Best of Maryland Moves to June

Frederick, MD – It was a new addition to the June calendar this year, as former end of July staple Best of Maryland slid in to a new weekend, but still packed it’s long-standing tradition of nationally-known high school programs into the three day event.

Once again, Hood College played host to the 22 teams in attendance, joined by cross-town Frederick Community College. We were treated to looks at some Best of Maryland veterans like Pickerington Central (OH), Red Bank Catholic (NJ), Elizabeth Seton (MD), and Delone Catholic (PA), along with a bouquet of newbies, including Bishop McGuinness (NC), Hamilton Southeastern (IN), and Manchester (VA).

Fast forward to the Final 4 of this year’s event on day three, which pitted the Crusaders of Morris Catholic (NJ) against Olmsted Falls (OH) and sharpshooting Hamilton Southeastern against West Coast foe Benson Tech (OR). Olmsted Falls did in fact vanquish their New Jersey foes, advancing to the championship against an experienced Hamilton Southeastern squad, who was coming off a 60-47 victory in the semi’s themselves.

The Midwest flavored final game was well-played, and when the final buzzer sounded, it was the Bulldogs of Olmsted that reigned supreme, adding the 2022 Best of Maryland Tournament to their championship trophy case for the year.

Let’s get down to business here and talk about some of the players and teams we saw last weekend. Here we go!

Sister Act

Can anyone honestly say they have attended an elite basketball event with only 22 total teams and saw six (!!) sets of sisters, many of whom are on the national radar as prospects? It was absolutely amazing, as teams cycled through the gym, and all you can say is, “Wow, another set of sisters.”

Riley and Maya Makalusky are tall, skilled, and versatile. Rising senior Riley is off to Butler next summer, but she looks very intent on having a senior year that will make history for Hamilton Southeastern. Younger sister Maya, a 2025 wing, can flat out shoot the lights out at 6’3, but it’s a growing intensity and motor in other areas that stuck out here. Dynamic is the word to describe these two.

The twin magic of Mia and Mya Pauldo has always dazzled, and they definitely brought their best to Maryland this weekend. The confident pair brings scoring, ball handling, defense, and a strong sense of confidence in themselves and in each other. These two continue to feed off of each other, and the result tends to lead to plenty of victories for Morris Cathlotic, and they still have three more years of high school basketball to go.

The Wallace family is already etched in the program history of Pickerington Central, and sisters Berry and Blossom are carrying the torch onward to positive results. Berry Wallace did a little bit of everything for her team here, handling some of the point guard duties with plenty of poise. The 2024 wing has a big time frame and the jumper is coming off her hands easy with some good rotation. Younger sister Blossom has an game that continues to emerge, as her name would suggest. The pace when she dirves has picked up and found a new gear, and that’s become her forte. She’s even starting to power through some contact, as she enters her freshman year of high school.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a more athletic pair of sisters than Lawrence Central’s Jaylah and Lola Lampley. The elder of the two, 2025 wing Jaylah has balance, speed, and power with the ball in her hands to go with plenty of bounce and a killer instinct. Lola has the physical make up and highlight reel to make you think she could probably skip most of high school and head straight to college soon and no one would think she’s out of place. It also wouldn’t surprise anyone if she dunks one sooner or later on a breakaway. These two continue to impress.

Red Bank Catholic graduated one of the Carman sisters, Ally, to Boston College. But have no fear, the bloodline stays strong in her sisters and former teammates, Emma and Tessa. These two are skilled and play with physicality. They really set the tone and the table for the team in many ways, and play as strong as they look. Both are primed to get it done inside and out in New Jersey when high school season rolls back around. Emma is the middle sister, and a rising senior, while Tessa is in the 2025 class.

But wait, there’s more! Red Bank Catholic offers even more family values in the Liggio sisters. 2025 Christina Liggio is already well established and gaining traction as a young scoring guard. Younger twin sisters Katie and Tessa are only a grad year behind, and both of these 2026 twins have a bright future ahead. Tessa has a nice lefty stroke and has all the makings of a sharpshooter, while Katie demonstrates potential to score at all three levels, including with an advanced runner off the bounce and some deep range. Best of luck to the coaching staff in keeping all of these sisters straight, although you obviously love to have them on your side.

Rundown of a Few Challengers

Let’s start the conversation with the new champs, Olmsted Falls. 2023 wing Mia Kalich sets the beat for the band here. Kalich is a tough, smart stat-stuffer who thinks a play ahead and embraces contact on her way to plenty of successful takes to the rim. 2023 guard and Buffalo commit Paige Kohler also fits the tough and gritty category as a creative point guard. 2024 guard Danielle Cameron made some big shots from the outside as well. This is a well-coached, tough team that buys in to their style of play and is used to winning, and that showed here in June.

