Girls: Rose Classic Pool Play Finale

Top Performers - 5/22/16 (Premium)

BROOKLYN, NY - Sunday was the final day of the regular season at the Rose Classic and the action was highlighted by a pair of teams who each played multiple games, shining at JHS 113 as teams jockeyed for playoff position with one last chance to get that big statement making win.

It was both the Albany Lady Stars and iExcel who came to Brooklyn on Sunday and with the Lady Stars going 3-0 and iExcel going 2-0 they both left lasting impressions saying they will be challengers to walk away with the Rose Classic title. It was an action packed day with a lot of great teams and performances so let's now take a look at what transpired at what truly is one of the biggest girl’s tournaments in the Northeast.

This was probably the most intriguing game of the day as both teams needed and wanted a win, but Positive Direction was starting the game shorthanded as starting guards Jasmine Brunson (The Mary Louis Academy '16) and Taliyah Brisco (Francis Lewis '16) were late so the team would have to make a run at the beginning without them.

With two key cogs missing for Positive Direction it was the Lady Stars, who had already beaten the Westchester Hoopers to start their Sunday that got off to the fast start.

Star shooter Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, MA '17) had a huge game in their opener of the day knocking down three ball after three ball, and she picked up right where she left off in this one as she connecting on a pair of early treys to get the offense rolling, and then it was Kelsie Jacobs (Stoneleigh-Burnham, MA '17) who was able to attack driving lanes in transition to take a 16-10 lead.

The only real offensive weapon that Positive Direction seemed to have going was the ultra-talented Danielle Patterson (The Mary Louis Academy '17). She was able to score from the wings with Lady Stars defenders didn't close out, and when they did come out she showed her superb ability to take defenders off the dribble and score going inside.

While the Lady Stars maintained their lead at 22-16 late in the opening half, Patterson reeled off 6 straight to finish it off as she had 18 first half points to see her shorthanded Positive Direction team get the game tied at 22 at the half.

With Brunson and Brisco still not in attendance the Lady Stars seemed to be taking control early on in the second half as they opening things up with a strong finish inside by forward Jenna Benzinger (Mount Greylock, MA '17) which led a 10-1 run to see the upstate squad take a 32-23 lead.

Patterson came back and connected on back to back short jumpers, and guard Sierra Green (Francis Lewis '16) was able to finish in traffic and it was a 32-29 Lady Stars lead with 8:03 to go in the game when the two Positive Direction missing stars arrived and immediately were inserted into the lineup by head coach Joann Arbitello-Pinnock.

Even with a full strength team though it was clear that stopping Steinman would be a problem as she immediately made a statement for the Lady Stars by knocking down back to back threes and upping the lead back up to 9 again, this time with under 5 minutes to go.

It looked as if there wasn't going to be enough time for Positive Direction to climb their way back into the game, but they started to apply more pressure defensively and were able to get easy buckets by Brunson off turnovers and steals. Even with missed FT's by Brisco and with missed easy chances inside by Patterson, Positive Direction still had a chance because of sloppy ball control by the Lady Stars.

Down 42-40 in the closing seconds, Patterson was able to get the ball down in the paint and she spun around her defender and finished while getting fouled with 0.2 seconds left. It was tied at 42 and Patterson could end it and give Positive Direction and improbable victory after trailing the entire game to date, but she failed to connect on the free throw and the game would head to overtime tied at 42.

Most had to think that with their entire team now there and with the Lady Stars on their heels after losing a late lead that Positive Direction had the momentum to start the OT, but it seemed from the get go of the extra 3 minutes that it was the Lady Stars that were in control.

Positive Direction did take a 46-43 lead after Brisco was able to drive to the rim and get fouled, but Steinman once again came up huge with a 3 ball, and the Lady Stars were able to lock down Patterson defensively late and forced her into 2 turnovers in the OT session, and with PD struggling, Grace Guachione (Miss Hall's, MA '17) hit a big bucket, and Steinman was able to close things out from the charity stripe as the Albany Lady Stars finished the game on a 10-1 run again to take the 53-47 overtime victory.

Steinman had a team high 23 points while Guachione had 10 points and Jacobs added 7 in the hard fought impressive win.

In defeat it was truly all about Patterson as the Positive Direction star had a game high 32 points in what was a dominant and complete effort from the high major recruit.

Considered to be one of the top teams in this year's Rose Classic, iExcel was able to finish out their regular season 5-0 with a strong win over a Positive Direction team that was full stocked from the start in this one.

While many of the iExcel players seemed to struggle offensively at the start, they did get great production from the beginning from Jocelyn Willoughby (Newark Academy, NJ '16) as she was able to score on putback buckets inside, while also taking her defender one on one and finishing nicely from the midrange.

Once Sam Kramer (Gill St. Bernard's, NJ '16) entered the game for iExcel things picked up offensively even more as her speed and ability to push the ball up the court brought them more firepower, and with Olivia Ramil (Binghamton '16) dominating on the glass, iExcel took a 27-18 lead at the break.

After a first game against the Albany Lady Stars where she had many scoring opportunities anywhere on the floor, Patterson was collapsed on by double teams by iExcel making it tougher for her to get good looks at the rim, though she did have 8 points in the opening half showing she could fight through and still be able to make a difference on the scoreboard.

Positive Direction started to find their footing early on in the second half as Patterson scored 7 straight and then Brunson was able to connect on a two on one drive to make it a two point game at 30-28 with 11:20 to go in the game, but the run by the New York squad was quickly vanquished when Tiana England (Stamford, CT '16) was able to finish on a nice cutting feed from Kramer and it seemed after that iExcel pulled away.

A once 30-28 game was pushed into blowout territory for iExcel as they applied stifling pressure and were able to control the paint, while also finding their range from behind the arc. They would go on a 22-6 run to go in complete control up 52-34 with under 5 minutes to go.

It was Brisco who would score on a runner while falling down to end what seemed to be a very long Positive Direction drought, but Kramer would hit on two jumpers and it was all but over with 3 minutes to play as both teams slowed up as iExcel showed just how good they are and can be by dominating a very good Positive Direction team late for a 56-41 win.

Willoughby had 17 points to lead iExcel in the win while they also got 9 points each from Kramer and Ramil as well.

It was 16 points for Patterson to pace Positive Direction in their second loss of the day, while Brunson added 10 of her own in the defeat as even with the 2 losses, PD is still also playoff bound.

While the Albany Lady Stars went 3-0 and iExcel went 2-0 to be the big winners of the day, D1 Bound coached by Mike Toro were also dominant as they were able to easily roll past the Westchester Hoopers (Williams) 55-30. It was a great effort by Shadeen Samuels (Ossining '16) as she had 17 points in the opening half as D1 took a 33-12 lead.

The second half saw a more balanced effort with forward Jayla Jones-Pack (St. Anthony's '16) and guard Kaela Kinder (Floral Park '16)each coming on strong as D1 Bound were never threatened in an easy 25 point win.

Other solid performances came from the Lady Snipers and the Playherz Basketball Club as both blew out opponents and showed that they are teams that can make noise in the playoffs with good luck on their side.

It was a great day from start to finish on Sunday and truly left everyone in attendance excited for the Rose Classic playoffs which will begin on Saturday, June 4th.