Madeline Blais Plays with such GraceThere were many talented players at the Mass & NH High School Basketball Report Girls Showcase this morning. Stay tuned because we will be writing about those that attended over the next few days.
Several local colleges were in attendance for the event including Stonehill College, Brandeis University, Southern New Hampshire University, Assumption College, Merrimack College, Rhode Island College, Suffolk University, Endicott College, Anna Maria College, Roger Williams, Rivier, Wellesley College, New England College, NECCO, Keene State, and Nichols College.
We will start our analysis with those who we thought really shined in the event.
The Stars:
Madeline Blais (5'11" junior, New Hampton School) - Blais is a 6'1" long guard/forward that can get it done on both ends of the floor. Blais plays the game with such grace and makes things look easy. On the offensive end she is exceptional at putting the ball to the floor and finding her way to the rim. She also is a deadly shooter who can really knock them down from deep. We liked her most today when she rebounded and led transition. She is an impossible match-up for all her opponents. Blais also made her presence known on the defensive end as she aggressively challenged every opponent’s shot.
Lexi Sells (5'10" junior, Bishop Feehan, MA) - Sells is a combo-guard that as a lot of talent, and one of those talents being that she plays very hard. Sells is excellent in transition and makes her teammates look better. She has a great touch and has the ability to score from inside-out. The bottom line is that Sells does not have many weaknesses to her game. She is a versatile player that can do everything.
Lauren Hebert (5'10', junior, North Reading H.S., MA) - Hebert is one of those few girls at the showcase that can score in bunches. She has a very high basketball IQ. She also is very impressive in transition as she can really push the ball up the floor efficiently with 4-5 dribbles. Creates mismatches with the ability to play inside-out. She uses her size to get shots off of smaller guard and is able to beat bigger opponents to the basket off the dribble. She also has a great outside jump shot and is effective on the glass from the wing.
Olivia Healy (5'9", sophomore, Reading H.S., MA) - Healy is a physical player who is a tough matchup for just about everybody who dears to cover her. Today was know different as Healy had her way. Healy uses the inside-out game to create advantages for herself. She knocks down threes against bigs and punishes smaller guards around the basket. Healy can play multiple positions on the floor and is fun to watch leading transition.
Morgan O'Brien (5'10", sophomore, Reading H.S, MA) - Two things we know about Morgan O'Brien is that she plays hard and she can really shoot the basketball from extended range. Today she showed us she can still do those two things but she has also began to develop a midrange game. She had a couple of nice looking pull-up in the lane after she set her defender up to believe she was driving to the basket.
Ali Glennon (5'10", freshman, Bedford High School, NH) - Glennon may be a Freshman, but she doesn't play like one. Glennon plays poised and under control and showed us that she knows how to finish around the basket. She has an excellent skill set and knows how to create space to get into the paint for a pull-up or get to the rim. The best part about Glennon is that she has a huge upside especially given she has a big wing-spand.
Caitlin Dell’Orfano (5'8", freshman, Central Catholic H.S., MA) - Dell'orfano is a an excellent shooter with a quick release who loves to spot up and shoot in transition. She can also score the basketball in a number of other ways. Today she showed us she has a nice floater as she dropped a teardrop over a taller opponent. Dell'orfano is athletic and aggressive and plays at both end of the court.
