By Andrea Woodbury
LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — The USJN’s Fall Finale was held in West Hempstead, New York on Saturday September 29th and Sunday September 30th. Hosting 33 different teams there was plenty of action on three different floors both days at the impressive Island Garden Sports Complex.
Top Performances from the Class of 2013
MA Rivals 17 Blue – Saliah Serrette 5’11 Fwd – Likes to get into the paint. Will use a shot fake and go to get by the ready defender.
MA Rivals 17 White – Meghan Green 6’0 Fwd – Starts the break with a strong rebound and outlet. Runs the floor to finish in the paint
NH Crusader 15 Moore – Shayla Hubbard 5’10 Fwd – Slides the baseline. Smart leader on the court who likes the pull up in the paint and hits the weak side boards hard.
NY Salvation Army Lightning 17 – Danielle Levine 5’10 Fwd – Mid range slasher that likes to face up and will drive to finish.
Top Performances from the Class of 2014
MA-Rivals 17 White – Jamie Sherburne 5’7 G – Extremely fast with bounce to her game. Likes the pulls –up.
NY-Exodus 17 NYC – Bianca Cuevas 5’6 PG/G – High profile prospect that demonstrated a good change of pace. Utilized the pulls up to score consistently.
NY-Exodus 17 NYC – Jordan Augustus 6’1 G/Fwd – Solid scorer who can step out and attack the basket.
NY- Exodus 16 Gold – Malasia Morton 5’7 G – Deadly cross over that gets her by into the paint.
NY- Long Island 16 Slater – Katie Lavelle 5’9 G/Fwd – Has range but likes to take it into traffic.
NY-New Heights 15 – Brand Segars 5’10 G/Fwd – Strong athlete that likes to attack the rim.
Standouts in the Class of 2015
CT-Da Fam Club 15 – Alyssa Alston 5’5 G – Uses the crossover to get by defenders and can pull up to score.
MA-Rivals 15 Black – Erica Hadad 6’2 Fwd – Strong athlete that faces up and drives.
NE- Crusaders 15 Moore – Casey Evans 5’11 Fwd – Smart, strong player that can post and face up on the catch.
NY-Long Island 16 Slater – Taylor Bryne 6’2 Fwd – Intense hard worker with soft touch.
NY-Long Island 16 Slater – Heather Forster 6’2 Fwd – Athletic rebounder that finishes.
NY-Long Island 16 Slater – Lauren Brozoski 5’6 G – Quick crossover gets her past defenders. Has a mid-range pull up.
NY-New Heights 15 – Kiana Clark 5’4 G – Shooter who drives, but will dish off if stopped.
Underclassmen for your “RADAR”
MA-Bay State Jaguars 14 Black 2016 Katie Benzan – 5’4 – PG/G
MA-Bay State Jaguars 14 Black 2016 Venessa Udoji – 5’10 – G/Fwd
NH- NE Crusaders 15 Moore 2016 Sara Messler – 5’11 – Fwd
NH-NE Crusaders 14 2017 Nashdah Noel – 5’10 – G/Fwd
NY-Exodus 16 Gold 2017 Infininity Hammonds – 5’3 – PG
NY-New Heights 14 2016 Kaela Hilaire – 5’5 – G
NY-New Heights 14 2016 Mikayla Moore – 5’11 – G/F
Northeast Elite Fall Ball College Showcase
MARION, Mass. — Forty-four teams showed up to compete at the Northeast Elite Fall Ball College Showcase. This year’s event was hosted by the Rhode Island Breakers and held at Tabor Academy. It was yet another strong and reliable event run by Bill Coughlin and attracted many of New England’s and the Northeast’s finest AAU teams and players to Tabor Academy. Four courts made the event an easy evaluation opportunity for the many D-I, II, II, and JC recruiters on hand.
Standouts Players from the 2013 Class
Kayla Burton (PG), Jennifer Berkowitz (Fwd) and Caitlyn Abela (Fwd) – Bay State Jaguars 16
Burton, a push it up and deliver point guard, ran at opportunity and got the ball inside to her playmakers. Berkowitz and Abela combined to dominate the paint. Berkowitz took advantage of her shot from the outside or drive by while Abela preferred to pull up or use her turnaround to score.
Others to keep an eye on from the Class of 2013
CT Premier White’s Amber James
Lone Wolf’s Cassidy Derda
Boston Showstopper’s Kaila Duarte.
Standout Players from the Class of 2014
RI Breakers White’s Isabella Nappa who at 6’4 dominated the boards with a rebound and put back the ball to finish and score.
Lone Wolf’s Kara Sheftic (F), Hailee Barron (G) and Emily Kinneston (G) did a nice job of combining the inside and outside game. Sheftic utilized her face up skills to hit the outside shot or get into the paint finishing with a little half hook while Kinneston used her speed and pull up to attack the paint, Barron took full advantage of pick and roll situations.
CT Storm 10 Premier’s Jamie Hill (G) preferred to get into the paint and pull up, while 6’2 Cassidy Bundy (F) used her height to get inside position and score.
Maine Waves Tiana Carter (F) and Egle Zelnyte (F) complemented each other well. Carter capitalized on her athleticism and ability to rebound while Zelnyte used her many “skills” to hit the outside shot or use the “European” drive and move to finish.
Maine Firecracker’s Olivia Smith (6’2 F) went to work in the paint triggering the break off the boards or converting offensively off the glass while drawing contact and trips to the line.
More to watch in the Class of 2014
B2L’s Lydia Zaleski (Fwd)
Kingston Viper’s Emily Curley (Fwd)
CT Storm 10 Premier’s Rachel Plotke (G)
MA Huskies’ Sam Hyslip (Fwd)
On the “Radar” in the Class of 2015
Bay State Magic Elite – Bridget Herlihy (Fwd) is a “slider” who gets to the hoop and finishs while teammate Alana Gilmer (Fwd) used her athleticism and rebounding skills to be a presence in the paint.
Maine Firecrackers – Ashley Storey (6’2 Fwd) and Victoria Lux (6’1 Fwd) used their one-two punch to add productivity by boxing out, running the floor and finishing in the paint.
M Plex Thunder – Kelsie Savageau (G) is a lefty who is aggressive on the drive and finishes at the hoop.
Rhode Island Breakers – Sara Middleton (PG) did a nice job penetrating into the paint and dishing off but also took advantage of the pull up.
Bay State Jaguars 15’s – Kristen Daley (6’0 F) harnessed her athleticism to catch and finish inside the paint.
Other Players from the Class of 2015 Who’s Name You Might Want to Know
RI Breakers White Brenna Copola
CT Storm 10 Premier Tori Hopkins
From the “Young and the Restless” Class of 2016
NY Lady Panthers – Alexi Schecter – 6’2 Forward from Lowell
Maine Firecrackers – Jessica Willerson – 6’1 Forward from Cheverus
RI Breakers – Vanessa Edgehill – 5’8 Guard from Rivers School
