116 Total Games : 29 on Friday || 56 on Saturday || 31 on Sunday
11 States & Washington, DC
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia
6 Teams from Canada
1 Team from Australia (Victoria)
1000+ Players
5 Locations
Athletic Republic : Capital Region – District Heights, MD (main site)
Bishop McNamara HS – Forestville, MD (1.1 mi from main site)
Bishop Ireton HS – Alexandria, VA (16.5 mi from main site)
Elizabeth Seton HS – Bladensburg, MD (14.9 mi from main site)
FBCG Family Life Center – Upper Marlboro, MD (9 mi from main site)
Once again the 10
th annual SHE GOT GAME Classic – DC is a cannot miss event for anyone and everyone involved in the women’s game. Par for the course for this event, it will feature several of the top ranked teams in the country and too many talented players to count. Last year attracted 100+ college coaches to the event with that number anticipated to grow.
Speaking of top ranked teams, we have already seen some early season losses for the likes of Christ the King (NY), Southridge (OR), Mater Dei (CA), and Miami Country Day (FL), (all on various top 25 lists to start the year) to name a few. Those particular teams are not participating in SHE GOT GAME this weekend, but the results illustrate that we have a wide open lane for many teams to attack with the marquee matchups coming on the highly anticipated schedule.
[See the preseason respective Top 25 lists from USA Today, MaxPreps, and espnW below.]
The showcase style schedule of SHE GOT GAME Classic has the some of the best teams from the DC Metro Area as well as some traditional east coast powers such as Long Island Lutheran (NY), Blair Academy (NJ), Neumann-Goretti (PA), and Archbishop Wood (PA).
North Carolina is represented well by four teams including Southeast Raleigh and Westridge Academy (they matchup up in a highly anticipated contest on Saturday).
Florida has a strong presence with seven teams that will feature Florida Prep, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Boca Raton. Word is that Somerset Prep-North Lauderdale has some young talented players to see.
#WorldWideHoops
Basketball Victoria out of Australia travels and represents well. Their roster includes 2021
Emily Sewell, a 6’1 forward with inside game and mid-range touch. 2020
Erin Riley is a 5’7 guard that our Mark Williams says is a playmaking guard who involves teammates in the action and knocks down timely threes. She is tough and runs the show. 2021
Felicity Hilford is a small guard who creates off the dribble and has a solid fundamental game.
Courtney Stothard is a 2019 guard who shows toughness and grit on the floor and can score from the three and out of a useful shot fake.
Coach Ash Arnott shared with me thoughts going into their trip: “Our trip is based on the providing exposure for our athletes in the US system. It also allows them to learn different style of games around the world and will make an impact on their development in the future. I think coaches will like the way our girls compete and how hard they play on every single possession.”
The Canadian contingent of teams will be missing some of the major stars this year due to the Canadian Identification Camp (National Trials) going on during the same time, but we are told that E.S. Saint-Laurent has a couple of young studs and that Durham Elite has some talent for every level as well.
J. Addison of Canada is no stranger to competition in the US as they were just in the States for the Michigan Mega Scrimmage a couple of weeks ago. They showed well and have a solid schedule in DC as they play Westridge Academy (NC), Putnam Science (CT), and Capital Christian (MD). They have Ivy League bound
Hennessey Luu-Brown (
Brown University) and unsigned 6’3
Laura Barhacs to complement some younger players who are eager to make a name for themselves as well.
Marquee Matchups:
Friday || 530pm || Athletic Republic #1
St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) v Forest Park (GA)
In talking with
Coach Oliver Berens of St. Thomas Aquinas, he knows his roster has some serious talent and potential. He is quick to point out that his team is more offensive-minded early on, and that he and his staff are stressing the importance of defense and rebounding daily. He anticipates playing a different style than last year, when they wanted to keep the game in the high 40’s, to a higher scoring output, hopefully in the 70’s.
“The SHE GOT GAME Classic – DC is a top event nationally.. We want to be able to play top programs, so we can become one of those year in and year out. We need to compete at that level to gain experience and exposure. What better event to attend than this?” Coach Berens shared. “We play three storied programs and teams that have been in the national discussion. We are an up and coming program. We can be explosive and play uptemp – if we will grind it out on D and rebound. We have a lot of work to do defensively. We are using practice to emphasize that and to gain chemistry and continuity.”
