This is the most exciting weekend in MA girls AAU hoops. Here is a list of players that I plan on going out of my way to watch this weekend (excluding 5th/9th grade):

Varsity:
Lauren Manis (MT Elite)
Emily Miccile (MT Elite)
Sarah Deyo (MT Elite)
Maddie Murphy (MT Elite)
Meghan Reen (MT Elite)
Justin Gaziano (Bay State Jaguars)
Emily Chang (Bay State Jaguars)
Katie Nelson (Honey Badgers)
Julia Strachan (Honey Badgers)
Jen Peel (Honey Badgers)
Emma Forbes (Honey Badgers)
Mya Mosley (MA Huskies)
Shannon Murphy (MA Huskies)
Anna Kelly (MA Huskies)
Jalani Jackson (CC Bulls)
Erin Hill (CC Bulls)
Carli Koffinke (CC Bulls)
Megan Dixon (CC Bulls)
Joie Grassi (CC Bulls)
Geia Alveiro (CC Bulls)
Ashley Ahearn (CC Bulls)
Keelah Dixon (Bay State Jaguars)
Veronica Burton (Bay State Jaguars)
Marissa Fontaine (Bay State Jaguars)
Kelly Fogarty (Bay State Jaguars)
Sam McGibbon (KSC Ducks Platinum)
Alyssa Camara (KSC Ducks Platinum)
Lucy Crawford (KSC Ducks Platinum)
Allison Comeau (KSC Ducks Platinum)
Fiona Pearlman (KSC Ducks Platinum)
Joanna Needham (KSC Ducks Platinum)
Kyra Rose (KSC Ducks Diamond)
Elly Vaughan (KSC Ducks Diamond)
Janey Mathison (KSC Ducks Diamond)
Caroline Kilduff (KSC Ducks Diamond)
Bri Walker (KSC Ducks Diamond)
Maddy Fay (KSC Ducks Diamond)
Jess Greer (KSC Ducks Diamond)

8th:
Hannah Bean (NE Crusaders)
Lauren MacDonald (NE Crusaders)
Alex Poole (NE Crusaders)
Marianna Jantzen (NE Crusaders)
Barbara Ronca (BSME)
Brittany Raphino (BSME)
Adriana Timberlake (BSME)
Sabrina Zeghibe (BSME)
Rachael Johnson (MT Elite)
Amanda Minsk (MT Elite)
Natalya Amaral (MT Elite)
Sam Hourihan (MT Elite)
Kassidy Fields (MT Elite)
Jayne Howe (KSC Ducks Emerald)
Adiza Alasa (KSC Ducks Emerald)
Lexi Hansen (KSC Ducks Emerald)
Kaleigh Matulonis (KSC Ducks Emerald)
Moe Stanton (KSC Ducks Emerald)
Kara Milliken (KSC Ducks Emerald)
Colleen Lahiff (KSC Ducks Emerald)
Kaitlynn Smith (KSC Ducks Emerald)

7th:
Caroline Ducharme (Bay State Jaguars)
Kayla Madden (Bay State Jaguars)
Jaxy Marquez (Bay State Jaguars)
Alexandra Giannaros (Bay State Jaguars)
Aliyah Wright (Bay State Jaguars)
Liv Correia (Gym Rats)
Sydney Scales (Gym Rats)
Samantha Sousa (Gym Rats)
Faith Roy (Honey Badgers)
Olivia Forbes (Honey Badgers)
Emily Nelson (Honey Badgers)
Megan Marcel (KSC Thunder)
Brittany Gacicia (KSC Thunder)
Olivia Martin (KSC Thunder)
Caroline Elie (KSC Ducks Ruby)
Katie Galligan (KSC Ducks Ruby)
Allison McMorrow (KSC Ducks Ruby)
Clarissa Garzon (KSC Ducks Ruby)
Belli Pizzi (KSC Ducks Ruby)
Fiona Mannion (KSC Ducks Ruby)

6th:
Corrine French (Mass Mavericks)
Mary Callahan (Mass Mavericks)
Erin Qualie (Mass Mavericks)
Erin Rice (Mass Mavericks)
Elizabeth Gill (KSC Ducks Sapphire)
Katie North (KSC Ducks Sapphire)
Caitlin Fleming (KSC Ducks Sapphire)
Maia Doescher (KSC Ducks Sapphire)
Lanie Albert (KSC Ducks Sapphire)
Aisling Crowley (KSC Ducks Sapphire)
Molly Terbush (KSC Thunder)
Camille Minor (KSC Thunder)
Teagan Curran (KSC Thunder)

The best of the best girls teams in Massachusetts vie the title of "State Champion."  

2014 State Champions:
11th - Rhode Island Breakers
10th - MA Rivals
9th - Honey Badgers
8th - Mass Premier Swish
7th - New England Crusaders
6th - Bay State Jaguars
5th - Mass Premier (Harney)

The Mass Premier Swish 9th graders competed in both the 10th and 11th grade divisions in the inaugural NEAAU Super Regional at MPC in Foxboro. The Swish captured the 10th grade title handily over MT Elite (67-42) and lost by one in the 11th grade final four to the Boston Showstoppers (62-61). In all, the Swish played eight games on the weekend and finished 7-1.

The Swish started off the weekend with a win in the 11th grade division over the Boston Showstoppers (Drew), 54-40. Bishop Feehan high school classmates Nicole Gallagher and Anna Shaughnessy set the tone offensively in the first victory.

