MARION, Mass. — Few feelings are better as a basketball fan than when a much-hyped matchup delivers.
We got that Friday evening when Tabor, our top-ranked NEPSAC girls team, hosted second-ranked Nobles in a showdown of Class AAA unbeatens. The Seawolves defended home court in a 78-71 victory, one of the higher combined scores for a prep or high school regulation game in my recent memory.
Tabor (12-0) used separate 8-1 and 8-0 bursts in the second quarter to create a double-digit lead. But even as the Seawolves held the Bulldogs (12-1) at arm's length, the contest gave us a nonstop display of elite shotmaking and high-energy defense. We don't need to wait long for the rematch; Nobles gets a chance to punch back in its gym on Jan. 29 (4:30 p.m.).
Below are five standouts from the matchup; it was such a great game, however, that I've included some "quick shouts" at the end.
Kaelyn Carroll, Tabor
Class of 2025, 6-3 guard/forward
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
NCAA: Kentucky
The 15th-ranked senior in the nation certainly looked like a five-star talent Friday. Carroll led the Seawolves with 23 points and made three 3-pointers. Her last trey was a good five-plus feet behind the arc, a dagger that put Tabor up 73-61 late in the fourth quarter. Carroll attributed that make to some pregame prep she had done with her trainer, Rocky DeAndrade.
Beyond the shooting, Carroll glided to the rim on some handoff actions and attacked a tough defensive matchup in fellow nationally-ranked wing Jasmyn Cooper. We haven't seen a ton of these dominating performances from Carroll this season because Tabor simply hasn't needed to lean on her in most of their blowout wins. But she can turn it up anytime.
Ava Black, Tabor
Class of 2025, 5-11 guard/forward
Hometown: Auburn, N.H.
NCAA: Vanderbilt
Carroll told me postgame that Tabor has never lost to Nobles when Ava Black is healthy and available. Black made her return presence felt again in this one with 17 points. She'll casually step into some quick, top-of-the-key 3s every game that catch the defense off guard. But Black really popped driving the ball. It seemed like she hunted every matchup against a Nobles guard, and she hit some difficult off-balance shots around the rim. Even when she was stopped on occasion, Black kept her head up, once flicking the ball to Molly Corcoran in the opposite corner for 3.
Tess Adams, Tabor
Class of 2026, 5-9 guard
Hometown: Mattapoisett, Mass.
Adams scored three points in this game and I thought she was right up there for most impactful player. Her defense on the perimeter was sensational and critical to those second-quarter runs. Tabor was bringing two to the ball on the sideline at certain points, and Adams was active as one of those guard stoppers, picking up a few deflections. On back-to-back defensive possessions, Adams had a great baseline rotation to contest a Christina Pham layup that missed, and then she harassed Ashley Dinges into a drawn charge. It's a luxury for Tabor to have players like her off the bench.
Christina Pham, Nobles
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
Hometown: South Boston, Mass.
NCAA: Fairfield
Just when this game was teetering on blowout status, Pham reminded everyone of her otherworldly microwave scoring. She racked up 11 points in the first quarter, then caught fire for 12 in the third to will Nobles back to a single-digit deficit. In total, Pham ended with a game-high 31 points behind seven 3-pointers.
I'm a broken record at this point but Pham is the best shooter in New England. She's drilling self-created threes with crossovers and step-backs, she's flying along the baseline to the corners for looks, and her developed punch off of drives only puts defenders further on their heels. Tabor engineered its defense to try and keep some of its size on the weak side low block, partially to help with rotations to stop Pham. That didn't entirely work.
Jasmyn Cooper, Nobles
Class of 2025, 6-1 forward
Hometown: North Easton, Mass.
NCAA: Syracuse
Cooper didn't have her 3-ball falling Friday, but she still made an impact and reached 11 points with her downhill drives. I think I've undersold how tough Cooper is to stop when she gets a head of steam. Her combination of size, handle, power and touch made for some impressive moves, such as a coast-to-coast and-1 layup or a sweet up-and-under finish through contact. Cooper also passed the ball really well as usual and processes offense at such a high level. Though Carroll got her points and her foul line trips, it was fun watching her and Cooper battle 1-on-1, where Cooper's strength helped her contain drives. She's the No. 48 senior in the country for a reason.
Quick shouts:Â The third members of each school's Big Three, Liv Rodrigues (Tabor) and Ashley Dinges (Nobles), were about even in terms of impact, but both were very strong driving the basketball and blocking shots on defense. ... I also want to shout out freshmen on each side. Tabor point guard Lily Davis impresses me more every game with her ability to beat defenders off the dribble and either score or make the right pass from there. On the other side, Aliyah Allston-Pujols did a nice job moving without the ball and running the floor, getting rewarded by teammates a few times. Allston-Pujols ended up with 10 points and Davis had eight. ... My last pair of compliments goes to the No. 5s: Callie Cosgrove (Tabor) and Vanessa Ellis (Nobles). Cosgrove was another frustrating perimeter defender to deal with and attacked closeouts well on offense. Ellis drained a 3 to open the game, played good defense against challenging matchups and made some quality extra passes.