The roster surely has some talent on it: 2019
Columbiasignee
Abby Hsu is back healthy from a knee injury and was cleared for competition on November 25
th, so she has several games under her belt. They have two more D1 signees in
Angelie Rodriguez (
South Florida) and
Hailey Murphy (
St. Francis – PA). 2021
Kaylin Joseph will support this group off the bench and Coach Berens calls her an elite defender. 2020
Vanderbiltcommit
Bella LaChance is a small, but effective PG and there is a lot of talk of the talent of 2020
Samara Spencer.
The Aquinas matchups will include Forest Park (GA), St. Frances (MD), and Neumann-Goretti (PA). This will be an excellent test for this program and they will leave DC with legitimate high-level competitive experience.
Friday || 710pm || Athletic Republic #1
Southeast Raleigh (NC) v Riverdale Baptist (MD)
Friday || 710pm || Athletic Republic #5
J. Addison (CAN) v Westridge Academy (NC)
Friday || 900pm || Athletic Republic #6
E.S. Saint-Laurent (CAN) v Putnam Science (CT)
Saturday || 1220pm || Athletic Republic #1
Forest Park (GA) v Long Island Lutheran (NY)
Long Island Lutheran is no stranger to SHE GOT GAME. According to
Coach Rich Slater, this team is the overall youngest and inexperienced team he’s had in years (five freshman, a sophomore, and an eighth grader). That’s not to say he doesn’t have senior leadership and talent, because he does in
Celeste Taylor (
Texas),
Emma Glezen (
Loyola – MD), and
Tamia Lawthorne (
George Mason). High academic junior student-athlete
Kendall Miller also helps in the experience department.
No one is feeling sorry for LuHi as their younger talent includes the highly regarded
Paris Clark(a 2022 whom Coach Slater says can be the best rebounding guard he’s ever had. She had 18pts/18reb in their first game) and
Chardonnay Hartley (a 2022 who sees the floor and has a terrific motor). Coach Slater also said we need to be on the lookout for 2023 6’4
Aaliyah Del Rosario (good hands and good footwork).
“They are good kids and they are starting to learn what it means to work hard. The learning curve is just different [with the young ones]. Sometimes we are speaking a totally different language to them. Learning how to talk on both ends, learning the value of ‘positive touches’ – high fives and all that. We are doing a lot of teaching. I am enjoying it and I’ll be a better coach because of it. They just don’t know what is about to hit them with this schedule,” said Coach Slater.
“I like to do this for the younger players and also the parents. If they want to play at a high level, the next level, these are the types of games they will be playing and this is what it takes. They need to be exposed to pressure and expectation. It’s also important for Celeste to go out having played the best players she can play during her senior season.”
With SHE GOT GAME, the Nike TOC, and Classic in the Country on their schedule, Long Island Lutheran will certainly see some serious competition throughout the season.
Forest Park (GA) is not wanting for talent and depth. They started the season 7-0 and are listed as the #2 team in Georgia in 6A (as I write this, they are preparing for a Saturday, December 8
thmatchup with #1 Lovejoy.) One of their coaches, Eddie Wilson gave me some insight into their operation: “We go 9 deep and that really helps us. We are athletic and we like to run, but because of our size, we like to get into the half court game as well. We pride ourselves on defense and let that create easy offense for us when we get the opportunity.”
Inside they have 2021 super-recruit
Sania Feagin and
UCF signee
Destiny Thomas– both standing 6’4. Feagin is a hybrid forward with an impressive set of skills. “She has a blend of size and skill that sets her apart. She can handle the ball, but maybe most importantly, she is a good passer. She is a major part of our press break. We are able to use her to get the ball inside to Destiny as well – and with
Jasmine Stevens [2020 6’2 forward] and her ability to shoot from the perimeter, it gives us some nice options,” Coach Wilson said.