In the second game of the day, the Swish drew another Showstoppers team, this one their flag ship squad coached by Clinton Lassiter. It was an extremely physical game, but the youngsters didn’t allow themselves to get bullied. Swish versatile wing Tess Sussman (Rivers) did a nice job scoring or setting up her teammates while doing a phenomenal job on the glass. Kiera Fernandes (Worcester Academy) provided some much needed toughness and great outside touch all game. Megan Hill (Mansfield) played a key role on the defensive end and on the glass.

After being down by five at halftime, the Swish made a great second half comeback spearheaded by nearly a handful of Kaylin Reen (Norwood) 3-pointers and a smooth floater from the Swish guard.

This was a breakout game for starting point guard Jenna Roche (Braintree). New to the squad this spring, Roche really asserted herself as a dominant ball handler and took control of the team despite immense pressure. She scored, pushed the ball and got after it defensively.

After turning the ball over late in the game, the Swish found itself down one point with eight seconds left and had to foul to extend the game. The Showstoppers player missed the front end of the one-and-one and Sussman grabbed the rebound and quickly advanced it to Roche who pushed the ball into the front court and hit a running bank shot 3-pointer to beat the Showstoppers, 57-55. The Swish finished 2-0 on the day in the 11th grade division.

The Swish survived the day limping to the finish line with wins in the 10th grade division over Team BSB (62-58) and MT Elite (53-51) to cap off a 4-0 Saturday.

Like Saturday, the Swish opened up Sunday’s competition with games the 11th grade division. In its quarterfinal match up, Swish beat Team Evolution, 52-36, behind a total team effort. In the semi-final, the MPC Swish turned in its worst performance of the weekend by playing flat on both ends against a third Boston Showstoppers team. Hot shooting throughout the game gave the Showstoppers a sizable lead. A late Swish push to steal a victory was thwarted by a big low post bucket to seal the win for the Showstoppers, 62-61.

After being eliminated in the 11th grade division, the Swish dedicated its attention to winning the 10th grade division. The Swish ran over from MPC Court 3 to MPC Court 2 and quickly asserted themselves against United Conquerors Basketball by jumping out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back in a 53-32 victory, which set up a rematch against MT Elite in the championship. 

In the Swish fourth game of the day on Saturday, they escaped with a victory over a hot shooting MT Elite squad, 53-51. On Sunday, again on its fourth game of the day, the Swish put together its best performance of the weekend capturing the 10th grade title over MT Elite, 67-42.

Tess Sussman absolutely dominated MT Elite’s zone. Anna Shaughnessy displayed great touch, scored a boatload and controlled the glass. Nicole Gallagher played fantastic, hard-nosed defense and was able to score when she wanted. Jenna Roche pushed the tempo as a great point guard should and displayed an ability to pick her spots to score. Erika Ochenduszko (Rockland) made several key hustle plays and scored inside and out. Megan Hill asserted her dominance and scored a bunch, not only inside, but stepping out hitting jumpers. Kaylin Reen was consistent on both ends by being the loudest defensively and knocking down shots on the other side. Kiera Fernandes brought her typical inside-outside game, but also stepped up to the challenge of guarding MT Elite’s best player at times – and did it well. Jenn Butka (North Quincy) registered another solid performance and provided toughness on the glass and great shooting touch. Kaitlyn Guenet (Cardinal Spellman) looked most comfortable out there in the championship game while still recovering from injury as she knocked down a couple outside shots and was strong defensively.

Lexington 5'6" junior guard Anna Kelly has given her verbal commitment to Fordham University.  This two-time MVP of the Middlesex League has already amassed 1379 points through three years and is Lexington’s all-time leading scorer. Her career high in a game is 52 points and has scored over 40 points on five occasions.

Kelly was named to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald all-scholastic team. She plays her AAU basketball for MA Huskies coached by Hank DeSantis where she was named to the 2014 Gym Rat Challenge and USJN all-tournament team.

Anna Shaughnessy (MPC Swish / Bishop Feehan 2018) - It was a weekend of getting acclimated against strong competition for the Swish, who lost five players and added four new key players from last spring's dominant squad. Although the team was inconsistent in Springfield, the one constant in every game was Anna Shaughnessy's dominance. Shaughnessy shot an extremely high percentage, displayed her much improved outside touch and ran the floor with pride. She reached double figure scoring in each game and was a major contributor on the glass. 

Rachael Johnson (MT Elite / Coyle & Cassidy 2019) - It's been a great month for Norton's Rachael Johnson. She was arguably the most dominant player in the 2015 Select Hoops Showcase (8th Grade All-Star Game) a month ago, displaying her ability to get to the rack, knock down shots and her nonstop motor. In workouts with older girls, Johnson has done more than hold her own with her toughness, offensive craftiness and willingness to box out on every shot that goes up. Johnson continued her hot early spring by being named MVP of the Springfield Basketbull Tournament as her MT Elite AAU team beat the Bay State Jaguars in the championship. She and her AAU teammates at MT Elite made a nice early season statement with the victory.

Emily Miccile (MT Elite / Bishop Feehan 2017) - As a sophomore, Miccile was a key cog in Bishop Feehan's deep MIAA South Sectional run as a starter for the Shamrocks and she appears poised to build on that this spring for MT Elite. In workouts, Miccile has been dominant on both ends. She is always in control, plays extremely disciplined defense and can score inside or outside. Miccile has an extremely high IQ and almost always makes the right play offensively, whether its snapping a full court lead pass, slicing through the lane for a bucket or making an extra pass in the half court. Her upside on defense is limitless as she can guard every position. Look forward to seeing her and her MT Elite teammates on the circuit.