HANOVER, Mass. — For most of this region, the New England Spring Showdown is the unofficial launch of the grassroots girls basketball season.
The Select Events tournament brought most top programs to the South Shore area, including Hanover's Starland Sportsplex, which served as center stage for the weekend. With the first live period next weekend, this was a meaningful tune-up in front of Div. 2 and Div. 3 college coaches before Div. 1 gets to join the mix.
With most elite programs obligated to follow their respective circuits, this is also one of the few showcases all season where we get to see top New England teams face off against each other. The rivalries get tense and the bragging rights matter.
Saturday and Sunday were long, but I truly enjoyed watching hoops and chatting with players, parents and coaches. I focused most of my time on the circuit teams who won't compete locally much during the rest of spring and summer. But I also fit in some rising programs I'm intrigued by. I can't see everyone; the best 2027 groups I missed were iBelieve's Select 40 squad, NSSA's Hoop Group team and XLP's top team. I'll try to catch them at a future tournament.
Our first list of standouts highlights the Class of 2027.
How I typically watch grassroots events
These games are very different in style and purpose from high school basketball. Stats are rarely available. Subs and benches are rotated in with different goals. And from a college coach's perspective, though production still matters, they're looking at physical skills and emotional traits.
That's how I view AAU games. I try to pinpoint moments that impressed me instead of stats and scores. But I'm also a bit more open-minded with standouts. Regardless of what I think your future college level is, if you consistently stood out in front of me, I'll include you. We have future Power Four stars and Division 3 impact players listed here.
The New England Spring Showdown had eight games occurring at once (just at Starland). My typical philosophy is that I'll follow a game as long as it's competitive. This means I may see less teams, but my viewing of players is more complete. I occasionally split halves when I wanted to see two important games at once.
For transparency, here are the results from games I watched large portions of. Then we'll get to the standouts.
Saturday
Bay State Jaguars UA Rise 2027 59, Mass Huskies EYCL 2027 39
Bay State Jaguars UAA 2028 49, Shooting Touch 2028 45
BCRI Silvia 2027 56, RIBC 2027 46
iBelieve Elite P24 2027 67, Bay State Jaguars UA Rise 2027 46
Boston Showstoppers Clinton 2027 64, Dana Barros UA Rise 2027 59
Mass Rivals 3SSB 2028 49, United NJ 2028 38
Boston Showstoppers Nay 60, Mass Huskies EYCL 2028 24
MCW Starz P24 2027 62, New England Storm S40 2027 41
MCW Starz P24 2027 59, Maine Firecrackers S40 2027 40
Sunday
BCRI Silvia 2027 52, Boston Showstoppers Clinton 2027 45
Bay State Jaguars UAA 2027 62, iBelieve Elite P24 2027 61
MT Ducks Emerald 2027 60, Mass Huskies EYCL 2027 54
United NJ P24 2027 69, Mass Rivals 3SSB 2027 46
MCW Starz P24 2028 56, Shooting Touch 2028 54 (2OT)
Maine Firecrackers S40 2027 59, New England Storm S40 2027 53
New England Storm S40 2028 60, iBelieve Elite P24 2028 50
Sidney Anderson, iBelieve Elite P24 2027
6-0 wing
Marianapolis/Brooklyn, Conn.
Anderson had a few bright moments in an awesome Sunday morning matchup against the Bay State Jaguars. She hit a contested corner 3, blocked a driving Ella Peper layup and ran the floor to receive a dime of a transition pass from London Powell. She also blew up a Jags set later in the game, reading the play, jumping the pass and taking it back for an easy layup. Anderson is one of the quieter players on this deep roster, but she's a long, smart 3-and-D wing who I want to see stay confident as a shooter.
Maddie Benigni, Bay State Jaguars UAA 2027
5-5 guard
Hamden Hall/East Hampton, Conn.
NCAA: Quinnipiac
Benigni's communication and effort level continue to stand out. She helped stem the tide when iBelieve attempted to make some runs in that Sunday contest. She hustled back in transition to stop some easy scores and defender the point of attack well. Benigni isn't commanding touches in AAU like she would in prep school, but that means we get see more of her strength as an off-ball shooter. She's much better at hitting 3s off of difficult movement than I've credited her for in the past.
Delaney Bonneau, BCRI Silvia 2027
5-11 guard
Narragansett/Narragansett, R.I.
Bonneau made a bunch of smart scoring decisions in Saturday's win against RIBC. She's one of a few confident 3-point shooters on the roster, but I also liked her work attacking closeouts and taking advantage of driving lanes. This was my first time watching Bonneau closely, but she averaged 20.6 points and 13.4 rebounds as a junior at Narragansett.
Note: I mistakenly also had BCRI's Marybel DoRosario in this list when she is actually part of the 2028 class. That has been corrected and you'll see her in that roundup.
Alex Cassidy, Mass Huskies EYCL 2027
5-11 forward
Norwell/Norwell, Mass.
Cassidy isn't flashy, but she's a solid forward who does a lot of work in the paint that can go underrated. Her defense in the post was impactful, and Saturday morning, she showed aggressiveness out of drives and scored around the basket. Cassidy is strong and tough, and that pairs well with the other Huskies player I'll mention here.