Some may not know that their leading scorer is actually 2019 unsigned senior, Alana Denson. “She will certainly sign somewhere in the spring,” Wilson stated. “
Joy Reed (2020),
Jasmine Jacob (2020) and
Sarah Matthews (2019) really bring us a ton of energy and can’t be overlooked.”
Forest Park has two legit matchups in St. Thomas Aquinas and Long Island Lutheran at SHE GOT GAME, and they are well aware of the talent on both teams. These will be must see games for coaches, players, and fans alike. “We called around and this is one of the events we were told we should get to – it is a big event for our program,” Coach Wilson concluded.
Saturday || 2pm || Athletic Republic #1
National Christian (MD) v Blair Academy (NJ)
I was able to quickly catch up with Blair Academy Coach,
Quint Clark. Coach Clark has been at Blair Academy teaching for 18 years and coaching now for eight of those years.
Blair Academy has two majorly talented 2021’s in
Olivia Miles and
Dominique Darius. Both have a complementary combo guard game and both have improved since their freshman seasons. “Olivia has an intelligence to her game and a basketball instinct .. her floor vision and ability to get to the rim are so natural, but the important thing is that she has really added to her game in terms of shooting. In our first three games this year, she has made 15 threes,” Coach Clark pointed out. “Dom has an incredible motor and is such an athlete. She has added to ability to score the ball in more ways this year. She is also being highly recruited.”
These two are complemented by
Hamilton(D3) signee
Camille Clarin and unsigned forward
Thuraya Abdul-Hamid (IMG transfer).
Regarding the upcoming SHE GOT GAME event, Coach Clark said he’s not looking too far ahead just yet, but added “I know we have two really good matchups… they’ll be tough! We are looking forward to the challenge.”
National Christian knocked off preseason #1 Christ the King at the Art Turner Memorial this past weekend in a close one. They have made an appearance in the Top 25 of different publications now.
Saturday || 340pm || Athletic Republic #1
Westridge Academy (NC) v Southeast Raleigh (NC)
This is a notable matchup from several angles. First, these are both talented teams that are well coached, have tradition, and are battle tested year in and year out. Second, because one is a public school and one is a private school academy, they will not see each other again this season, thereby turning this game into a de facto (albeit rather early) North Carolina state championship game.
Westridge Academy started their season off by going up to Canada to get in a few games at Saint Laurent. “We like to get that in early because we see some different styles and tempos up there. We see where we are at that point”,
Coach Delany Rudd shared.
When I spoke to Coach Rudd, they were 5-0 and feeling good about the start to their season. “We just look to increase the workload and competition leading up to these major events”, he said.
As for the matchup with Southeast Raleigh, he commented that, “We don’t treat it as a ‘do or die’ matchup, making it bigger than it is. It is great for North Carolina basketball to have the best players play against each other. They are very good and already have some good wins this season. We take this game like any other, quarter by quarter. We compete, adjust, and look forward to playing.”
Westridge features two class of 2019 signees in
Kirsten Deans (
West Virginia) and
Jordan Tuff (
Cincinnati) and have made an appearance in the espnW 25 Power Rankings this week.
Saturday || 7pm || Athletic Republic #1
New Hope Academy (MD) v Bishop McNamara (MD)
This is arguably the most talent-laden and anticipated matchup on the schedule. Not only is there a regional variable to the head to head element of this game, but many would say these two programs are the emerging new powerhouses of the DMV area for years to come. These two teams are of the best in the country this season.
As happens every year, players move and transfers happen. New Hope was a program in its infancy last season, and has loaded up on talent this year. They lost a very athletic player in 2020
Aicha Coulibalyto IMG Academy in Florida. However, they have added 2021 PG
Jada Walker and 2020 shooter
Delicia Pinnick. They get 2019
Duke signee
Jennifer Ezeh back at the power forward position healthy and being very productive. In addition to those players, the roster has
Vanderbilt signee
Demi Washington,
Deleware signee
Agnes Paul,
Tennessee Tech signee
DJ McFarlane, and
Virginia committed guard
Kylie Kornegay-Lucas, who Coach Caldwell says is their best defender and a “BCS sleeper”.
