City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) +
Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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ATLANTIC CITY — The 2023 grassroots season is almost at an end, but not before the girls’ edition of the Hoop Group Showcase League closes out its action with this weekend’s championships at the AC Convention Center. The four-day event got underway Friday with afternoon and evening rounds of pool play for teams who aren’t playing for HGSL titles, as well as showcase games for those who are (along with a few shoe company programs who are in town for the weekend). 

Here’s who stood out to us in the games we watched Friday:

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Hijjah Allen-Paisley (2025 | Boston Showstoppers HGSL 16U)
The 5-foot-6 point guard from Cathedral High School (Mass.) is incredibly difficult to shake whether she’s guarding opponents on or off the ball. She had three steals and took a charge in a win over Mid-Atlantic Magic. Allen-Paisley, who recently picked up an offer from New Hampshire, impressed on the offensive end as well where she has an array of dribble moves, including an extremely effective hesitation move, to get by her defender. She effectively used pump fakes to dribble into the lane, where she can pull-up, knock down floaters or get all the way to the hoop.

Jezelle Banks (2027 | Team Durant EYBL 16U)
Banks, who recently received an offer from South Carolina, tallied 13 points, four assists, five rebounds and three steals in her team’s victory over the Albany Capitals. The 5-8 point guard from Ursuline Acad. (Del.) did most of her scoring by way of the fastbreak. She’s nearly impossible to catch if she gets by a defender in transition. Her vision at the point guard spot impressed as she broke down the defense and dropped a few dimes. She seems to really enjoy locking in on the defensive end as well. Her quick hands are like magnets for the ball. 

Addison Bree (2026 | NY Royals HGSL 15U)
Bree had herself one heck of a second half for the Royals in a loss to the Runnin Rebels, a game where her team looked like it was going to get blown out of the water but battled back to get close to single digits thanks to her closing stretch. The 5-7 combo guard from Waterloo (N.Y.) knocked down four 3-pointers as part of a 18-point outing, with all but two of those points coming after intermission. More than just a sharpshooter, she showed her playmaking skills and racked up five assists, while also grabbing three rebounds and a steal. 

Kennedy Brown (2026 | Rise As One HGSL 17U)
It’s tough to believe Brown, who just finished her freshman season at Pope John (N.J.) and is headed to Morris Catholic (N.J.) is playing two age groups up. She finished with a team-high 15 points in a tight loss against the Boston Showstoppers and really took control late to keep her team in the game — showing she has plenty of confidence. Brown has a smooth game and smooth shooting stroke. She can get into the paint with her drive and has the touch to finish inside, often weaving her way in between defenders on the way there. 

Alena Cofield (2025 | Mid-Atlantic Magic HGSL 16U)
Cofield carved up the Boston Showstoppers defense at times during her team’s tight loss early on Friday. The 5-foot-4 point guard scored 12 points, doing almost all of her damage inside. Even amongst the bigger players down low, she found ways to finish. She has a really good left hand and showed off a reverse and finger roll as part of her repertoire to put the ball through the net. There’s a scrappiness to Cofield’s game that stands out. She chipped in five rebounds and found herself in the mix for loose balls throughout the game.

Jasmine Day-Cox (2024 | Boston Showstoppers 17U)
Day-Cox couldn’t quite carry a strong offensive start throughout the whole game against Rise Above but she still shared the team-high with 12 points and continued to impact the game in multiple ways. Day-Cox buried a pair of threes to showcase her range. The 5-foot-7 guard has plenty of speed and some nice handles — a nasty crossover was one of the highlights of her performance — and complements that with some length to help her score inside. She made four steals in the game to help her show off the wheels in transition and the athletic guard added a block to her statline.

Nila Giraud (2025 | Jersey Gemz EYBL 16U)
Giraud, a 6-0 wing forward from Immaculate Conception (N.J.) and recent St. Joe’s offeree, showed why the Hawks and plenty of other D-I programs are interested in her during a 22-point, nine-rebound outing in a win over the Delco Goats, where she also chipped in a few other assorted assists, steals and blocks. Though she’s most comfortable underneath the bucket, where she’s always well-positioned for an offensive board (she had five in this game) and has great patience around the rim, she also was strong from the foul line (7-9 FT) and knocked down her only 3-point attempt, while showing she can put the ball on the floor in the open court, and made some great high-low passes to 6-5 post and recent UConn commit Gandy Malou-Mamel down low.

Lauren Greer (2024 | Heat Hoops 17U)
The Bucks County-based Heat Hoops absolutely stomped one of the Albany Capitals 17s, opening up pool play with a 55-16 win, getting strong contributions from several players named in our honorable mentions below. But Greer led the way, stuffing the stat sheet with a 15-point, five-rebound, three-assist, three-steal outing. The 5-7 guard from Archbishop Wood was all over the court in a good way — getting her hands in passing lanes for deflections, pushing the ball in transition and getting through double-teams, knocking down jumpers and getting to the hoop, showing she can finish with her off hand as well as hitting her only 3-pointer as she went 7-of-11 from the floor. Numerous area D-IIIs are already involved.

