DEDHAM, Mass. — This past weekend, two things reminded me why winter is the greatest season of the year.
We got a simply beautiful blanket of snow. Even the long commutes couldn't damper my excitement for the first snow day of the season in Eastern Massachusetts. And we were served some elite basketball in the form of the Nickerson Showcase, which took place Friday-Sunday at Nobles.
From the first game, when host Nobles fended off Hoosac in overtime, it was nonstop high-level hoops in front of a consistent crowd of college coaches, plus parents and plain basketball fans. I had high expectations for this year's stacked Nickerson lineup and it delivered.
I watched every one of the 21 participating schools at some point during the weekend. I try to watch full games as often as I can — that means I did miss some big performances. But in my opinion, it's a fair way to give players chances to bounce back from mistakes or display different skills in different contexts. I made a few exceptions so that I could at least get a glimpse of every team, or keep track of some contests coming down to the wire. In many cases, I had time to see teams twice, and some even three times.
For transparency's sake, I've listed the results from games I watched while at Nickerson. Below are 24 upperclassmen standouts from those contests.
Friday, Dec. 20
Nobles 77, Hoosac 68 (OT)
Northfield Mount Hermon 65, Storm King 41
Tilton 59, Wilbraham and Monson 43
New Hampton 49, Worcester Academy 47
Tabor 50, Loomis Chaffee 41
Saturday, Dec. 21
Rivers 50, Greenwich Country Day 47
Darrow 61, Choate 33
Tabor 85, Wilbraham and Monson 32
Kent 54, Storm King 53
Northfield Mount Hermon 49, New Hampton 44
Sunday, Dec. 22
Sacred Heart 68, Winchendon 36
Choate 61, Storm King 49
St. George's 61, Wilbraham and Monson 61
Nobles 66, New Hampton 44
Milton Academy 46, Brooks 41
Standouts
The Big Three, Tabor
In an effort to keep this list moving, I'm going to package Kaelyn Carroll (Dedham, Mass.), Ava Black (Auburn, N.H.) and Liv Rodrigues (Dennis Port, Mass.) together. You should know their names by now. All three seniors showed at different points of the weekend why they're among New England's top prospects.
The Kentucky-bound Carroll was effortlessly knocking down 3s, cutting consistently and driving hard for some strong layups. Black, a Vanderbilt commit, canned two buzzer-beating 3-pointers against Wilbraham and Monson and played great 1-on-1 post defense. Rodrigues (committed to Providence) was one of the best defenders on the weekend, wreaking havoc herself against Loomis Chaffee before their star center Alicia Mitchell went down with a sprained ankle. The trio's collective abilities to push the ball in transition, cut all over the floor and defend at a high level set the tone for our top-ranked NEPSAC team.
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The Big Three, Nobles
Rinse and repeat for Jasmyn Cooper (North Easton, Mass.), Ashley Dinges (Haverhill, Mass.) and Christina Pham (South Boston, Mass.). The Bulldogs' senior stars dazzled in every game. Dinges (committed to Providence) is currently on fire shooting 3s off the catch, which in turn makes her power drives even more dangerous. She also racked up rotation blocks on defense. Cooper (committed to Syracuse) once again did it all as a driving scorer and facilitator, though I was most impressed by her lockdown defense against powerful New Hampton forward Serenity Lancaster. And all Pham (committed to Fairfield) did was rain down 28 points against New Hampton and 20 in the overtime win against Hoosac.
We talk about Nobles' top three plenty, but their talent and synergy is truly on another level.
TEAM TAKEAWAYS:Â 5 big-picture thoughts from the Nickerson Showcase
Jules Giordano, Brooks
Class of 2026, 5-10 guard
Hometown: Reading, Mass.
Brooks was playing its fourth game in three days and couldn't close out the second half against Milton Academy. That being said, Giordano was on fire in the first half, ultimately ending with five made 3-pointers and 19 points. She's a very confident shooter who relocates to open space, sets herself quickly and has no trouble firing away over smaller guards. I also saw Giordano convert a driving layup, and against a smaller Milton Academy team, her length at her position was tough to deal with.
