City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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While most of the area’s boys programs will compete locally during two June high school live periods at Philly Live, the girls teams that have chosen to participate will venture elsewhere. 

At least eleven local programs are taking the opportunity to play in four different showcase events. (Let us know if we missed your squad and we'll add your list of games to the preview/schedule)

Five teams are headed to New Jersey for the Girls Jersey Live (June 16-17), two are headed to Frederick, Md. for the Best of Maryland Tournament (June 15-17), three others are headed to the Bullis School in Washington D.C. for DMV Live (June 16-17) and one is headed to the St. James in Springfield, Va. for Virginia Live (June 16-18).

The events are all run by high school governing bodies in their respective states/districts, giving college coaches a chance to see players with their high school team.

Here’s a look at where and when the local girls teams will play during the June high school live period:

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Girls Jersey Live (June 16 & 17)

Five local teams (Pennsbury, Archbishop Carroll, Conestoga, Neumann-Goretti, Cardinal O’Hara) will compete in the closest event held Friday, June 16 at Rutgers Prep and Saturday, June 17 at Montgomery HS.

It’s a strong field with some top players and programs from New Jersey. Morris Catholic’s Mia and Mya Pauldo are both highly-rated recruits in the Class of 2025. Rutgers Prep’s 5-9 guard Mikayla Blakes is one of the top 2024 players in the country. Manasquan features 2024 Penn commit Katie Collins and backcourt mate Hope Masonius.

It’s an interesting group of local talent. Conestoga 2024 guard Marisa Francione leads the way for the Pioneers, while 2025 forward Janie Preston and 2026 guard Ryann Jennings are both interesting college prospects with room to grow. Pennsbury is another District 1 squad scheduled for the event. The Falcons are led by 2024 guard Sofia Vitucci and do-it-all 2024 wing/forward Layla Matthias.

Cardinal O’Hara will bring recent La Salle commit Joanie Quinn (2024) and start 2025 wing Molly Rullo, who has quite a few offers in the low to mid-major range. 2024 wing Carly Coleman is another college-level talent on the roster, but not the only one. 

Carroll brings another D1 commit in 2024 guard Brooke Wilson (Army). Alexis Eberz, a 2026 guard, also emerged as a big piece for the Patriots this past season. Neumann-Goretti 2025 guard Carryn Easley and Amya Scott haven’t secured offers yet, but they’re certainly scholarship level players on college coaches' radars. They have a heckuva backcourt matchup scheduled against the Pauldo twins.

Friday, June 16 @ Rutgers Prep
3:00 p.m. - Pennsbury vs. Rutgers Prep (N.J.)
4:00 p.m. - Archbishop Carroll vs. Trenton Catholic (N.J.)
5:00 p.m. - Pennsbury vs. Franklin (N.J.)
6:00 p.m. - Archbishop Carroll vs. Morris Catholic (N.J.)

Saturday, June 17 @ Montgomery HS
9:30 a.m. - Rutgers Prep (N.J.) vs. Cardin O’Hara
11:30 a.m. - Cardinal O’Hara vs. Manasquan (N.J.)
12:30 p.m. - Conestoga vs. Wildwood Catholic (N.J.)
1:30 p.m. - Immaculate Heart Acad. (N.J.) vs. Neumann-Goretti
2:30 p.m. - Ramapo (N.J.) vs. Conestoga
3:30 p.m. - Morris Catholic (N.J.) vs. Neumann-Goretti
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Best of Maryland (June 15-17)

Reigning Class 5A PIAA champion Archbishop Wood and District 1-6A semifinalist Spring-Ford are headed to Frederick, Md. for the Best of Maryland Tournament held June 15-17 on the campuses of Hood College and Frederick Community College. The event will crown a champion after pool play on Friday and Saturday and bracket play on Sunday.

Sacred Heart’s (Ky.) 6-foot wing ZaKiyah Johnson, the No. 3 player in the 2025 class, leads a talented group of players in the field that also includes St. John’s College (D.C.) guard Kyndal Walker (Maryland commit), Charlotte Catholic (N.C.) 6-5 forward Blanca Thomas (North Carolina Commit) and more.

From the local squads, Spring-Ford has a pair of D1 offerees in 2024 guards Anna Azzara and Mac Pettinelli, who received offers from College of Charleston and St. Bonaventure, respectively, this spring. Classmate Katie Tiffan is another college-level talent out of a program that consistently sends players to the next level. Another Rams’ 2024 guard Aaliyah Solliday missed all of last season due to injury, but she returned to the court this past weekend and will be back (in limited capacity) with Spring-Ford this weekend.

