Select Hoops Fall Challenge

The 2014 Select Hoops Fall Challenge at Mass Premier Courts is in the books. This tournament had some amazing talent and some close games. Below are champions, all-tournament teams and MVPs.

Pool A – 6^th/ 7^th Grade

Champion: NJ Gym Ratz

MVP: Julia Almonte

All-Tournament Team:

Elle Tharby, NJ Gym Ratz

Issie Giampaglia, NJ Gym Ratz

Katie McCarthy, NJ Gym Ratz

Pool B – 7^th Grade B

Champion:  Team Providence

MVP: Lindsey Oliveira, Team Providence

All-Tournament Team:

Laila Silver, Team Providence

Aja Caldwell, Team Providence

Hailey Raposa, Team Providence

Orth, Cape Cod Waves

Shay Bollin, Angels

Sydney Waitekus, Angels

Elizabeth McConaghey, Team BSB

Lauren Geremia, Team BSB

Cat Callahan, Team BSB

Pool C – 7^th Grade A

Champion: Honey Badgers

MVP:  Liv Correia

All-Tournament Team:

Rosalee Daryanani, Angels

Jillian Margetta, Honey Badgers

Olivia Berry, Honey Badgers

Faith Roy, Honey Badgers

Alina Ruehlemann, NJ Gym Ratz

Maya Tharby, NJ Gym Ratz

Caroline Walsh, NJ Gym Ratz

Pool D – 8^th Grade

Champion: MA Wildcats

MVP: Jordan Phillips, MA Wildcats

All-Tournament Team:

Kayleigh Irish, MA Wildcats

Cassie Urso, MA Wildcats

Lillian Morningstar, Mass Royals

Ashley Wang, CMFB

Kim Fitzgerald, Mass Royals

Pool E – 8^th / 9^th Grade A

Champion: Team Providence

MVP: Raquel Fitzpatrick, Team Providence

All-Tournament Team:

Sydney Scales, MA Gym Rats

Michelle Sidor, NJ Gym Ratz

Isabella Garabo, NJ Gym Ratz

Erin Hedrick, NJ Gym Ratz

Mollie Duclois, Team Providence

Emily Fiola, Team Providence

Sarah Coutu, Team Providence

Pool F – 9^th Grade  

Champion: Mass Premier (Mordarski)

MVP:  Nicole Smith, MPC Mordarski

All-Tournament Team:

Stephanie Lyons, MPC

Paige Mordarski, MPC

Riley Childs, Mass Mavericks

Sam Murray, Mass Mavericks

Pool G – 10^th Grade

Champion:  Honey Badgers

MVP: Emma Forbes

All-Tournament Team:

Katie Nelson, Honey Badgers

Emma Roush, Honey Badgers

Liv Correia, Honey Badgers

Megan Sears, CMass Lightning

Margery Wilson, CMass Lightning

Sloane Heterick, Team BSB

Christina Kiser, Team BSB

Pool H - Varsity 

Champion: Honey Badgers

MVP: Katie Nelson, Honey Badgers

All-Tournament Team:

Stephanie Flynn, South Shore Shamrocks

Nicole Jorgenson, South Shore Shamrocks

Kim Runey, MT Elite

Allie Lopes, Scituate

Emily Peters, M-Plex

Tess Sussman, MPC Swish

Ashley Sampson, MPC Swish
Emma Forbes, Honey Badgers
Molly Lahiff, Honey Badgers
Julia Strachan, Honey Badgers

SH Challenge Preview

The Select Hoops Challenge is set to take place this weekend at Mass Premier Courts and there is no shortage of heavy weights. This tournament boasts three division-one state champions from the spring including MPC Harney, MPC Swish DaLuz and Honey Badgers.

The varsity pool has some of the area's top talent. The South Shore Shamrocks have a great mix of size, shooting and athleticsm loaded with players from Quincy and Hanover spearheaded by Stephanie Flynn, Gabriella Jerahian, Lissy Delahunt and Megan Dixon.

The Honey Badgers are local legends in the Attleboro area and continue to build on their impressive resume. This season they added three key pieces to their already loaded roster in Jen Peel (Mansfield), Emma Roush (Rivers) and Bella Tonetti (Braintree). Add those three newcomers to staples Emma Forbes (Bishop Feehan), Katie Nelson (BF), Riley and Molly Lahiff (BF), Julia Strachan (North Attleboro) and Caroline Collard (North Attleboro), and Honey Badgers (all 10th graders) can compete and beat any team in New England regardless of age.