Anisa Akinola, Choate
Class of 2025, 5-10 guard/forward
Hometown: Livingston, N.J.
Akinola comes to Choate for a postgrad year after transferring from Hudson Catholic. She consistently corralled effort rebounds, including an offensive rebound and putback against Storm King that helped put the contest out of reach. Akinola tallied 20 points Sunday, including four 3-pointers that looked easy off the catch. She also scored 16 in Friday's loss to Darrow. I noticed some bright defensive moments from her in that game, including a nice intercepted pass as the roller defender on a pick-and-roll play.
Jill Dingler, Darrow
Class of 2026, 5-7 guard
Hometown: Storrs, Conn.
Dingler is a very useful offensive chess piece for Darrow despite being more of a secondary playmaker. When she does have the ball, she's smooth driving to the basket. Dingler lacks size and explosiveness, but she makes up for it with great touch and a sense of where she can get to on the floor. I watched her hit a nice sidestep elbow jumper, a wraparound driving layup, and a reverse layup following an offensive rebound as part of her 16 points against Choate.
Brianna McDermott, Greenwich Country Day
Class of 2025, 5-6 guard
Hometown: Yonkers, N.Y.
NCAA: Holy Cross
GCDS gave Rivers a battle of a Saturday afternoon game, ultimately coming up just short, 50-47. McDermott was electric as usual and her fearlessness is fun to watch. She scored nearly half the team's points (23), highlighted by this bold pull-up 3-pointer she hit a good five feet behind the arc. McDermott drilled stepbacks and attacked closeouts to hit floaters. It's hard to trap her with her quick-twitch speed, handle and scoring confidence.
Carolina Williams, Hoosac
Class of 2025, 5-9 guard
Hometown: Valatie, N.Y.
NCAA: New Hampshire
Speaking of confident point guards: Williams had one of the most impressive takeover games of the weekend in Hoosac's Friday overtime loss to Nobles. She scored 26 points by attacking the Bulldogs over and over. Williams hit an and-1 bucket to end the first quarter and a floater at the third-quarter buzzer, then scored 14 in the fourth to force OT. She's also a frustrating point-of-attack defender. The general consensus seems to be that UNH got a steal of a recruit in Williams.
Abby Congdon, Loomis
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
Hometown: West Hartford, Conn.
NCAA: Tufts
Congdon and Loomis Chaffee were put in a tough position Friday vs. Tabor when Mitchell left the game with a sprained ankle. Congdon led the team rally and ultimately gave the Seawolves their closest matchup of the season with the 50-41 result. I knew Congdon as a high-motor point guard who defends and rebounds hard. That was certainly true, but she's also a legitimate scoring threat when she needs to be. Congdon has natural speed with the ball, and she hit two 3s and a few sweet pull-up jumpers en route to 18 points.
Ella Trefethen, Milton Academy
Class of 2026, 5-3 guard
Hometown: Bow, N.H.
Milton Academy picked up a quality program win Sunday afternoon by holding off Brooks. I thought Trefethen (15 points, 3 assists, 2 steals) made an impact early on with her court vision, both in transition and in some pick-and-roll plays. I watched her hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and take a steal in help defense all the way for a left-handed layup. Milton Academy tasked Trefethen with guarding Giordano late in the first half in an effort to slow Giordano's hot shooting. I thought Trefethen did a nice job of sticking with Giordano off the ball and keeping her from getting open looks.
Elyse Ngenda, New Hampton
Class of 2026, 5-8 guard
Hometown: Bedford, N.H.
Ngenda never looks like she's playing out of control. She was one of my favorite stars to watch this weekend, scoring 17 points against Worcester Academy, 11 against Northfield Mount Hermon and 17 against Nobles. Ngenda has such an advanced feel for finding scoring and driving space. She knocked down a bunch of pull-up mid-range jumpers and stepbacks; I saw Ngenda have to pick up her dribble on one drive against Nobles before turning around for a fadeaway baseline bucket. She's also physically strong for her size, shown in how she takes contact and battles on the boards.
