N.Hampton v. Proctor: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

New Hampton defeated Proctor Academy 60-54 Wednesday afternoon in easily the most fun basketball game I have seen up to this point of the season. This game had everything: electric individual performances on both teams by elite prospects, a playoff-like atmosphere, tough physical defense, and a 4th quarter comeback. Down 8 going into the final period, New Hampton turned to arguably the most clutch player in New England to seal the deal.   Player of the Game: <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-384080" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/0D72FDC2-8F24-46B3-AA2A-298D576BAF51-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1643926607-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="267455" first="Mia" last="Mancini"] - New Hampton - 5’7’’ - PG - ’23 I’ve been to 3 New Hampton games this winter, and all three were tight and competitive heading into the 4th. A common theme in those games was [player_tooltip player_id="267455" first="Mia" last="Mancini"] making plays and dominating the quarter to give New Hampton the victory. Wednesday afternoon was the Mona Lisa performance, though. Mancini facilitated well in the first three quarters, emphasizing getting her teammates involved, and as a team, New Hampton moved the ball well. The light switch went on in the 4th for Mancini, where she scored 12 of her team-high 20 points, mainly from the perimeter. Efficiently, Mancini took the game over and hit some huge jump shots, and trusted her teammates late. She threw some nice dimes to [player_tooltip player_id="263959" first="Emily" last="Greenwood"] and [player_tooltip player_id="384082" first="Tahlia" last="Peña"] that helped New Hampton secure the lead. If you are an opposing team playing New Hampton, you better bury them by halftime because if the game is relatively close come the 4th, Mancini will make sure you pay for it.   New Hampton Standouts: [caption id="attachment_384078" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/E9B6C0ED-010E-46BA-951C-4D6D95E5A49E-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1643926500.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-384078" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/E9B6C0ED-010E-46BA-951C-4D6D95E5A49E-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1643926500-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: JT Shotz[/caption]   [player_tooltip player_id="267154" first="Cate" last="MacDonald"] - 6’2’’ - PF - ’23 MacDonald lived up to the moniker "Big Mac" Tuesday with a monster performance in the paint. She had 13 points, rebounded aggressively, and is one of the most ferocious rim protectors in ’23. MacDonald has become one of my favorite players to watch because of her toughness, physicality, and the edge she plays with you don’t often see at her position. On top of all of that, MacDonald can stretch the floor with her three-point shooting. Prospects in the ’23 class might be bigger, faster, and more talented than her, but MacDonald is by far the toughest. I’ll take her over just about any power forward in the class because she has the heart and fight to battle in the trenches for 32 minutes and put up monster numbers doing so.   <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-384076" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/09/IMG_0088-scaled-crop-1706x1121-1643926313-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="263959" first="Emily" last="Greenwood"] - 6’0’’ - SF - ’22 Greenwood is another player for New Hampton who always comes up big in the 4th quarter. Very quietly, Greenwood put up 10 points and made momentum-altering plays that helped her team get back into the game. She does a little bit of everything and is a great secondary ball-handler so that [player_tooltip player_id="267455" first="Mia" last="Mancini"] can work off the rock. Greenwood’s poise and decision making down the stretch were vital.   [player_tooltip player_id="384082" first="Tahlia" last="Peña"] -5’6’’ - PG - ’25 Peña did not have the eye-popping numbers, but something did stand out to me with the freshman’s play. She is a shooter who will keep firing away no matter how many shots she misses. Peña didn’t have the best shooting night but hit a corner three in the 4th that was maybe the biggest shot of the game for New Hampton. I like mentally tough players who have short-term memory, and I think Peña embodies that. She is a prospect I will watch the rest of the season because I believe she is trending in the right direction.   [player_tooltip player_id="384084" first="Brielle" last="Fitzpatrick"] - 5’8’’ - SG/SF - ’23 Fitzpatrick fits right into the New Hampton culture with her physicality and toughness. Numbers and box scores do not matter when it comes to Fitzpatrick’s game. The screens she set on the proctor defenders were back-breaking, and it looked like the Proctor players were running into a brick wall. Fitzpatrick’s box-outs were highly aggressive, too. There was one play where she drove the girl out of bounds with a box out. That toughness and strength Fitzpatrick possesses is the epitome of the New Hampton identity.   Proctor Academy Standouts:   <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-384075" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0181-crop-1112x730-1643926255-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="264770" first="Victoria" last="Morales"] - 5’6’’ - PG - ’22 Morales was insanely good vs. New Hampton. She led the game with 21 points and eclipsed the 1000 point career mark. The shot that put her over the 1k plateau was a vintage Morales deep contested three that ripped the net clean. She started to crank up the heat in the second and third quarter with ridiculous no-look passes and hit challenging shots over a stingy New Hampton defense. The energy and passion Morales plays with are unmatched, and she is one of the most entertaining players to watch.   <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-384074" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/27270288_Unknown-crop-1112x730-1643926212-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="278904" first="Paloma" last="Garcia"] - 5’5’’ - CG - ’23 I completely underrated Garcia up until this point. My biggest takeaway from Tuesday’s game was that she is one of the best two-way guards in her class. Garcia has the physique and quickness to defend both guard positions and offensively sees the floor well. She looked like a quarterback with some of the full-court one-handed passes she made. She is a high motor, competitive player who is also a fantastic playmaker and finisher in transition. Garcia’s stock is way up.   <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-384073" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/10/2F412D27-8D03-4B6D-9AF8-50B5CEF56285-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1643926171-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="300448" first="Sierra" last="Jean"] - 5’7’’ - CG - ’25 I loved how Jean competed on Tuesday, and she was not afraid to challenge herself on defense. She took on the daunting task of defending [player_tooltip player_id="267455" first="Mia" last="Mancini"], and I liked how she would pick Mancini up 3/4 court. All you can ask from a player when defending a prospect the caliber of Mancini is to make them work and earn every basket. I thought Jean did that for the most part and gave 100% effort the whole game.