Weekend Overview: New Hampshire Mt. Rushmore

I went to New Hampshire over the weekend to cover the Zero Gravity State Championship tournament. The varsity division was highly competitive and ended in the SNH Saints bringing home the championship. In a hard-fought game against the NH Huskies, the Saints faced a deficit as big as 15 points in the first half and went on a second-half surge to the tune of a 63-45 victory. The mental toughness the Saints showed in the second half to claw back and win the game was the exclamation point to an entertaining weekend. There were many standout players throughout the weekend, but none impacted their team like these 4 athletes. Here is my ZG State championship Mt. Rushmore.   [player_tooltip player_id="280512" first="Angelina" last="Nardolillo"] - Keene Owls/Rhode Island College Commit - 6’1’’ - PF/C - ’21 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26740832_Unknown-crop-1519x997-1620049329.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-280515" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26740832_Unknown-crop-1519x997-1620049329-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Nardolillo was a force inside all weekend. No matter what team she played against, she had a clear size and skill advantage against her opponent. Her toughness was on full display all weekend as she saw countless double teams and got hacked every time she touched the ball. Despite the physicality, Nardolillo battled for position down low, showing good footwork on the block and being monstrous on the glass. What impressed me most about Nardolillo was her passing. She moved the ball well from the high and low post, and her willingness to do so created a ton of open looks for the sharpshooters on the Owls. Nardolillo’s basketball IQ, polished offensive skill set mixed with her physical gifts made her one of the most dominant players this weekend.   [player_tooltip player_id="280513" first="Emmy" last="Plague"] - NH Huskies/Skidmore Commit - 5’9’’ - SG/SF - ’21 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26740768_Unknown-crop-1445x949-1620049607.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-280519" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26740768_Unknown-crop-1445x949-1620049607-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Plague was the most impactful defender from the weekend. She is a long, athletic wing who can guard 4 different positions at a high level. Plague’s help defense and rotations were vital to the Huskies getting stops, especially against teams with bigger forwards. Her reaction time to penetration and making sure she puts herself in the proper position to force a missed shot was crucial to their run to the finals. Due to her wingspan, Plague can shut off penetration and passing angles which made opposing guards’ lives miserable. Her effort was off the charts, and Plague was covering ground faster than lightning. Plague never filled up the stat sheet but secured the ball on offense, hit timely shots, and played game-changing defense, unlike anyone during the NH State Championship.   [player_tooltip player_id="280393" first="Hailey" last="Malozzi"] - SNH Saints/ Kimball Union - 5’11’’ - SF - ’22 '22 PGH Rank: WL <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26740880_Unknown-crop-1511x992-1620049664.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-280522" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26740880_Unknown-crop-1511x992-1620049664-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Malozzi was one of the essential pieces to the Saints championship victory on Sunday afternoon. She scored in bunches, and her buckets in transition gave the Saints the spark they needed to overcome the double-digit deficit. Malozzi runs well in transition and fills lanes perfectly, which led to several easy fastbreak layups. Her combination of upper body strength and concentration is out of this world. The number of times Malozzi converted a layup through contact was eye-popping. She absorbed contact more than anyone and relentlessly attacked the basket in every game she played. Malozzi’s toughness on both ends of the floor, along with her production, was exactly the kind of effort the Saints needed from the wing position for them to reach the championship plateau.   [player_tooltip player_id="263847" first="Avah" last="Ingalls"] - SNH Saints/Pinkerton Academy - 5’9’’ - CG - ’22 '22 PGH Rank: #18 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-280524" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/26740928_Unknown-crop-1286x845-1620049719-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Ingalls is a special player. I cannot stress enough how skilled she is on offense and how she can effortlessly play the 1 and 2. Ingalls can turn on the switch and take over with her scoring and playmaking ability at any point of a game. Even down 15, I was never worried about the Saints’ chances as long as Ingalls was on the floor because I saw her earlier in the weekend take over a game entirely in a matter of minutes. On Saturday, on both ends of the floor, Ingalls’ aggressive defense and three-level scoring during a stretch in the first half showed me her capability of being a high-impact two-way player. Sunday mimicked her Saturday efforts, except now the stakes were higher, and adversity was staring her team in the face. Ingalls showed poise, seemed unphased by the moment, and made dynamic, big-time plays that were jaw-dropping when it mattered most. I could write a book about how efficient a scorer Ingalls is, but the most underrated basketball attribute is her court vision. No one throws a crisper, more on target transition chest pass than Ingalls. When she loads up and zips a pass through a tight window from beyond halfcourt, it is a thing of beauty. Overall, her willingness to pass, the trust she shows in her teammates, and her commitment to playing winning basketball are what separates her not just from the players in the tournament but most of the players in the region’s ’22 class.   https://x.com/dadvectors/status/1388964219807272967