Emilia Escher, RIBC 2027
5-9 wing
St. Andrew's/Würzburg, Bayern, Germany
Escher stood out with her moves in traffic and consistent finishing around the basket. She can get to a spin move, finish with a finger-roll layup or take contact, as I saw with an early and-1 bucket against BCRI. Escher just finished her first season at St. Andrew's after coming over from Germany.
Paola Kanoute, iBelieve Elite P24 2027
6-3 wing
Putnam Science/Brignolles, France
It's understandable if most were unfamiliar with Kanoute before this showcase. She should be on everyone's radar now as one of the top prospects in this region. Kanoute is so fast at her size, capable of being a one-girl fast break or flying to the basket on a drive. She has a ton of room to grow, but she showed all sorts of flashes: corner 3s, an extra kick-out pass to the corner out of a pick-and-roll and some jumped pass steals. Her size/speed/court processing combination is super enticing. I expect a ton of live-period buzz with Kanoute's college interest.
Eileen Lowther, MT Elite Ducks Emerald 2027
6-0 center
Hingham/Hingham, Mass.
The Ducks have a bunch of smart, scrappy players largely from the MIAA, and they impressed in the win I saw against the Huskies. Lowther brings length, mobility and rebounding effort at her position that helped make a difference. She grabbed a bunch of rebounds and protected the rim. If Lowther can keep ironing out her post game, that should go a long way, but I think she's an underrated center prospect for local colleges.
Kaylee Maier, New England Storm
5-5 guard
Dracut/Dracut, Mass.
I watched approximately one half of Maier this weekend. Still, she was so prolific as a lead playmaker that I had to put her on the list. Maier scored twice off of backdoor cuts, hit some deep 3-pointers and knocked down an easy pick-and-roll pull-up jumper herself. It's cool to see Maier, known for her on-ball scoring, also making an impact off the ball too.
Bella Owumi, MCW Starz P24 2027
6-0 forward
Tilton/Lynn, Mass.
Owumi didn't have much to prove here as the No. 34 prospect nationally. But I was interested in seeing her take responsibility as the leading playmaker in AAU, when in the past, she was playing up a year (or two) and operating more as a cutter. I thought she did a good job getting teammates involved and also creating separation off the dribble in the two games I saw. MCW wasn't really tested here, but this is obviously a huge final season for Owumi on the grassroots circuit.
Sarah Poland, Mass Huskies EYCL 2027
6-0 forward
Rivers/Sudbury, Mass.
Poland is one of the more underrated prospects in her class. I saw her score out of the pick-and-roll, back down defenders for post buckets, win with 1-on-1 power drives and hit a 3-pointer. She sees the floor at a high level too and makes smart passes out of her drives. Poland is a clear vocal leader for this team. Her strength, versatility and court awareness give her multiple pathways to winning impact.
Jaidelis "Jada" Rivera, Boston Showstoppers Clinton 2027
5-1 guard
New London/New London, Conn.
Rivera never fails to be an enjoyable watch as a small guard with a high motor. She's quick in a straight line, but her tight handle really helps her separate from defenders even in the half-court. Rivera made a couple of nice drive-and-kick decisions too. She just plays hard constantly and I appreciate that.
Izzy Rotondo, Dana Barros Elite UA Rise 2027
5-11 (estimate) forward
Braintree/Braintree, Mass.
Rotondo had to fill a larger role as a rebounder and interior presence during the high school season and that's translated to AAU. She was one of the better effort rebounders I saw this weekend, consistently getting after offensive and defensive rebounds. Rotondo also has a good sense of where to position herself in the paint for assists and is physically strong.
Annie Whitmore, Maine Firecrackers S40 2027
5-8 (estimate) guard
South Portland/Portland, Maine
I appreciated Whitmore's combination of confident driving, cutting and toughness around the basket in the 1.5 games I watched. She cut all over defenses and got rewarded, finishing off some tough layups through contact. But I also saw Whitmore hit a 3-pointer around a screen and I liked how quick she was to attack closeouts too. Against MCW, Whitmore played some quality defense against a big guard in Celia Neilson, one of the MIAA's top players.
Quick shouts: Another iBelieve/Putnam Science 2027 player to know: Fatima Diouf, also from France. She's a guard with ridiculously long arms and fantastic quick hands on defense. ... Gabby Middleton (Bay State Jaguars/Dexter Southfield) is at her best when she's showing off her drive-and-kick passing and looked great in the Jags' Sunday win against iBelieve. Shannon Welburn (Bay State Jaguars/Newman) hit the winning layup on a well-timed baseline cut in that game. ... Mass Rivals' top 17U team only played on Sunday, and I only caught some of the blowout loss to United N.J., but I liked the two-way impact I saw from Taelor Arnold (Darrow) and Lucianna Parrotta (Sacred Heart).
... Lastly, two sharpshooters deserve mention: Shea Kalin (BCRI/North Kingstown, R.I.) and Sam Barton (MCW Starz/Dexter Southfield). Kalin scored 20 points in BCRI's win I watched Saturday and was on fire behind the arc. Barton has had a long road back from an ACL injury, so it's good to see her confident and contributing.
