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Maggie Lucas Play-By-Play Classic Standouts Pt. 1 (Jan. 22, 2022)

01/23/2023, 12:30pm EST
By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)

The final local Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic event of the season took place this weekend, as several area teams gathered on the two courts at Jefferson University for the the Maggie Lucas Classic. 

Plenty of talent filled the floor for the 11-game affair, which featured 10 girls games and one boys game to cap the day. Here is the first half of players (A through H) who stood out to the CoBL staff:

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Anna Azzara (2024 | Spring-Ford)
The junior point guard was like a fresh AA battery for the early-starting Rams in Sunday’s opening tilt against Mount Saint Joseph. By the end of the first quarter, Azzara had tallied five points, four assists and three steals and she was only getting started. With the Magic shorthanded, Azzara wasted little time finding weak points and going at them, earning her team’s player of the game honors with a robust effort of 24 points, three rebounds, five assists and five steals, symbolically ending her morning on with an and-one on a fastbreak take to the hoop.


Bishop Shanahan's Faith Ambrose had nine of her 13 points in the fourth quarter. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

Faith Ambrose (2024 | Bishop Shanahan)
The junior saved her best for last, scoring nine of her 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Eagles finally pulled away from Imhotep Charter. Ambrose had the dagger, cutting to the rim for a beautiful layup after Shanahan had worked the ball around the perimeter for more than a minute. She shot well, hitting 5-of-8 shots and added four rebounds and a pair of assists for an Eagles team that played patient and outlasted the Panthers.

Kendall Bennett (2023 | Germantown Academy)
Bennett had a quiet first half and was actually scoreless in the first quarter, but it was clear the Patriots had a game plan after halftime: Get her the ball. Bennett finished with 23 points, absolutely taking over in the third quarter with 13 to put GA ahead. She dominated on the glass as well with 12 boards. Bennett, a 6-foot-3 Binghamton commit, sealed whatever smaller Neumann-Goretti defender was on her to make it easy for teammates to feed her. She keeps the ball high and has a soft touch around the basket to finish almost every time she gets it on the block.

Nal’la Bennett (2025 | Friends Central)
Even though they came up short, Bennett was lights out against Archbishop Wood. Defensively, she crowded the Vikings shooters, forcing them into the tough shots or discouraging them altogether to help the Phoenix claw back from an early deficit. On offense, Bennett returned with some fire of her own. She hit three threes in the second half (four total) that were huge. Her floor-spacing drew some desperate closeouts that opened driving lanes as FCS got within two points of Wood. The sophomore shooter led the Phoenix with 14 points.

Dylan Blair (2023 | Downingtown West)
Standing no-taller than 5-10 and the shortest player on the floor versus Radnor, Blair routinely tilted the odds in his favor. The future Army Black Knight bent the defense with his combination of speed, agility, and strength off-the-bounce. Once he got a step on his man it was too late: he already had the crease he needed to get into the paint, sending the defense into rotation. Blair showed he can finish with either hand over longer and taller rim protectors. He only totaled 10 points, but his paint touches were the catalyst behind Fromhartz’s five threes and kept the Whippets in the game. When you factor Blair’s advantage creation and the collisions he absorbed at the rim with the two charges he took, it’s easy to see that he laid it all on the line for his team.

Ryan Carter (2027 | Penn Charter)
Carter is an eighth grader but that’s hard to believe when you watch her move around the court. She finished with a modest nine points and two steals but showed off a lot of the reason people are excited about her future. She’s smooth with the ball in her hands and got to the basket a handful of times, making one or two ridiculous finishes. She had some really good defensive possessions guarding Lansdale Catholic’s Gabby Casey as she was able to slide her feet and stay in front.


Lansdale Catholic senior Gabby Casey had 25 points on Sunday. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

Gabby Casey (2023 | Lansdale Catholic)
Casey made history Sunday, breaking the Crusaders’ school scoring record for both boys and girls during a 25-point night. She added five boards, two assists, three steals and a block to round out the stat line. She has a great feel for getting by her defender and finishing in the lane after she does, also getting to the line often (6-of-7). Casey created a few easy looks for herself with cuts off the ball as well. She knocked down a three in the game as well, breaking the scoring record on the long ball.

