New England Team to Watch: Sting Elite

On Saturday during the Zero Gravity’s Mother’s Day Madness event, I saw a fascinating young team out of Worcester, Massachusetts, called Sting Elite. I had never seen this group of girls play before, and when I walked into the gym, they immediately caught my attention with their energy and intensity on both ends of the floor. Sting Elite was so captivating that I ended up watching all 4 of their games that ended in 4 Sting Elite victories. I loved how they moved the ball on offense and how hard they played on defense resulting in Sting Elite being one of my favorite teams to watch. Their electric guard play stood out, and here are 5 of them, along with my in-game evaluation on what they showed me Saturday afternoon. These girls should be on everyone’s radar going forward.   [player_tooltip player_id="282619" first="Elisa" last="Narain"] - Wachusett - 5’6’’ - SG - ’25 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-282660" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26741120_Unknown-crop-968x636-1620656265-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Long/athletic wing</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Excellent long-range shooter</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Most shooting range on the team</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Effective mid-range shooter off the catch</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Very confident shooter/doesn’t hesitate</li> </ul>   [player_tooltip player_id="282620" first="Nicole" last="Jodoin"] - West Boylston - 5’3’’ - CG - ’25 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-282662" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26741072_Unknown-crop-1001x657-1620656320-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sniper from 3/corner specialist</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Efficient scorer/heats up quick </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Good passer/moves the ball well </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Can initiate offense/good decision maker with the ball</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Active defender/aggressive in passing lanes</li> </ul>   [player_tooltip player_id="282621" first="Jaizzy" last="Santiago"] - Bancroft - 5’0’’ - PG - ’25 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-282665" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26741104_Unknown-crop-992x652-1620656377-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Excellent ball-handler/very comfortable creating with her off-hand</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Good playmaker off penetration</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Changes pace and direction with ease/stays under control</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Shooter off the catch and dribble/range extends to 3</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">She can play off the ball/effective without the ball in her hands</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hustles hard/sprints back on defense/doesn’t give up on plays</li> </ul>   [player_tooltip player_id="282617" first="Jaiyla" last="Colon"] - South High - 5’5’’ - CG - ’24 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-282626" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26741088_Unknown-crop-964x633-1620654829-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Unreal athlete </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Tenacious defender/super aggressive on-ball</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Lightning rod in transition</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Good ball-handler/gets into paint at will</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Creative scorer off the bounce</li> </ul>   [player_tooltip player_id="282618" first="Naima" last="Bleou"] - South High - 5’7’’ - CG - ’24 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-282624" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26741056_Unknown-crop-964x633-1620654771-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Best scorer on the team/can get a bucket whenever she wants</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Terrific isolation player/has an array of moves to break down her defender</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Shoots confidently/hits contested jump shots</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Willing passer/accurate on-time dump down passes when help collapses on her penetration</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Good upper body strength/initiates and finishes through contact</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Strong athletic rebounder</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Game-changing combo guard/super high ceiling </li> </ul>