Ngenda most recently added Northwestern to her collection of offers, and I consider her one of the region's top 2026 prospects.
Serenity Lancaster, New Hampton
Class of 2026, 6-1 forward
Hometown: New London, Conn.
Lancaster has generated a ton of hype as a new NEPSAC transfer and you can see just how much her presence is dictating defensive gameplans already. She had to face three top forwards in Ella Getz (Worcester Academy), Grace Minihane (Northfield Mount Hermon) and Jasmyn Cooper (Nobles), and though Lancaster didn't dominate, she averaged 11 points across the three games. I appreciate how decisive and quick Lancaster is with her post scoring moves, especially for her first season at the AAA level. She's also capable of stepping out to hit the 3, and even knocked down a stepback to beat the shot clock vs. NMH.
Another note on Lancaster: she's an imposing rim-protector with her length and physical tools. I'm also surprised by how well she has stayed out of foul trouble when I've watched her. Lancaster is up to 19 Division 1 offers from mid-majors and some high-majors, and I don't think she's even close to finished.
Olivia Fleming, Northfield Mount Hermon
Class of 2026, 5-6 guard
Hometown: Windham, N.H.
The Fleming floaters this weekend were as automatic as ever. Just an awesome shot to have in the arsenal (especially as a smaller guard) that she can get to pretty much anytime she wants. Fleming wasn't dominating on the scoreboard, but she scored 11 points against New Hampton and 14 in the loss to Tilton. She again showed an easy ability to get to the second level of defenses and make plays from there. I also want to shout Fleming out as a great rebounding guard.
Grace Minihane, Northfield Mount Hermon
Class of 2025, 6-0 forward
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Here I am again, writing about Minihane because she's such a good player. This was probably the most challenging weekend yet for the 2025 postgrad transfer, but Minihane still averaged 12.7 points. She started off with 18 against Storm King Friday, feasting in transition and getting a bunch of deflections with her length on defense. Saturday and Sunday were tougher challenges against New Hampton and Tilton — both teams with forwards who can match Minihane's physical play style — but Minihane continuing to attack with confidence was good to see. She is undoubtedly one of New England's best uncommitted 2025 players.
Natalia Hall-Rosa, Rivers
Class of 2025, 6-0 guard/forward
Hometown: Randolph, Mass.
NCAA: Seton Hall
Hall-Rosa's 29 points carried Rivers to its Saturday victory against Greenwich Country Day. Outside of a couple of late-game possessions, I thought this was one of the most efficient games I've watched from her of in terms of decision-making with the ball. Hall-Rosa saw she had significant size advantages against most of GCDS and simply went to work. Be it power drives from the wing or spin moves in the post, Hall-Rosa got into her bag quickly and seemed unbothered by contact. When she's decisive like this, she's hard to stop.
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Leni Rodriguez, Storm King
Class of 2026, 5-10 guard/forward
Hometown: Goshen, N.Y.
Storm King was a rare 3-game watch for me this weekend. It was a tough 0-3 run, but they played very close in their latter two losses. Rodriguez popped in all three games because of her deadeye perimeter marksmanship, canning a combined eight 3-pointers as an off-ball wing and averaging 11 points. Storm King does a good job of running offense that eventually leads to open corner 3s, and Rodriguez cashes those in with quick shot prep and release. She also hit a pair out of handoffs. I'll give an additional shoutout to 5-8 2026 guard Phoenix Pedgeon, who was also on fire most of the weekend.
Gianna Nichols, St. George's
Class of 2026, 5-7 guard
Hometown: Fiskdale, Mass.
St. George's may have earned the most significant win of Nickerson by beating Wilbraham and Monson, 62-61, in a Sunday thriller. Nichols was the centerpiece of the victory with 19 points. Her crossover is a weapon that opened up driving lanes for some tough buckets through contact, and she makes it a point to attack the hoop when she sees the second level of defense is not in great help position.