Caroline Dotsey (2023 | Haverford)
The 6-2 senior center, who is a Maine commit, finished with 22 points in a 55-47 win against Abington. Dotsey, who did a lot of her damage in the paint, had an incredible eruption scoring 16 points in the second half with a mix of layups and an efficient midrange jumper on the elbows of the free throw line. Dotsey showed off veteran experience, knowing when it was time to be aggressive and which shots to take, pushed her team to the win. She is an incredibly efficient scorer for the still undefeated Fords.

Carryn Easley (2025 | Neumann-Goretti)
Easley wasn’t her team’s leading scorer, but she was the Saints offensive catalyst in an entertaining contest against Germantown Academy on Sunday. Easley scored nine points and added eight assists. It seemed every time she passed to a shooter, the ball went in. She does a lot to spark the Saints on the floor, whether that is distributing or hitting tough shots. On defense, she finished with three steals and two blocks, helping turn opponents over and get the Saints out running. A three-quarter court pass to class mat Amya Scott for an easy transition layup was one of the game’s highlights.

Alexis Eberz ( 2026 | Archbishop Carroll)
Eberz finished the game with 19 points in a loss against Life Center 69-57. The freshman guard had an outstanding effort on both sides of the floor. The daughter of two former Villanova basketball players showed her IQ on the court scoring, cutting to the basket for an easy shot, knocking down catch-and-shoot threes, and also creating her shot when needed. On the defensive end, Eberz contributed a block and communicated well. For only being a freshman, Eberz has a bright future ahead of herself and will continue to improve and impress everyone watching Archbishop Carroll games.

Deja Evans (2023 | Archbishop Wood)
Evans was the ultimate zone buster for the Vikings on Sunday, the 6-foot-2 senior repeatedly establishing herself in the post then rocketing a pass out to a three-point shooter on her way to five assists. The Albany recruit was again quietly efficient with eight points and 10 rebounds to go with her passing while defending a tall frontcourt of Friends Central School. Evans had assists on two of the games biggest shots, hitting Emily Knouse and Kara Meredith for threes in the fourth quarter and also getting a hoop for herself on a nice cut to the basket despite playing on a sore ankle she picked up in Friday’s PCL game against Carroll.

Lizzie Halligan (2024 | Notre Dame)
Halligan finished with 20 points to lead her team to a 50-36 win over Sanford. The 5-10 junior forward showed her ability to score on all cylinders. She knocked down mid-range shots and hit a couple of catch-and-shoot threes along with a one dribble pull up into a 3-pointer. Halligan put the ball on the floor to get past defenders. She showed her ability to finish at the rim a numerous amount of times. She seems to be following in the footsteps of her older sister, Katie, as her leadership skills showed throughout the marquee win.

Tai Henkels (2023 | CB West)
The Bucks had a tough game but Henkels did just about everything possible to keep her team in it, as she’s done much of this season. With the team’s offense mostly ice cold, the senior came through with 15 points, three rebounds and a steal - her second straight game of 15 points. A hard-nosed competitor on both ends of the floor, Henkels always pours her most into any game and Sunday was no exception.

Jackson Hicke (2023 | Radnor)
Princeton got a real one. Hicke played within Radnor’s scheme while simultaneously putting his stamp on it, contributing 25 points and *9 rebounds in a crucial win over Downingtown West. Though he had just 6 points in the first half, he made his presence felt by getting steals (3) and blocks (2), in addition to the boards.Then his offense came alive in the third period. Hicke capitalized on second-chance opportunities himself, bodying up defenders in the paint before laying the ball in. Furthermore, he drove to the hole on his own. Whatever he didn’t finish there turned into a trip to the charity stripe where he went 5-for-6.

Honorable Mention

Haylie Adamski (2025 | Garnet Valley), Colleen Besachio (2026 | Upper Dublin), Alyssa Brown (2023 | Bishop Shanahan), Sam Blumethal (2024 | Bishop Shanahan), Gabby Bowes (2025 | Germantown Academy), Mollie Carpenter (2023 | Haverford School), Isabella Casey (2024 | Germantown Academy), Rian Dotsey (2025 | Haverford High), Carryn Easley (2025 | Neumann-Goretti), Donovan Fromhartz (2025 | Downingtown West), Sana’a Garrett (2023 | Friends Central), Anise Geiger (2023 | Imhotep Charter), Logyn Greer (2025 | Friends Central), Taylor Gurysh (2023 | Neshaminy), Amirah Hackney (2023 | Neumann-Goretti)


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