Inaugural Carolina Blue Star Invitational

ROCK HILL, S.C.—In an already crowded world of holiday tournaments it’s difficult to crack the ice and start a new event with the legitimate potential to grow.  Tom Colucci joined with Blue Star this year to present a new girls and boys high school showcase set in Rock Hill, South Carolina, just south of metropolitan Charlotte.

And…in keeping with the holiday spirit…the Blue Star High Scholl Invitational unwrapped the brand new (and not yet complete) Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.  The ultra-impressive multi-court facility hosted 28 teams representing 12 different states in both the boys and girls brackets combined.  Both sides featured two divisions of play leading to four teams claiming championship hardware to wrap up the 2019 calendar year.

St. Joseph Central Catholic  65     Our Lady of Lourdes  47

On the main stage in the girls National Division, St. Joseph’s (WVA) got by Our Lady of Lourdes (NY) 65 to 47 to claim the event’s top honors.  The Irish made their way to the final with wins over Butler (NC) and Grayson (GA).  Lourdes punched their ticket with opening round victories over Spalding (GA) and Keenan (SC).  In the final it was obvious from the tip that St. Joe’s was going pressure the Warriors on makes, misses and turnovers which may well have been a result of the generosity Lourdes showed with turnovers in their semifinal win over Grayson.  Unfortunately for Lourdes, the season for giving hadn’t quite ended yet as they fell behind 12 – 2 out of the gate.  They recovered enough to put some points on the board but the lead still stood at 12 following the first period of play, 22 – 10.  Throughout the second quarter the lead fluctuated between 8 and 12 before the Warriors cranked up the tempo over the last 1:16 and narrowed the margin at half to just 33 – 27.

Surprisingly, the Warriors didn’t learn the error of their ways and failed to take care of the ball in third seeing the lead stretch back to double figures at the 5:10 mark where it remained finishing the period at 14 with St. Joseph’s continuing to lead 54 – 38.  The fourth did no favors for Lourdes either.  At the 4:23 mark the gap was 15 and it was 17 with a minute and a half to go.  Across the fourth they were unable to get stops even when converting themselves offensively.  At the final horn the win was convincing at 65 – 47 with St. Joseph’s leading start to finish.

Senior guard Bailee Adkins paced the Irish in scoring as St. Joe’s placed four in double figures.  Adkins had 15 while junior post Hannah Roberts added 13.  Sophomore forward Imani Hickman chipped in 12 while classmate Dionna Gray, a 5-2 guard, added 11, nine of which came from three long balls that opened the flood gates in the first period.

In the loss, Lourdes was led by junior forward Ava Learn who put up 15 points despite having her minutes limited as a result of foul issues.  Solid junior forward Sarah Fischer added 11 more.

The girls American bracket went to Rock Hill (SC) with their 52 – 42 win over Manning (SC) in Monday’s championship  game.  Offensively, both teams forgot the day of rest was yesterday as evidenced by the whopping 5 – 2 Rock Hill lead at the 4:31 mark of the first.  The end of the period saw the Lady Bearcats holding a slight 12 – 6 margin.  Both teams found their way to a degree in the second yet the gap still favored Rock Hill at the break 25 – 19.

In the third Manning got it to two with 5:37 to go before a quick burst by the Lady Bearcats stretched it back to 39 – 30 before the quarter was out.  Unfortunately for the Monarchs, Rock Hill opened the final period with a 11 – 0 run making the margin 50 – 30 but 4:49 still remained.  However, Manning set back in a zone for over two minutes before making a run of their own and cutting the lead in the end to 10.  When all was said and done, Rock Hill grabbed the championship edging the Monarchs 52 – 42.

Sophomore Jada Jones paced the scoring in the win with 17, 11 of which came in the first half.  Senior guard Unique Burch added 11 more while A’Myra Wise had 9, all in the first half.  In the loss, Manning got 17 from senior forward Myisha Smiling while classmate Meashe Jones added 9 more.

On the boy’s side, in the National Division, Moeller (OH) took bragging rights home with a final round win over St. Andrews (MD) Monday evening.  The American bracket title belongs to Park School (NY) by virtue of their win over Oldham County (KY).

To see complete scores, results and highlights follow @BlueStar_BSI on twitter.

https://twitter.com/BlueStar_HSI

Below are some of the standouts from the three days of action in Rock Hill as well as a banner for each of the participating teams in the Blue Star High School Invitational.