The MPC Swish enter this weekend on a rare losing streak after eating a little humble pie last Sunday against Bay State Magic Russell and Rivals-Hazelton. This freshmen contingent will be an underdog tomorrow morning again as they take on the two aforementioned teams, Shamrocks and Badgers. To beat those teams, it will require a full team effort from the frosh.

The varsity pool is rounded out by Scituate, M-Plex Elms - a team that has been together for five years - and MT Elite Crowley.

The Honey Badgers hybrid squad highlights the 10th grade age level that also features CMFB, Team BSB, New England Flames, Central MA Lightning and ASA Hoops.

At the 9th grade age level, MPC Mordarski is coming off some nice wins at Roger Williams University and looks to continue that success against Mass Mavericks (coming off some big wins of their own at ZG), MPC Swish Musco and North Central Blaze.

At the middle school age levels, the New Jersey Gym Ratz are bringing multiple teams in hopes of leaving the bay state with some t-shirt souvenirs. Standing in their way will be local power houses, Mass Premier Courts, Angel, MA Gym Rats, CC Waves, MT Elite and the Baby Badgers.

Good luck to all this weekend!

MPC Tip-Off Classic 8th Grade Boys Recap/All-Tourney Team

The 8^th grade pool at this year’s Fall Tip-Off Tournament was absolutely loaded. Three of the top four teams in last year’s state tournament met up to battle for the first tournament title of the 2014 fall season! The Boston Corinthians, the South Shore WolfPack and “the Academy” are all very familiar with each other and would pick up right where they had left off last spring.

The Boston Corinthians would have a tough road to the title by having to get through both the Academy and the Central Mass Swarm. The Swarm, appropriately named, did just that in the first half versus the Corinthians causing havoc on the defensive end and generating dozens of turnovers. Behind lead guard Sam Adusei, the Swarm looked much improved from last year and will be a team to keep an eye on this year. If they continue to improve at their current rate, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the mix for the 8^th grade Final Four this spring. The game went back and forth for a while, but the Boston Corinthians proved to be too much and would start to slowly pull away behind very good team basketball. With a well balanced scoring attack and very impressive play by guard Matt Doherty and forward Chris Camille, the Corinthians came out on top. Never once did the Swarm back down and fought till the final buzzer. The Swarm may have lost the game, but showed a lot of people the type of team they really are.

The WolfPack advanced to the finals after an incredible back and forth matchup with the Academy. Despite being behind early and trailing by double digits at half time, the WolfPack continued to battle and clawed their way back to cut the game to a two point deficit with ten seconds to play. Ten seconds was all the time they would need, as the ball swung around half court into the hands of Mike Simon who swished a game winning three point basket as the horn sounded. The Academy had a strong showing in and around the paint from forwards William Goss and Daniel Schlackman who both posted double doubles in the losing effort.

With pool play complete, the Boston Corinthians would advance to play the South Shore WolfPack in the Championship Game of the MPC Fall Tip Off Tournament. The Corinthians would hop out to a 15-5 lead to start the game behind an aggressive full court press off of the opening basket. Matt Doherty was impressive on both ends of the floor causing steals on one end and finishing on the other. The WolfPack immediately answered with a run of their own bringing the game to 20-15 with just over five minutes to play in the first half. The half would end similarly to the way it started as Corinthians forward Christopher Camille started taking the game over. He was a beast around the rim, grabbing offensive rebound after offensive rebound and finishing the half with a near double-double. The WolfPack would go into half time down by 16, 36-20. 

Just as they had done all weekend the WolfPack refused to give up and with strong interior play from Matt Malone and Spencer Cassell they would bring the game back to a single digit deficit trailing only 33-40 with just over 5 minutes to play. Spencer Cassell played very strong around the basket, battling Camille for rebounds and finished the game with eight points 12 rebounds. Matt Malone took advantage of smaller defenders covering him, posting up other guards and finishing strong around the basket. He finished with 10 points of his game high 16 points in the second half fighting to keep the game close. Over the last five minutes Doherty, Camille and the rest of the Corinthians proved to be too much and finished the game on yet another double digit run.  

Congratulations to the Boston Corinthians for capturing the 2014 MPC Fall Tip-Off Title with an impressive 52-37 victory in the finals.

All-Tournament Team for the 8^th Grade Division

MVP

 Matt Doherty Boston Corinthians

All Star Team

Christopher Camille – Boston Corinthians

Spencer Cassell – South Shore Wolf Pack

Matt Malone- South Shore Wolf Pack

Sam Adusei - Central Mass Swarm

Daniel Schlackman – MPC the Academy