Elizabeth Seton boasts quite a collection of underclass talent that has Coach David Bell extremely excited about the future. The oldest player on the squad is only a rising junior. Her name, Alicia Newell. The 5’9 2024 guard got scoring opportunities at all three levels, and took full advantage. Her scorer’s mentality and ability to get buckets has her stock heading in a good direction this summer. 2025 backcourt mates Makayla Johnson and Reneyia Pickering are also major contributors. Johnson is more of a lead guard with plenty of speed that she mixes well with a batch of patience and maturity. Pickering can also lead the charge, mixing in scoring and assisting others. In the frontcourt, keep an eye out for forwards Kaliyah Murphy (2025) and Jaila Lilly (2026), with Murphy bringing more versatility while Lilly works in the post. We’ve talked about 6’2 2026 rim runner AnnaBeth Tsai Turton for a couple of years now, and she is just embarking on her high school journey.

Manchester High School is a program trying to get into the conversation in the ultra-talented Central Virginia area. Coach Rasheed Wright was tasked a couple years ago with rebuilding from the ground up, and they are starting to get the players to do just that. 2024 forward Mia Woolfolk is the centerpiece right now. Standing at 6’2 and gaining experience and exposure on the summer circuit, Woolfolk is a talented face up forward with plenty of upside. On the perimeter, 2025 wing guard Rayne Wright can put up numbers on the scoring front, and is really starting to get up into people and apply pressure defensively to better round out her game. These are two players to see this summer.

Adding a little flavor from the Northwest, Benson Tech made the cross country trip with quite a collection of talent, led by their upper classmen. 2024 post/forward Mahogany Chandler-Roberts is strong and active. She’ll handle it in the open court, and can go to work in either part of the high low game. More and more interest is coming her way from the next level. Her high low partner is athletic face up forward, 2023 Onna Brown, who really sees the floor well for her position. Fellow rising seniors Malaya LeSeuer and Mahaila Harrison shore up the backcourt. LeSeuer is uber athletic as a combo guard, and has already announced her commitment to Fresno State. Harrison is a shooter that stands at 6’0, always a draw. Looking further down the line, 2026 5’10 guard Mar Mar Massey shows plenty of promise out on the wing.

The Players

Laila Abdurraqib – 2025 – 5-6 – Point Guard – Lawrence Central – Makes really good use of her shooting ability…Can really get hot from the outside…High end athleticism…Distributes as well…Has plenty of go when she hits the gas

Alexandra Brown – 2025 –6-1 – Forward – Osbourn Park — Has a tool box on the block and finishes over the shoulder effectively…Can sit down and move her feet on D some…Good mobility…Plenty of time ahead too

Olivia Cooper – 2023 – 6-1 – Forward – Pickerington Central – Stock is rising in her last summer before senior year…Strong build and aggressive…Guard-like handles…Gets to the rim and draws contact…Does things that help in winning ball games

Jasmine Harris – 2024 – 5-7 – Guard – Northern Guilford – Undoubtedly super physically gifted…No lazy passes allowed in her area…Routinely grabbed steals in bunches and took off the other way for two points…Tips rebounds to herself…Wants to get to the rack, either in transition or in the half court

Rylee Kalocay – 2025 – 5-9 – Guard – Upper St. Clair – Strong guard who played very well throughout the event and was a big part of their run into the championship bracket…Mature beyond her years…Good skills and goes hard…Consistent scorer and ball handler…Took advantage of several and one situations and converted

Kylie Leibacher – 2023 – 5-10 – Wing/Forward – Margaretta – Makes the world turn for her team…One of the bigger sleepers seen lately…Just a solid kid across the board who does so many things…Handles the ball and kicks it out to open teammates, bangs inside, hits the boards…Showed ability to score in the post and definitely asks for the ball down there…Has a good understanding of what her coach wants and needs her to do

Daniella Matus – 2025 – 5-10 – Guard – Morris Catholic – Had some really nice takes and quite nimble in traffic…Has improved as a driver for sure…Good passer, doesn’t force shots…Relentless at times…Keeps you honest from three…On the upswing with this level of performance

Dally Moreno – 2023 – 6-0 – Wing Forward – Baldwin – Versatility is there…Can get to the rim 1 on 1 from the outside…Also steps out to shoot the three ball…Definitely tries to create her own shot…Some clean blocks on the move

Kate Robbins – 2023 – 6-2 – Forward – Upper St. Clair – Does good things scoring around the basket…Has the frame…Finishing touch is there…Will take the occasional long two pointer…Shot blocker on D

Kayla Stidham – 2026 – 5-11 – Forward – Hamilton Southeastern – Young stretch forward…Showed the ability to drive and has three point range…Strong…Nice offensive potential

Sidney Quinn – 2025 – 6-1 – Post – Gill St. Bernard – Long legs, and just starting to get stronger physically…Learning to seal inside, will get better as she gets older…When she gets it inside, she can score it with a nice soft touch around the rim