I'll also applaud Nichols for her command of the offense as a transfer point guard. She made a bunch of high-level reads out of drive-and-kick opportunities and hit teammate Molly Donovan on a great high-low feed out of what I believe was a drag screen design (need to confirm on a rewatch). Just an overall poised performance in a statement game.
Bela Cucuta, Tilton
Class of 2026, 5-10 guard
Hometown: Newington, Conn.
We're seeing Cucuta start to feel comfortable with NEPSAC AAA basketball. She scored 30 points against Tabor the Wednesday before Nickerson and showed off more of her elite perimeter game this weekend. I only caught a bit of Sunday's win against NMH, but I did see a few of Cucuta's five made 3s in that game (19 points). Her load-up into her shot just looks effortless. When I watched her against Wilbraham and Monson, Cucuta canned three 3s and scored 12 points. She also seemed less frazzled when defenses went after her; I saw a great pass out of a trap that got Colleen Phiri an open 3-pointer.
Colleen Phiri, Tilton
Class of 2025, 5-11 guard/forward
Hometown: Haverhill, Mass.
NCAA: Colgate
Phiri scored 20 points in Tilton's victory Friday, furthering my agenda to give her due respect as one of NEPSAC's most fun players. She didn't do anything out of the ordinary, but it was more of Phiri's same impact: a smooth 3-pointer, some driving layups, a 7-for-8 run from the free-throw line and dominance on the boards. Tilton has some younger players on the rise around Phiri such as Cucuta, Brooke Golden and Maddie McCaffery, which should only make Phiri's life easier.
Caterina Ravosa, Wilbraham and Monson
Class of 2026, 6-2 forward
Hometown: East Longmeadow, Mass.
Ravosa has leaned all the way into coach Durelle Brown's mission to show her she can dominate as a post player. She was determined to score inside in all three WMA games I watched and owned almost every matchup. Ravosa scored 21 points against Tilton, 16 against Tabor and 21 again vs. St. George's. Most of those buckets were power moves in the post and she displayed soft touch off the glass with both hands. Ravosa, known for stretching the floor, barely shot any threes at Nickerson. But if you forgot, she made you pay, like she did with her stepback to tie the game against the Dragons at 58-all.
Ella Getz, Worcester Academy
Class of 2026, 6-1 forward
Hometown: Wayland, Mass.
Getz was the focal point in a well-designed Worcester Academy gameplan for containing Lancaster against New Hampton. Getz did a great job of fronting and denying easy post entry passes, forcing high-low lobs that the Hilltoppers picked off a few times. She also picked up a steal defending a pick-and-roll action and another in press defense, and tied for the team lead with 10 points in a grind of a contest. Worcester Academy has thrown a lot on Getz's plate in her junior year, and she's handling her two-way responsibilities extremely well.
Quick shouts: Nobles has a pair of 2026 complimentary players who have been key: wing rebounding machine Vanessa Ellis and pesky guard Brynn Bryant. Bryant in particular impressed me with how she defending some of NEPSAC's elite point guards, and she's drawing some Division 3 college interest. ... Hannah Grudzien doesn't score a ton for Wilbraham and Monson, but her connective passing, relentless rebounding and length as a defender make her important for the Titans. ... 2025 guard Morgan Jones flies under the radar on a Northfield Mount Hermon team loaded with impact players, but she's been so solid as a complimentary scorer who drills 3s and takes what the defense gives her. ... 2026 center Brooke Golden was fantastic on defense in Tilton's win against Wilbraham and Monson. She's got impressive athletic tools at her 6-foot-3 size. ... Abby Kim showed some great flashes for Choate as a 2026 point guard with burst and pull-up scoring touch. ... I keep missing Elyse MacDonough's best games for Worcester Academy, but she had 17 points against Tabor. MacDonough is known as a shooter, but she's a hard-charging driving threat too. Saige Youngberg also had some double-digit scoring efforts and was an impact defensive guard for the Hilltoppers. ... St. George's senior Aleah Bracey was also critical to the Dragons' big win Sunday, hitting three 3s and scoring 15 points.
