations were high for many of the Empire State's best teams that went down to Oxon Hill, MD with most not disappointing at all. It was a strong performance all around from the New York powers that made the trip, and here now is our review of how many of the 17u teams from New York State did as we recap the play from our nation's capital from the oldest division.
NY Havoc (Blue)
This July has pretty much been everything that this Havoc group could've hoped for. They had a fantastic Chicago trip to the Nike Tournament of Champions and capped that off here in the suburbs of Washington D.C. with yet another outstanding performance. Led by guard Sophie Phillips (Cambridge '21), who is staring to now draw the interest of high-major Division 1 schools, the Havoc were able to cruise through pool play with wins over the likes of Team Durant out of Maryland and the Illinois Defenders. Belle Kranbuhl (Adirondack '20) proved to be a major force as the tournament went on down low as well as in the Platinum Division playoffs the Havoc defeated Gym Rats Tan from Indiana in the semifinals, and then a low scoring 36-31 game in the championship sent the Upstate, NY power out of AAU season as champions.
BNY Select
We said this when talking about BNY Select after their performance in Chicago a couple weeks back but it rings true again to say as they would be clearly among the best teams anywhere if they were at full strength. Even missing a Syracuse bound guard in Kiara Fisher (Elmira '20) it was BNY who were paced by some of the best shooters you will find defeating the Illinois Lady Lightning, Maryland's Lady Finest, and the Connecticut Starts among a couple others to move their way into the Platinum Division semifinals. Jillian Casey (Horseheads '20) and Morgan Gentile (Elmira '20) were near impossible to contain once they got good looks from the perimeter meaning defenses could do very little to stop the BNY Select outside play. In the semifinals against the New Jersey Freedom the shots didn't fall they were throughout the rest of the tournament meaning it was a 52-42 loss. It was a tough loss but in the end it was a major summer for many of the young Southern Tier area stars.
Long Island Renegades (Black)
Maybe the result didn't go the way they wanted but in front of over 50 Division 1 coaches on Sunday night it was the Renegades going head to head with one of the Nike EYBL's best in Kentucky Premier with it being a major opportunity for the Renegades players to really showcase what they could do on a big stage. It wasn't a win as the Renegades lost 59-51 but they led at the half by 7 and got impressive outings from both Janelle Brown (Longwood '20) who at 5'6" was the consummate leader and floor general, proving for long stretches of the game to be the best player on the floor against a team loaded with high level Division 1 talent. Sydney Rosenoff (Long Island Lutheran '21) was another strong contributor who attacking and was relentless, while Remi Sisselman (Portledge School '21) used her size to shoot over defenders and connect at a high percentage. Going 3-2 for the tournament the Renegades proved to be a program with a lot of upside moving forward.
Hoopers NY (Lombardi)
For reasons that seem to be pretty hard to understand the Hoopers played in what was considered to be one of the weaker sides of the 17u National Championship as they were slotted into the Gold Division meaning a lot of one sided games for a team led by Sonia Citron (Ursuline School '21) and Grace Thybulle (Irvington '21). They won two games by 50+ points while coasting to victories in their other three pool play games. Citron did near whatever see wanted to be it off the dribble attacking or shooting over defenders with her 6'2" size. UConn, Duke, Stanford, and Ohio State were just some of the schools on hand to watch her, and while Citron does get a bulk of the attention it truly was the entire Hoopers team contributing over the 3 days. The playoffs were just as easy for them as well as the Hoopers defeated the Collegeville Jaguars by 30, and then beat up on the Pennsylvania Slaam by 25 to be crowned Gold Division champs to finish out the AAU season.
Buffalo Titans
One of the more underrated teams who flew under the radar for a majority of July, the Titans were able to make some big statements in the Washington D.C. area as they were the second place teams in their Silver Bracket pool, made it to the playoffs and were able to prove themselves as one of the best in winning their title. While in the Silver Division it was still a very strong pool taking on teams like the Lady Runnin' Rebels out of Pennsylvania and the Springfield Lady Ballers out of Massachusetts. When you have a talent like 5'7" guard Lydia Sweeney (Grand Island '20) though things are a bit easier. She was routinely scoring 20+ a game and leading her team to victories, with Lauren Nawojski (St. Mary's Lancaster '20) was able to be a physical and tough presence down low. Buffalo would cruise past the Keystone Karma in their semifinal, and then getting revenge on a loss earlier in the season it was the Titans handily defeating FBC United out of New Jersey 58-38 to end the AAU season on a very positive note.
WNY Lady Lakers
Another underrated team that often times doesn't get the respect or accolades that they deserve, the Lady Lakers came out and from start to finish steamrolled their pool play competition in the Bronze Division. Led by elusive and speedy point guard Alahna Paige (Irondequoit '20) the Lady Lakers won 4 of their 5 pool play games by 20 or more points, with Katie Bischoping (Pittsford Mendon '20) providing them a strong shooting presence from the outside, and Shinya Lee (Brockport '20) proving to be a skilled interior weapon whose 6'1" size and long frame made her a strong in the paint forward. After scoring no less than 58 points in any game in pool play though it was an off offensive performance in their Bronze Bracket semifinal as they fell to the Ocean State Panthers 39-29 to ultimately see their summer ended.
