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Hoop Group Girls' Championship Standouts: Pt. 2 (July 11-12, 2022)

07/13/2022, 2:00pm EDT
By Owen McCue & Sean McBryan

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) & Sean McBryan (@SeanMcBryan)

MANHEIM, Pa. — The Hoop Group girls’ showcase league held its Summer Championships this week at Spooky Nook Sports, with the girls’ HGSL squads vying for championships at the 15U, 16U and 17U levels in front of hundreds of college coaches from all levels.

CoBL was in attendance all tournament long, from the first sets on Sunday night through the championships on Tuesday afternoon. Here’s who stood out to our staff on games played Monday evening and during Tuesday’s conclusion to championship week:

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More HGSL Girls Championship coverage: Standouts (Pt. 1) | Recruiting Notebook (Pt. 1) | Recruiting Notebook (Pt. 2)

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Isabelle Augustine (2025 | Mid-Atlantic Magic 15U | Pennington School, N.J.)

The lone New Jersey representative on the Magic 15Us, Augustine’s three-point shooting pedigree stood out. She utilizes a high-arching jumper and drilled two that barely touched the rim, both from well behind the high school three-point line. Her shooting kept the Magic in the quarterfinal matchup against NJ Shoreshots in the first half as the rest of the team struggled on the offensive end. The 5-7 guard’s quick release was also effective inside the arc as she finished with 10 points to lead her team.

Tessa Carman (2025 | NJ Shoreshots 15U | Red Bank Catholic, N.J.

Carman displayed ice in her veins in an overtime win over Drill for Skil in Tuesday’s championship game. After having a potential game-winner rim out the previous trip down the court, Carman buried a midrange jumper to deliver her team a tourney title as part of a team-high 14-point performance. On Monday evening, Carman showed a wide range of skills in Shoreshots’ 38-36 victory over the Magic. The 5-11 forward played on the perimeter, hit a 3 and showed off adequate passing and dribbling. But she’s also incredibly strong and bullied her way to the rim. She scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds. Carman additionally showed incredible leadership; after the game, which got chippy at points, she implored her teammates to not smile or laugh in the postgame handshake line and to save it for when their logo was moved to the final four on the bracket. With eyes from colleges at all levels in attendance, including Syracuse, George Mason, Loyola, Colgate, Quinnipiac, Mercyhurst, Franklin & Marshall, IUP, Kutztown, and Fairfield, it was a great impression to make.

Isabella Casey (2024 | Lady Running Rebels 16U | Germantown Academy)

Casey had a terrific tournament and finds herself on our standout list for the second time. The 5-10 guard picked up where she left off on Sunday in the Monday evening set as the Rebels exploded offensively with a 68-36 win over Lehigh Valley Fever. Casey continued the trend of making absurdly angled layups and headed the offensive attack with 24 points; she converted four and-ones. Her inside drives were the perfect complement to sharpshooting teammates Taylor Koening (four 3s), Caleigh Sperling (three 3s), and Gabrielle Bowes (three 3s). Casey also secured five rebounds. Casey was back at it again in Tuesday’s championship game with a team-high 16 points, 13 of which came in the second half. She earned a trip to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to tie the game before a buzzer beater three by the next standout on this list.


Amaia Jackson, XGen Elite (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Amaia Jackson (2025 | XGen Elite 16U | Bishop Kearney, N.Y.)

The 5-8 guard with multiple D1 offers already seemed like she couldn’t miss in the second half of Tuesday’s 16U championship game against the Runnin Rebels. So it was no surprise she knew the buzzer beater three she put up was good as soon as it left her hands, delivering her team a 60-57 title-game victory. Jackson scored all 12 of her points in the second half, knocking down jump shot after jump shot. Her presence was also felt throughout the contest even when she wasn’t putting the ball in the hoop by putting pressure on the Rebels with her speed in transition or her aggressive defense.

Taylor Koenig (2024 | Lady Runnin Rebels 16U | Governor Mifflin)

As Caleigh Sperling did most of her damage in the first half, Koenig (along with Isabella Casey) imposed her will throughout the 32-point quarterfinal drubbing. The 5-8 guard is a firecracker from deep. She hit 48 three-pointers during her sophomore season at Governor Mifflin, which was good for second in the Berks League. She hit two 3s in each half Monday evening on her way to 14 points and added three more triples during a 10-point performance in Tuesday’s title game.

Jahnel Lewis (2023 | Bulls Basketball Club 17U | Henry Snyder, N.J.)