Archbishop Wood is another program that’s always riddled with college talent and that’s the case once again. Emily Knouse, a 2025 wing, has already pulled in quite a few D1 offers. Point guard Ava Renninger, another returner from last season’s state championship squad, should have colleges all over her as well. Several new faces will get a chance to shine as well.

Thursday, June 15 @ Hood College & Frederick Community College
8:00 a.m. - Archbishop Wood vs. Lark Norman (N.C.) (Hood College)
1:00 p.m. - Spring-Ford vs. St. John’s College (D.C.) (Hood College)
2:15 p.m. - Archbishop Wood vs. St. John Vianney (Hood College)
8:30 p.m. - Spring-Ford vs. Red Bank Catholic (N.J.) (Frederick CC)

Friday, June 16 @ Hood College & Frederick Community College
1:00 p.m. - Spring-Ford vs. Manchester (Va.) (Hood College)
3:30 p.m. - Archbishop Wood vs. Wayne (W.V.) (Frederick CC)
4:45 p.m. - Spring-Ford vs. Sanford (Del.) (Frederick CC)
8:30 p.m. - Archbishop Wood vs. Oxon Hill (Md.) (Frederick CC)

Saturday June 17 @ Hood College & Frederick Community College
TBD based on Thursday and Friday’s results.

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DMV Live (June 16 & 17)

A trio of Friends Schools League programs are making the trip to the Bullis School in D.C. for DMV Live. Friends’ Central, George School and Shipley School — three of the league’s four semifinalists — are all on the event schedule.

McDonogh School’s (Md.) Kennedy Ume and Ava McKennie (Maryland commit) are both national prospects in the Class of 2024 (an play for Philly Rise( as is Paul VI (Va.) 2024 forward Lauren Williams to highlight some of the non-local talent in the event.

George School’s versatile 2025 Priyanka Ponnam had herself quite a spring as well, adding offers from the likes of Arizona State, Ohio State, Rutgers and Northwestern. Gianna Johnson is a 6-5 2024 forward with recent offers from St. John’s, Seton Hall, George Washington, Syracuse and others. 2024 guard Sophia Martinez and 2025 forward Carissa Frederick look like scholarship-level talents as well.

Friends’ Central will bring one of the best college prospects in 6-3 2025 wing Logyn Greer, who has seen her recruitment blow up with high-major offers as of late. Classmates Kaiya Rain Tucker and Nal’la Bennett both have D1 offers as well. Shipley School has a young group led by 2026 guard Sanai Johnson, who isn’t playing AAU this summer so this will be a rare chance for college coaches to catch her.

Friday, June 16 @ Bullis School
2:00 p.m. - Shipley vs. St. Mary’s-Annapolis (Md.)
3:30 p.m. - Friends’ Central vs. Elizabeth-Seton (Md.)
4:45 p.m. - Shipley vs. Riverdale Baptist (Md.)
6 p.m. - George School vs. Potomac School (Md.)
8:30 p.m. - George School vs. Paul VI (Va.)
8:30 p.m. - Friends’ Central vs. Riverdale Baptist (Md.)

Saturday, June 17 @ Bullis School
9:40 p.m. - Friends’ Central vs.  St. Mary’s-Annapolis (Md.)
1:10 p.m. - George School vs. Bullis School (D.C.)
3:30 p.m. - George School vs. Pallotti (Md.)

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Virginia Live  (June 16-18)
Audenried has an exciting squad that it will bring down to Virginia Live at the St. James in Springfield, Va. to test itself from top competition from Virginia, including a matchup with a Menchville squad that went 24-2 last year and reached the Class 5 state semifinals.

The Rockets are led by 2025 guard Shayla Smith, who added to her list of high-major offers this spring. Aniyah Howard, a 5-9 2024 wing/forward, is another All-Public League player back on the roster. Audenried will show off some exciting additions with 2025 guard Senaya Parker, one of the top high school scorers in the country last season at Sameul Fels, and 6-2 2027 forward Nasiaah Russell, who already had D1 schools intrigued.

Friday June 16 @ The St. James
11:30 a.m. - Audenried vs. Menchville (Va.)
2:00 p.m. - Audenried vs. Colgan (Va.)

Saturday June 17 @ The St. James
8:00 a.m. - Audenried vs. Nansemond River (Va.)