Coach Sam Caldwell speaks highly of his squad and the expectations are high for them locally and in the national schedule that they play. They are serious and they practice hard, and they realize what is on the line and the opportunities they have with their schedule.
In early action this season, New Hope ventured into Texas for the Allen Lady Eagle Hoopfest. Traveling in the morning of the first games, they beat a Plano West team in the afternoon, but dropped one to a scrappy Cedar Hill team in their evening game. They were well aware of the challenge of playing two games coming off of the flight from DC. However, they regrouped and once the pool play turned into bracket play, they took care of business and overwhelmed host school Allen HS in the tournament championship.
Specifically commenting on this matchup with McNamara, Coach Caldwell’s anticipation and intensity were evident in his words. “Everyone in the DMV will be there… it will be a packed house! I love games like this. There will be national implications and #1 in the area certainly on the line. Coach Oliver and I go way back to when I was at Riverdale Baptist and he was at AC Woodson. You always have to be ready to play at a high level.. his team will be prepared and my team will be prepared. This is great for girls basketball in this area and it prepares our players for college.”
Bishop McNamara is led by 2019 star
Jakia Brown-Turner, an
NC State signee.
Mississippi State signee
Aliyah Matharu holds it down at the PG position. 2020 super recruit
Madison Scott bolsters them at the wing position. The roster also includes 2019
Farleigh Dickinson signee
Aniya Bell and a pair of sophomores in forward
Taylor Gibson and post
Kayla Thomas.
McNamara started the year off solid with a win vs Hamilton Heights, 57-54. Matharu led all scorers with 20 and Jakia Brown-Turner added 13. They are making a case to be the #1 team in the country in the various polls.
Coach Frank Oliver raves about the culture his players have created around their program. “This is year three with this core, and with this experience, we hope to build upon the things we have done the last two years. Our community knows we have a special team. I don’t know if there will be much room at our home games.” He credits seniors Brown-Turner and Matharu for their contagious approach to work and the love of the game. “They are killers and they bring a ‘pro’ –like mentality to the way they prepare for the season. And it’s rubbed off on other players in the program. Madison Scott just continues to improve.. it has created a competitive atmosphere where no one wants to be outworked. I’ve been at this fifteen years and have never had this much depth of talent.”
With this culture, experience, talent, and depth, look for a special season from McNamara. In regards to the New Hope matchup, Coach Oliver complimented their league for preparing them for hard games night in and night out. “Look for us to play hard. I know our players will be excited for the challenge. In our league last year, we played the #1 team in the country four times, so we know big games. And our players thrive in games like this.”
A piece of advice: get to Athletic Republic early if you want to get eyes on this one on Saturday, December 15
th. It will be one of the best games of the season in the country.
Saturday || 550pm || Athletic Republic #2
St. Frances (MD) v St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
Saturday || 340pm || Athletic Republic #5
Holly Springs (NC) v William Monroe (VA)
William Monroe is led by none other than 2019 super recruit
Samantha Brunelle (
Notre Dame). She has been a mainstay on the scene for a long time and especially after a sensational Memorial Day Weekend at the USA Trials in 2016.
She gets help on the floor this year from two move-ins that had previously lived in the area, but have now returned. Point guard
Bryonna Woofter is a senior that returns from North Carolina. Forward
Martha Apple is a junior and returns from Texas.
Coach Jessica Stafford said they both are in the starting lineup.
This is the first year that Monroe has been able to participate in the SHE GOT GAME Classic – DC, last year due to the weather that kept a few teams at home and caused schedule changes. Coach Stafford offered her thoughts: “We are looking for a challenge outside of our comfort zone. I like to expose my team to that. As a coach it is a different challenge because of the lack of scouting or difficulty getting film, but we will prepare. The atmosphere will be like the post-season.. with expectations and preparation, and pressure. It is good early to learn through challenges and let that motivate us for later in the season.”