Addison Levensten (2026 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels HGSL 15U)
Levensten had it going in the Runnin’ Rebels 55-43 win over the NY Royals on Friday night. The 5-9 Harriton guard, who spent her freshman year at Germantown Academy, was making what seemed like every play in the first half: forcing turnover after turnover (six steals), knocking down pull-up jumpers or attacking the rim, or finding teammates all over the court. She wasn’t needed to do as much in the second half but still scored six points, bringing her game-high total up to 23 on 8-of-12 shooting, with three assists and three rebounds to boot. An athletic combo guard with size, Levensten is already on some D-I radars, and for good reason.

Alivia Mauz (2025 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels HGSL 16U)
Mauz had a really strong game at both ends of the floor as the Runnin’ Rebels 16s trounced the Lady Rivals’ 17s, 55-30, jumping out to a big lead and never looking back. The 5-8 guard from Williamstown (N.J.) finished with 16 points on the offensive end, showing off a reliable jumper from the mid-range and beyond the arc, and got to the rim with ease in transition, getting around defenders with a Eurostep or just blowing right by them. She was also strong defensively, racking up five steals to lead her team, and came up with a few hockey assists as she got the break started. 

Keira Scott (2024 | Fairfax Stars EYBL 17U)
Even before knowing who she was, it wasn’t hard to figure out that Scott is a high-level prospect. The 6-2 wing forward moves like a guard despite being one of the tallest players on the floor, able to impact the game from inside and out. The Syracuse commit, a rising senior at DME Academy (Fl.) and a top-100 prospect in her class according to ESPN, is smooth with the ball in her hands attacking the rim and in the open court, and she’s a versatile defensive presence who could stay with guards on dribble penetration but also defend the post and block shots. She finished with 15 points in the Stars’ win over the Lady Runnin’ Rebels 17s, her defense a major reason the Rebels found open shots hard to come by.

Madison Siggins (2024 | Penn Fever 17U)
The Fever share the ball and play off each other so well it’s sometimes hard to identify a standout given the balance of the statsheet. Siggins, a 6-foot forward from Parkland certainly made her presence felt in a lopsided win over iDream. She finished with a a well-rounded statline of 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Siggins made cuts and also passed to her cutting teammates. She showed off some really good touch inside with both her right and left hands. She also knocked down a pretty midrange jumpshot. One other thing that stuck out about Siggins was whether catching the ball on the offensive end or pulling down a rebound, she kept the ball high and always had her head up to try and look for the next play.

Jadah White (2025 | Boo Williams EYBL 16U)
White led Boo Williams to a slugfest of a win, putting up 22 points — almost half her team’s total — in a 46-38 decision over the NJ ShoreShots’ 16s. The 5-8 combo guard from Manor (Va.) has a picture-perfect outside shot, knocking down five 3-pointers (on nine attempts) as she continually got free in the corner and let fly. Tough and athletic, she also showed she’s much more than just a sniper, finishing through contact for a couple and-one opportunities (converting one), and also played assertive defense, coming away with three steals. 

Nadia Yemola (2025 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels HGSL 16U)
The sharpshooting award of the day certainly goes to Yemola, the Lansdale Catholic wing guard doing what she does best in the Rebels’ big win over the Lady Rivals’ 17s. Yemola, one of the starters on the Crusaders’ state championship squad a year ago, was 6-of-7 from downtown as she absolutely buried every catch-and-shoot 3-pointer she took to get to 18 points, the only miss a rather aggressive step-back that was certainly understandable after she knocked down her first five 3-pointers. 

Honorable Mention

Jenna Aponik (2024 | Heat Hoops 17U), Isabelle Augustine (2025 | Mid-Atlantic Magic 16U), Tayla Barros (2023 | Boston Showstoppers HGSL 17U), Adela Cecunjanin (2023 | Boston Showstoppers HGSL 17U), Evalyse Cole (2024 | Penn Fever 17U), Kayden Clark (2025 | NJ ShoreShots HGSL 16U), Jemma Eleby (2025 | Boo Williams EYBL 16U), Harper Felch (2024 | Rise As One HGSL 17U), Marisa Francione (2024 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels HGSL 17U), Abigail Grillo (2025 | Comets Select 16U), Cici Hernandez (2024 | Penn Fever 17U), Gabrielle Johnson (2025 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels 16U), Caitlin Jones (2025 | Boo Williams EYBL 16U), Alivia Landy (2025 | Albany Capitals HGSL 16U), Taylor Lasky (2026 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels HGSL 15U), Gandy Malou-Mamel (2025 | Jersey Gemz EYBL 16U), Brooke Mazzei (2025 | LI Lightning HGSL 16U), Raquelle McMullin (2025 | NJ ShoreShots HGSL 16U), Alicia Mitchell (2024 | iDream 17U Black), Kaliyah Murphy (2025 | Team Durant EYBL 16U), Fiona Neilon (2024 | Lady Rivals HGSL 17U), Emily Olsen (2024 | Delco Goats HGSL 17U), Janie Preston (2025 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels 16U), Keyona Raines (2026 | Boston Showstoppers 16U), Kathryn Randa (2024 | Heat Hoops 17U), Anna Reger (2026 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels 15U), Destinee Salgado (2024 | Fairfax Stars EYBL 17U)