Lewis helped turn a tight game against the Chester County Storm into a runaway by the middle of the second half in Tuesday’s 17U Gold championship. The 5-3 guard picked pockets throughout the contest, often taking the ball down the court herself after a steal for two points on the other end. Her quickness helped her get by defenders and speed made sure they didn’t catch up. Lewis showed a fearlnesses in taking the ball to the basket to draw contact and even occasionally finish through it.

Laine McGurk (2023 | Lady Runnin Rebels 17U | W.C. Rustin)

A three-possession stretch in Tuesday’s win over the Magic highlighted McGurk’s versatile offensive game. She started with a corner jumper, then next time down got herself an easy layup after a backdoor cut. Finally, McGurk took the ball herself the next time down, finishing through traffic in the lane. The 5-10 guard, who also plays tough inside, finished with 12 points in Tuesday's win over the Magic. She was also a playmaker with the ball in her hands, showing great vision on a number of occasions

Caleigh Sperling (2024 | Lady Runnin Rebels 16U | North Penn)

North Penn’s 5-10 guard had a solid showing all tournament, including a 15-point first half that pushed the Rebels’ lead to 42-23 over the Fever at the break in a quarterfinal matchup. She concluded her tournament with 17 points (two 3s) in the 16U title game, scoring 12 of that in the second half of the back-and-forth contest. Sperling has a smooth stroke from anywhere on the court, whether it be catch-and-shoot or off the dribble. She’s adept at finishing around the rim and has long strides that allow her to go coast to coast for easy transition buckets. Like many of her teammates, she also plays with a scrappiness and toughness materialized in key rebounds and steals throughout her team’s tournament run.


Runnin Rebels' Abby Sharpe, right, goes up for a shot. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Abby Sharpe (2023 | Lady Runnin Rebels 17U | Plymouth Whitemarsh)

There weren’t too many performances more dominant than Sharpe’s 24-point outing against the Magic early Tuesday morning. The Penn commit did it all on offense, leaning on a short pull-up in the lane the most. As a 6-foot guard the shot was pretty much unguardable. Sharpe did most of her damage driving to the rim early on, even converting an and-one. Add-in a stepback three and that deadly pull-up and you could see that Sharpe had her whole arsenal working. Sharpe, one of the standouts during PW’s undefeated state title run last year, did all of this within the flow of the Rebels’ offense, not forcing shots. Her size and athleticism at the guard spot also shine on defense.

Ally Sweeney (2023 | United NJ 17U | Sparta, N.J.)

There were plenty of performances worthy of recognition as United NJ cruised in the second half to a 17U championship over NEPA Elite on Tuesday, but Sweeney was the catalyst throughout. The 5-7 guard, who is already committed to Richmond, paced her team with 15 points in the title-game win. She was in complete control of the game with the ball in her hands, never letting the defense speed her up. Her ability to put the ball on the ground — crossing over between the legs and behind the back with both hands — helped free her up to drive in the lane or pull-up and shoot as well as distribute to her teammates. Both in the halfcourt and on the fastbreak, Sweeney showed off her passing chops, delivering dimes with both hands.

Honorable mention

Brianna Barr-Buday (2023 | XGen Elite 16U | Nichols School, N.Y.), Erin Bohmueller (2023 | Mid Atlantic Magic 17U | Souderton), Emily Cavanaugh (2025 | NJ Shoreshots 15U | St. Rose, N.J.), Evalyse Cole (2024 | Lehigh Valley Fever 16U | Easton), Caroline Dotsey (2023 | Running Rebels 17U | Haverford), Monet Gonda (2023 | United NJ 17U | Phillipsburg, N.J.), Jaida Helm (2023 | Mid Atlantic Magic 17U | Lansdale Catholic), Kiyomi McMiller (2023 | NEPA Elite 17U | Trinity Collegiate, S.C.), Dejah Morris (2023 | Chester County Storm | Collegium Charter), Aniya Rowe (2024 | XGen Elite 16U | Bishop Kearney, N.Y.), Amani Savage (2023 | Chester County Storm), Madison Siggins (2024 | Lehigh Valley Fever 16U | Parkland), Maya Summerville (2024 | United NJ 17U | Morristown, N.J.), Jordyn Williams (2024 | XGen Elite 16U | Cardinal O’Hara, N.Y.), Mackenzie Yuhas (2023 | Lehigh Valley Fever 17U | Jim Thorpe)


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