I had to ask what the experience has been to have a player of the caliber and recruiting magnitude of Brunelle. Coach Stafford so graciously gave me a quick glimpse: “Oh, the book is coming,” she laughed. “It’s been a journey. That’s the best way to describe it. In the fifth or sixth grade everybody knew she was going to be a special player. And she very well could have started for us by her eighth grade year, but of course we had to wait. She was beyond excited by her freshman year to be finally eligible for varsity basketball. The very first morning we were allowed to do any work, she asked me ‘Can we go lift?’ So, there we were at 630am working right away. That beginning really set the tone. She has always wanted to work and has been invested. She is truly a great kid! I have said for a while now that I have four full time jobs: teacher, coach, mom, and Sam! (again laughing).”
It has been and continues to be an enjoyable journey.
Saturday || 230pm || Athletic Republic #2
Bishop Loughlin (NY) v Roland Park (MD)
Saturday || 730pm || Athletic Republic #6
Riverdale Baptist (MD) v Victoria (AUS)
Saturday || 520pm || Athletic Republic #1
Neumann-Goretti (PA) v Paul VI (VA)
Saturday || 1220pm || Athletic Republic #5
Florida Prep v Long Reach (MD)
Saturday || 550pm || Athletic Republic #6
Cathedral (MA) v Somerset Prep – North Lauderdale (FL)
Sunday || 900am || Athletic Republic #1
Blair Academy (NJ) v Westridge Academy (NC)
Sunday || 1220pm || Athletic Republic #1
E.S. Saint-Laurent (CAN) v Roland Park (MD)
Coach Dani Steinbach is now at the helm of the Roland Park program. After 22 years as the Head Coach, Scott Buckley retired. Steinbach was on staff for nine years with Coach Buckley and played for him as well, and now she has shifted over a chair to lead the team as Head Coach.
She inherits a team with plenty of experience and some considerable talent. They have five returning starters including highly recruited 2020’s
Mir McLean and
Rain Green, senior PG
Ja’Niah Henson, senior
Chris Robinson whom Coach Steinbach calls their “glue”, and
Drexel signee and Romanian National Team member
Maria Ferariu.
After watching Mir McClean’s considerable improvement over the last calendar year, I asked Coach Steinbach for her thoughts. “She is such a gifted athlete and getting better everyday… She is definitely special and still has so much time. There is no ceiling for her.”
“We have been ‘young’ for a long time, but now we aren’t that ‘young’ team anymore. Our team has experience,” she shared. Coach Steinbach and her squad are definitely going to be must see!!
Sunday || 1220pm || Athletic Republic #5
Long Island Lutheran (NY) v Bishop Ireton (VA)
LuHi is previously mentioned in the preview, but Bishop Ireton should be noted and discussed as well.
Coach Kesha Walton made it clear that they are in the infancy of their season (at time of writing, they had only played on game at the COBRAS United event to open December), and are focusing on one game at a time. But, we were able to talk about the SHE GOT GAME event upcoming.
“We have Long Island Lutheran, so that is definitely a competitive matchup for us. We will be able to check them out this weekend at Art Turner.”
A preseason injury to one of their seniors has slowed them down a bit, but Coach Walton says they have continued to work to adjust to that. They hope to get her back before season’s end and possibly later into WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) play.
Ireton is led by
Virginia Tech signee
Akunna Akonkwo. She is complemented by 2021
Laila Jewett, and 2019’s
Sydney Peters and
Symantha Shackelford.
