City of Basketball Love

By Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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FAIRLESS HILLS — Carryn Easley's vision and unselfishness are intangible.

She isn't satisfied until all her teammates eat – or score the basketball.

The 5-foot-4 junior has been a point guard since she started hooping, and getting her teammates in the scoring column is her favorite part.

She isn't the only guard on Neumann's roster who can run the show. Junior teammate Amya Scott can provide that for the Saints, too. They are one of, if not the best, backcourt combinations in the Catholic League, but it was Easley's turn on Thursday night.

Her passing gifts were on full display.

She got everyone involved, and her talented teammates delivered. The junior got her fair share of buckets, too. She also showed maturity, keeping her young Neumann-Goretti team composed against a bigger and talented Conwell Egan squad, securing an 85-74 win.

"Just her way to see the floor is unreal," head coach Andrea Peterson said about Easley. "It's just natural. It makes it easy when I know I have guards that can get downhill and make that extra pass to create for their teammates.

"I tell everyone when they are bigger than us they have to guard us first. Our guards have done a really good job of getting downhill and creating."

"We all played together," Easley added. "We stayed as a team (and) shared the ball well."

Easley finished the game with nine assists.

She has eyes on the back and all around her head. Her anticipation of the defense's movement creates easy opportunities for her teammates.

Six of the seven Saints who saw the floor against CEC registered at least four points.

"I just like seeing all my teammates score the ball and be happy," Easley said about her passing ability and decision-making. "It just happens. It's natural."

Kamora Berry benefited the most from Easley's court vision. The five-foot-seven sophomore ended the night with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, scoring 12 from beyond the arc.

"[It's] really easy," the sharpshooter said about playing with Easley. "Y'all point guards are not better than her. She's the best."

Now in her third year at Neumann, Easley is becoming more of a complete player. When she first arrived at 1736 S 10th Street three years ago, Easley was a pass-first, and an only-pass, type of point guard.

Peterson and Neumann's staff worked with her to become a multifaceted guard who can succeed in all game phases: passing, scoring, and defense.

Easley's built up confidence as a scorer and proved it tonight. She finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. She snagged six steals as well. 

"She does things as a smaller guard that most bigger guards can't do and that puts her to that next level," Peterson said. "She's definitely developed every year."

"It's all confidence," Easley added. "I didn't really have the confidence last year."

Her development as a scorer and passer landed Easley her first Division I offer from Fordham University this year.

"I've been playing way better than last year and my freshman year," she said. "[But] I always thought there is still more work to be done."

One area she seeks to grow is her composure and situational recognition. It's something that Peterson and her staff are trying to work on with their guard-heavy team, and Conwell Egan provided an excellent challenge for Neumann.

The Saints went into the half with a 16-point lead. The Eagles' Lily Milewski and Brooke McFadden started finding a rhythm in the third quarter.

The 6-foot-1 Milewski feasted in the post against the undersized Saints. The sophomore finished with 24 points on 14-of-17 shooting from the field.

Then, with under three minutes remaining in the third frame, McFadden buried a three-pointer from the left wing, which cut Neumann's lead to six points. 

Peterson called a timeout.

Easley decided to take control.

"I felt like [the game] was going too fast," she said. "We kept turning the ball over, so I just had to slow the game down and make sure everything was going right.

"I had to steer the wheel."

Easley did it her way and shared the ball. She recorded four assists in the second half, but in the fourth quarter, she got the ball to her fellow playmaker, Scott.

The 5-5 guard drilled a catch-and-shoot three from Easley and then started going to the cup, forcing a defensive rotation and making one more pass, collecting three assists in the fourth frame.

The Saints got their lead back up to 18 points. To the Eagles' credit, they never stopped fighting. However, they never got back within 10 points for the remainder.

"They are learning to respond when our backs are against the wall," Peterson said. "The maturity now is learning to control the pace of the ball. Put the ball in my hands and create space, create for others l and keep the ball in their hands at the end of the game."

Neumann is at their best when Easley has the ball in her hand and then when she doesn't. Their supporting cast has the talent to back up their floor general.

Easley always raises her hand in the air when her teammates hit a shot off her feed. She knows she wouldn't be the player she is without them.

"It's a thank you," she said.

By Quarter
NG: 22 | 21 | 19 | 23 || 85
CEC: 13 | 9 | 25 | 27 || 74

Scoring
NG: Kamora Berry 22, Carryn Easley 19, Reginna Baker 17, Tori Richardson 11, Amya Scott 10, Zion Coston 4

CEC: Lily Milewski 24, Brooke McFadden 19, Mya Aizen 9, Brianna McFadden 7, Brianna Jackson 6, Molly Milewski 5, Emma Candy 3, Jayla Butler 1