In the second season of its implementation, Class AAA has again showcased the best of New England prep girls basketball.
The top six teams in our latest Top 10 are all AAA schools. Three of them have earned at least a shift as our No. 1 overall prep team. But as great as the top three look, almost any program is capable of beating each other. The parity throughout this small class is what makes this AAA postseason, in my opinion, arguably more intriguing than last year.
All eight teams make the playoffs. But now that we're here, we could see chaos in the bracket. The individual talent is off the charts, too. The top three 2027 prospects in New England play for different AAA schools, as well as multiple of the elite stars in the 2028 class — plus a slew of college-bound seniors, of course.
Here's a rundown of every team, in seed order, in the Class AAA bracket.
MORE BRACKET BREAKDOWNS: Class AAÂ |Â Class AÂ |Â Class B Large | Class B Small
1. Tilton (24-3)
Record against Class AAA field: 12-2
The defending champions have stayed dominant in their new spotlight. The Rams had minor blips with their first loss to Hoosac and a back-to-back of setbacks against Tabor and Wilbraham & Monson. But their final back-to-back of the regular season — wins against New Hampton and Hoosac — shows they're hitting a groove just in time for March.
Nationally-ranked prospect Bella Owumi (Lynn, Mass.) is on a recent tear that includes the game-winning 3-pointer against Hoosac with 3.8 seconds left. Senior Bela Cucuta (Newington, Conn.) has been among NEPSAC's most prolific scorers all season, and she and Maddie McCaffery (Merrimack, N.H.) are a sweet-shooting backcourt duo. We can't understate the importance of the frontcourt, too, including Northwestern commit Brooke Golden (Chester, N.H.) and center Ava Bryant off the bench.
BRACKET TRACKERS: Class AA bracket | Class A bracket | Class B Large, B Small, C brackets
2. Hoosac (20-7)
Record against Class AAA field: 11-2
NEPSAC bluebloods like Nobles, Tabor and Tilton have controlled the top classes for several years. But Hoosac has broken through in a massive way this winter. They first turned heads by beating host Nobles in the Nickerson Showcase, then handed Tilton its first loss in an MLK weekend showdown. Hoosac's lone NEPSAC defeats this season are at home against New Hampton and on the road, in the final seconds, against Tilton in the regular season finale.
Electric point guard Anna Moser (Rutland, Vt.) is one of the top prospects in New England's 2027 class and 2026 Quinnipiac commit Lee Doronina is a matchup nightmare as a 6-foot-2 wing. But Hoosac has really been boosted by its transfer additions, most notably athletic guard A'briyah Cunningham and strong wing Tanavia Turpin. This rotation is built to wear opponents down with size and physicality.
3. Tabor (22-4)
The Seawolves have reinvented themselves after graduating three high-major college commits and transitioning head coaching duties to Lydia Caputi. They're an up-tempo team with two of the winter's premier breakout stars: Colgate commit Molly Corcoran (Medford, Mass.) and 2027 elite prospect Corinne Lomax (Watertown, Conn.). But anyone can catch fire in a given game; Tabor moves the ball extremely well, plays lineups with tons of 3-point shooting and flies in transition. The Seawolves went on a 13-game win streak that briefly gave them No. 1 in our Top 10 rankings.
4. New Hampton (16-6)
Record against Class AAA field:Â 7-6
The only team to beat Hoosac at home this season, New Hampton boasts one of New England's premier duos in Stanford-bound Elyse Ngenda (Bedford, N.H.) and St. John's commit Serenity Lancaster (New London, Conn.). But the Huskies have impressed me with their general depth of impact guards and wings. Chloe Dix is a go-to playmaker as a transfer from Australia. Saige DeJesus (Brockton, Mass.) is dependable as a point guard and perimeter defender, and both Kailey Sullivan (Foxboro, Mass.) and Casey Stores (Bellingham, Mass.) can heat up behind the arc.
Also one side note: shoutout to Ngenda for crushing the national anthem during New Hampton's final weekend of the regular season. That was super impressive.
5. Nobles (20-7)
Record against Class AAA field: 5-6
Like Tabor, Nobles graduated three senior superstars now impacting the Division 1 college level, and they've re-tooled around transfers Izzy Kittredge (Medfield, Mass.) and Alannah Morantus (North Attleboro, Mass.), seniors Vanessa Ellis (Stoughton, Mass.) and Brynn Bryant (Dedham, Mass.) and a bunch of young depth. Nobles split with New Hampton and Dexter Southfield but otherwise failed to beat the above programs despite coming close multiple times. That being said, this is a physical defense that also spreads scoring around evenly. Alex Gallagher is one of NEPSAC's figurehead coaches and has plenty of winning experience.
6. Dexter Southfield (13-15)
Record against Class AAA field:Â 5-9
Health has been the story of Dexter's season. They were a top-five NEPSAC team through early January, boasting wins over Nobles, Tabor, Newman and the top four Class AA seeds. But then injuries struck around MLK weekend and Dexter is 4-11 since then.
But there's suddenly hope. Star underclassmen Ella Peper (Newton, Mass.) and Avery Bollin (Raynham, Mass.) were back in the regular season finale against Tabor. Dexter actually led that game by 17 points before falling apart and giving up a 24-0 run in an eventual loss. But when healthy, this is a top-notch defense with size and mismatch potential on offense. Don't sleep on Maeve Powers (Quincy, Mass.), who was injured most of the season before recently returning, either.
7. Newman (13-16)
The Cardinals are our sixth-ranked program NEPSAC-wide despite being seeded seventh here. They notched two wins apiece against St. Andrew's and Dexter Southfield but took pretty much every AAA program down to the wire and just couldn't flip the results in crunch time. Newman will be hard-pressed to find that big win on the road in the playoffs, but Gabby Middleton (Stoughton, Mass.) and Ayla Keefe lead a deep and balanced rotation. Don't overlook this team on seeding alone.
8. St. Andrew's (8-20)
Record against Class AAA field:Â 0-13
Injuries and a small roster in general have kept St. Andrew's lagging behind the field. They have shooting and some solid talent headlined by crafty 2028 point guard Aaralyn Scott (Barrington, R.I.) and 2027 perimeter marksman Ryanne Sheehan (Providence, R.I.). But St. Andrew's hasn't come close to beating a AAA opponent yet and a postseason win would be a major upset.