Sunday || 1040am || Athletic Republic #1
Durham (CAN) v Peddie School (NJ)
Sunday || 1250pm || Athletic Republic #6
Archbishop Wood (PA) v Florida Prep
PLAYERS
In fairness, there are always too many players to be completely comprehensive. We do our best to keep up with the transfers, etc, but here are some players of note going into the event:
St Thomas Aquinas Abby Hsu (2019) ** Columbia
Kaylin Joseph (2021)
Angelie Rodriguez (2019) ** South Florida
Hailey Murphy (2019) ** St Francis (PA)
Bella LaChance (2020) – Vanderbilt
Samara Spencer (2020)
Forest Park Sania Feagin (2021)
Jasmine Jacob (2020)
Sarah Matthews (2019)
Alana Denson (2019)
Joy Reed (2020)
Jasmine Stevens (2021)
Destiny Thomas (2019) ** UCF
Bishop McNamara Aniya Bell (2019) ** Farleigh Dickinson
Jakia Brown-Turner (2019) ** NC State
Liatu King (2020)
Madison Scott (2020)
Aliyah Matharu (2019) ** Mississippi State
Kayla Thomas (2021)
Taylor Gibson (2021)
Coppin Academy Eniyah Russell (2020)
Elizabeth Seton Randi Baldwin (2020)
Tian Anderson (2019)
Gia Cooke (2022)
Hannah Dereje (2022)
Frederick Douglass Sonia Smith (2019)
Gywnn Park Denai Bowman (2019)
McDonough Nekhyu Mitchell (2022)
Aleah Nelson (2019) ** Cincinnati
National Christian Kaiya Creek (2020)
Kayla Thomas (2021)
Promise Cunningham (2019)
New Hope Academy Jennifer Ezeh (2019) ** Duke
Demi Washington (2019) ** Vanderbilt
Jada Walker (2021)
Agnes Paul (2019) ** Deleware
DJ McFarlane (2019) ** Tennessee Tech
Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (2019) ** Virginia
Delicia Pinnick (2020)
Riverdale Baptist Yanni Hendley-McCalla (2019)
Kaylah Ivey (2020)
Jayla James (2019) ** Penn State
Rock Creek Christian Anissa Rivera (2019) ** North Carolina Central
Roland Park Ja'Niah Henson (2019)
Rain Green (2020)
Mir McLean (2020)
Maria Ferariu (2019) ** Drexel
St. Frances Aniya Gourdine (2021)
Angel Reese (2020)
Cathedral Amani Boston (2019)
Mackenzie Daleba (2020)
Blair Academy Dominique Darius (2021)
Olivia Miles (2021)
Camille Clarin (2019) ** Hamilton (D3)
Thuraya Abdul-Hamid (2019)
Immaculate Conception Kelina Menard (2019)
Life Center Breyanna Frazier (2019)
Paul VI Naomi Shorts (2019)
Gabriella Zapata-Smalls (2019) ** St Joseph University
Long Island Lutheran Emma Glezen (2019) ** Loyola (MD)
Kendall Miller (2020) -- High Academic
Cassidy Roberts (2019)
Celeste Taylor (2019) ** Texas
Tamia Lawthorne (2019) ** George Mason
Paris Clarke (2022)
Chardonnay Hartley (2022)
St. Anthony’s Sydney Taylor (2019)
Southeast Raleigh Jamia Hazell (2020)
Maya Johnson (2019)
Anya Poole (2020)
Alexandria Scruggs (2019) ** Wake Forest
Westridge Academy Kirsten Deans (2019) ** West Virginia
Jordan Tuff (2019) ** Cincinnati
Archbishop Wood Mia Andrews (2019)
Kaitlyn Orihel (2021)
Neumann-Goretti Diamond Johnson (2020)
Tatiana Jones (2019)
Bishop Ireton Laila Jewett (2021)
Akunna Konkwo (2019) ** Boston College
Sydney Peters (2019)
Symantha Shackelford (2019)
Bishop O'Connell Anna Hovis (2019) ** Cornell
Alexandria Lee (2019) ** Vassar College
Mikaela Brunais (2020)
Adrianna Smith (2021)
Paul VI Ashley Owusu (2019) ** Maryland
Elizabeth Thibodeau (2019)
Lee Volker (2021)
T.C. Williams Konnor Gambrell (2019)
Thomas Edison Carole Miller (2019) ** Virginia
Aurea Gingras (2020) ** George Washington
Charlotte Jewell (2020)
William Monroe Samantha Brunelle (2019) ** Notre Dame
Bryonna Woofter (2019)
Martha Apple (2020)
Woodbridge Aaliyah Pitts (2020)
Victoria (Australia) Emily Sewell (2021)
Erin Riley (2020)
Felicity Hilford (2021)
Courtney Stothard (2019)
Bishop McNamara #2
Southeast Raleigh #5
Westridge Academy #8
New Hope #13
Long Island Lutheran #17
Forest Park #18
National Christian #20
Riverdale Baptist #24