Catherine Alben – 2022 – 5-7 – Guard – Grayson (GA) – Quickness…Ballhandling is there…Crossover and hesitation as well…Cuts hard without…Quick hands and feet on defensive end…Anticipates from the weakside

Unique Burch – 2020 – 5-7 – Point Guard – Rock Hill (SC) – Athletic and attacking…Lefty…Good acceleration with the ball…Interior passing is there on penetration…Forward motion is there shot at times

Taja Colbert – 2021 – 5-4 – Point Guard – Bishop McDevitt (PA) – Small but plenty of speed and quickness…Pushes the ball at opportunity…Mixes both speed and direction…Hesitation gets her into the paint…Goes left effectively but shoots right…Step back and range keeps defenders honest…Sets up passes off the dribble

Victoria Dames – 2020 – 5-10 – Guard/Wing – Grayson (GA) – Arkansas State signee…Physically strong on the wing…Tools to create and improve her options…Can spot up with range…Goes to the rim with confidence…Strength and agility give her the tools to be an impact defender

Corriana Evans – 2020 – 6-0 – Guard/Wing – Spalding (GA) – Good length and athleticism on perimeter…Mixes up her attack…Can develop her own opportunities…Pull up has height and soft touch…Slashes well among defenders…Challenging match up…Makes plays off penetration for herself and teammates…Athletic tools serve her well defensively

Jada Jones – 2022 – 5-5 – Point Guard – Rock Hill (SC) – Plenty of speed and quickness…Ballskills are sharp and used at speed…Can get to the rim…Floater with lots of height and touch…Left hand is in need of attention

Taylor Foster – 2022 – 5-10 – Wing/Forward – Bishop McDevitt (PA) – Lefty – Wiry build…Active…Gets out in transition…Textbook and a little mechanical at this point…Plenty of effort…Cuts with intent…Vision is there on the break

Milaysia Fulwiley – 2023 – 5-7 – Point Guard – Keenan (SC) – Dynamic with the ball in her hands…Can create both shots and passes…Ballskills improves options in transition and out of halfcourt sets…Keeps defense on its heels in transition…Range and touch mandate closing out on the catch…Makes plays at full speed…Elevates on both shots and passes…Willing to share it…Just scratching the surface

Dionna Gray – 2022 – 5-2 – Point Guard – St. Joseph’s (WVA) – Small but efficient and effective…Perimeter range and touch keeps defenders honest…No reservations about taking it into traffic…Sees and reads the floor in transition…Good choices with the ball…Anticipates on the weakside defensively

Imani Hickman – 2022 – 5-11 – Forward – St. Joseph’s (WVA) – Solid build for size…Active in halfcourt and transition…Looking to attack on the catch…One and two dribble drive from the high post is productive…Consistent…Added depth to skill set will be a plus…Good strength on both ends

Diamond Jackson – 2021 – 5-11 – Forward – Lakeside (GA) – Nice length and athleticism…Lean build…Agility and moves well…Has moments…Decent stroke but flat release…Can slash through traffic…Finish is inconsistent…Rushes at times…Moves well defensively

Meashe Jones – 2020 – 5-8 – Guard – Manning (SC) – Dynamic athlete…Speed, quickness and vertical are all there…Ballskills are sound but just one hand…Can make plays and get into the paint…Perimeter shot is a work in progress…All the tools to be an impact defender

Michaela Lane – 2020 – 6-1 – Forward – Butler (NC) – Size and frame are there…Physically strong…Has tools to play down low or work from high post and trail…Lengthy first step on the drive…Goes up aggressively…Handles contact…Aggressive presence on the glass…Good agility on the defensive end…Can make plays

Ava Learn – 2021 – 6-1 – Forward – Our Lady Of Lourdes (NY) – Added lower body strength…Active both with and without the ball…Ballskills sharpening…Hesitation is effective…Deceptive first step on the drive…Passing choices are sound but floated on occasion…Wingspan adds to length defensively…Learning to play with a target on her back

Abby Lee – 2020 – 5-7 – Guard – St. Joseph’s (WVA) – Active in both half and full court…Deceptive with the ball in her hands…Can be efficient in traffic…Body control is there with contact…Plays with awareness and understanding

Nyelle Lee – 2020 – 5-4 – Point Guard – Grayson (GA) – Small…Ultra quick with and without the ball…Lefty…Penetrates and delivers interior passes around rotations…Impressive body control in among the bigs…Gets herself to the line…Makes good choices on the break and in sets

Myisha Smiling – 2020 – 5-9 – Wing – Manning (SC) – Physically strong and aggressive…Works to be a factor…No reservations about mixing things up…Goes up strong…Needs more weapons to call on for balance

Brooke Reed – 2022 – 5-9 – Wing/Guard – Westfield (VA) – Young…Active…Good strength…First step has some explosiveness…Decent ballhandling but needs more depth to it…Handles contact…Lots of effort on the boards and defensively

Malea Williams – 2020 – 6-3 – Forward – Scott County (KY) – All the tools physically…Length, agility and athleticism…Perimeter tools makes for challenging match up…Can spot up…Mid-range touch is there…Can be efficient around the rim…Not overly physical as of yet…Able to leave defenders standing with cuts and first steps…Same physical tools serve her well as a defender…Major asset in fullcourt defensive schemes

A’Myra Wise – 2020 – 5-10 – Forward – Rock Hill (SC) – Undersized power forward…Strong and assertive…Knows how to apply her physical tools…Quick attack on the catch…Gets on the boards…Goes up with authority…Additional depth need to offensive arsenal