Ring City Elite
As the AAU season finishes up it was a nice ending for the team mixed with New York and New Jersey stars as Ring City went 3-2 in their Diamond Division pool, losing a pair of close games to NEX Elite out of Massachusetts and Kentucky Premier (Trumm). Both saw Ring City in the games down the stretch as Jamie Waldron (Monroe Woodbury '20)continues to assert herself as one of the more underrecruited post players there is currently in New York State. Her size and skill combination made her one of the more productive players in the paint over the weekend with Angelica DiMarsico (North Rockland '20) showing that she may not be the biggest guard in the world at 5'4", but she can shoot it and create very well off the dribble. They just missed out on the playoffs but looked strong in three dominating wins and a solid overall effort in front of many college coaches.
Long Island Lightning (Flynn)
Playing on the highest level in the Diamond Division meant a lot of big time challenges for this team full of Suffolk County stars out of Long Island, and while they didn't see a ton of overall success going 2-3, getting two wins over major quality competition and being seen by a good amount of college coaches meant at the end of the day this was everything they could've asked for. After a tough close to the first half that saw them lose a big, the Lightning were able to rally back and push past another New York teams in the Albany Capitals 55-43 as Cara McCormack (St. John the Baptist '20), a Holy Cross commit, had 17 in the win. It was far from just McCormack though as a couple of uncommitted shooters in Abby Greiss (St. John the Baptist '20) and Jamie Agostino (Ward Melville '20) each shined as lethal threats from the perimeter, opening eyes and certainly grabbing attention from those who watched.
Rising Stars
There were a lot of expectations coming in for this Rising Stars group who went out to Chicago during the last Live Period two week back and won the Bern Division of the Nike Tournament of Champions. Off of that victory that were put into the Diamond Division in Washington D.C. and they went 3-2 in a performance that backed up their Illinois play and showed that the talent the Rising Stars have are the real deal. Garnering wins over the likes of Alyssa Thomas Elite out of Delaware, CyFair Premier out of Texas, and Gym Rats (Crimson) from Indiana showed that against topflight out of state competition the Rising Stars could more than hold their own. Erin Leary (Carle Place '21) looks as if she will develop into a big time prospect to watch as she has the size at 5'10", and the skill on the outside shoot and take defenders off the dribble to be one to watch. Add in Olivia Doreste (Archbishop Molloy '20) and Julia Sabatino (Locust Valley) who both also shot the ball well and there is a lot of talent to see on this underrated Rising Stars team.
Empire State Blue Flames
Going up and playing in the Diamond Division allowed Empire State to really be seen by the maximum amount of Division 1 coaches as they took on some of the very best the 17u National Championships had to offer. Alexa Quirolo (Urusline School '20) had some very good games, especially against the Carolina Hoopzters where she hit on 4-5 from the outside while also showing a good handle to lead them to an easy win. Without the services of Abby Conklin (Irvington '20) on Monday because of an injury it meant a much tougher time as they didn't have their facilitator available meaning a loss in their finale cost them a chance to do even bigger things but it was still a strong 3-2 weekend for a good group of Westchester's best talent as they closed out their AAU careers on a very solid note.
Elmira Fusion
It was a great beginning to the tournament for the Fusion who seemed as if they could do serious damage in the Bronze Division as 5'8" guard Georgia Haverlock (Ithaca '20) was putting together a strong tournament through the first day and a half as she was controlling the play on the ball and showing the ability to pull up and connect in tight midrange spots. Haverlock though came down early Monday and hurt her ankle sidelining her the rest of the way, meaning while she couldn't play others got the chance to shine more. Madilann Johnson (Horseheads '21) may be small at 5'3" but no one was tougher all weekend long as she constantly went right to the rim, blowing past defender after defender who tried to close up on her, and Madison Watts (Elmira Notre Dame '21) was also another bigger guard who showed a nice shooting touch in a 3-2 weekend to finish things out in July for the Fusion.
NYC Heat
Maybe no one boosted their stock this past weekend more than 5'9" guard Catherine Finnerty (Msgr. McClancy '20) as the star of the Heat for the first time really got the attention of the college coaches this summer and she took advantage in a big way. Showing she could play either guard spot, proving to be a great backcourt defender while also being a very good shooter, Finnerty was a standout in what was a 1-4 team outing for the Heat but this was more than just the results as 3 of the 4 losses games they were in until the very end with Jordan Welle (Moore Catholic '21) being a great counterpart to Finnerty as she was unafraid to mix it up inside and be a versatile weapon for a Heat team that outside of their Class of 2020 star is young and should be heard from again in an even bigger way come next AAU season.
NY Extreme Hoops (Red)
If you want to talk about the definition of a sharpshooter than the performance we saw from 5'8" guard Sierra Linnin (Albertus Magnus '22) is one that must be talked about. She connected on 9-11 from three point range in Extreme Hoops opening game win that was the early tournament big buzz that had the gym talking. Linnin kept up that shooting touch for most of the tournament, as did Kate Peek (Millbrook School '22) as they should be a major backcourt duo for this Extreme Hoops team for a couple years to come. UMass-Lowell commit, and just one of two Class of 2020's on the team in Erin Lofaro (Marlboro '20) also showed why she is D1 bound with a strong in the paint effort over the three days in what was a 2-3 showing for one of the younger 17u teams you will find in the New York area.
