Jersey Gemz 17U EYBL

<p>[program_tooltip program_id='715878' first='The' last='Jersey Gemz'] 17U EYBL had a good offseason bolstering a roster that already features 3 players returning to the 17U roster, 1 returning 16U moving up, 1 returning from injury. Now they have added 2 girls from Philly Rise, 1 from Exodus and 1 from United. Every girl on this team has D1 offers. This team has size and high level talent and is ready to compete on a challenging 17U EYBL circuit. Let's take a look.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559070' first='Jada' last='Lynch'] - St. Rose</h2>   <p>Jada has been a superstar for St. Rose since her first day on the team. She led her team to a South Jersey Non-Public A semifinal where they lost to Red Bank Catholic. Jada does a lot of everything for St. Rose. She led the team in scoring, rebounding and steals while finishing 2nd on the team with 61 3-pointers and 3rd in assists. The high point of her season was a 40 point effort in a January victory over Red Bank Catholic. Jada is over 1,300 career points in just 3 years with a big senior year ahead of here where she will chase 2,000 career points. She plays a very physical game and uses her strength to get to the rim and handle pressure on ther perimeter. Having gone from Phily Rise to Exodus NYC and now to Jersey Gemz in her high school career, she has played a multitude of roles and her time playing PG will be a value add to a team without a true PG. Her range is beyond the college line and her mix of range and physical driving ability makes her a tough guard for anyone.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559135' first='Stella' last='Lockhart'] - St. John Vianney</h2>   <p>After her freshman season at Gil St. Bernards, she moved to St. John Vianney for the last two and has had an instant impact as she came into a roster graduating All-State player Zoe Brooks. She led the team in scoring as a sophomore and finished 2nd in scoring as a junior. After finishing 2nd in rebounding as a sophomore, she led the team in rebounding in her junior year. She increased her 3-pointers made from 9 as a sophomore to 21 as a junior but Stella is at her best from 15-feet in. She has tremendous size and strength allowing her to work patiently inside. Combined with a soft touch and excellent interior passing skills, she is a menace in the post for opposing defenses. She is back for a 3rd season with the Gemz after playing 17U last season. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559037' first='Taylor' last='Sofilkanich'] - St. John Vianney</h2>   <p>Taylor is the length of this team. At 6'4", she uses that length to be a defensive presence inside, a legit post threat and someone the Gemz will put at the foul line to initiate offense at a spot where she is a solid passer. She has good footwork on the block and knows how to keep the ball up. She led St. John Vianney in blocks for the 2nd straight season. She finished 2nd in rebounds this year after finishing at the top as a sophomore. She was also 3rd in scoring this season after finishing 2nd in scoring as a sophomore. Her length will be needed against the size of EYBL. Taylor is back for a 3rd season with the Gemz after playing 17U last season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='601413' first='Jahzara' last='Green'] - Gloucester Catholic</h2>   <p>After leading her Gloucester Catholic team to the Non-Public B State finals, Jahzara moves from Philly Rise to join [program_tooltip program_id='715878' first='The' last='Jersey Gemz'] giving them another 6-footer on the squad. She is over 1,400 career points in 3 seasons at Gloucester Catholic and will look to surpass 2,000 for her career next season. She also led the team in blocks, was 2nd in rebounds and 3rd in assists and steals. She has length that allows her to get her shots off inside. She has a nice mid-range jumper and her athleticism will allow her to play different roles in the Gemz pressure defense. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559047' first='Lexi' last='Carnegie'] - Teaneck</h2>   <p>Lexi returned to the Teaneck squad for her junior year after missing a large portion of her sophomore season and the entire 2024 AAU season with a torn ACL. She showed no signs of injury in an impressive junior year and, after missing more than half her sophomore season, still went over 1,000 career points this year. Lexi is a high level slasher. She attacks off the wings, drives hard to the baseline and is an excellent finisher in traffic. She led the team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals and has always been a swiss army knife for Teaneck. She averaged almost 5 steals a game as a junior and her athleticism, length and defensive anticipation make her a threat at the top of the press for Teaneck and for the Gemz. She will thrive in the high tempo EYBL up and down style. She played 15U for the Gemz before missing last season with injury.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559084' first='Sophie' last='Smith'] - Red Bank Catholic</h2>   <p>Sophie adds a 4th 6-footer to the Gemz 17U roster. She has gone from Shoreshots to Philly Rise and now to Gemz in her high school career. Like her Red Bank Catholic team, this Gemz team has a lot of size to contend with for minutes but Sophie's game is versatile and her ability to guard multiple positions and step out and shoot it. She had a career high 12 3-pointers this season for a loaded Red Bank Catholic team that lost in the South Non-Public A Finals, but is best inside where she has excellent footwork in her post up game. Sophie also set career highs blocks and steals this year and has the ability to impact a game without the ball in her hands. She and Sofilkanich or Lockhart should be able to run an effective high-low game.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559820' first='Addy' last='Platt'] - Gil St. Bernards</h2>   <p>This year Addy jumped high schools from Pope John to Gil St. Bernards and now jumps AAU clubs from United to Gemz. She will provide another athletic wing to this roster. Already over 1,000 career points, she led Gil in steals and finished 2nd in scoring, assists and blocks. Addy's game is built on slashing to the rim and elevating in the pull-up game. Her long arms and athleticism allow her to be a creative finisher inside. 3-point shooting is not a big part of her game and has stayed the same through 3 high school seasons. If she develops that part of her game, it would make her even more dangerous. Defensively, Addy has very good timing on blocked shots and she is very good off the ball anticipating passes and turning them into baskets at the other end. She will add depth to a talented Gemz roster.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559046' first='Ava' last='LaMonica'] - Rutgers Prep</h2>   <p>With Mikayla Blakes dominating at Vanderbilt, Chloe Escanillas at Marist and with GiGi Battle & [player_tooltip player_id='414407' first='Leah' last='Crosby'] having transferred high schools, Ava took on a more prominent role in the Rutgers Prep offense in her junior season. She responded by leading the team in scoring and setting career highs in every category. Undersized at 5'7", Ava is at her best crashing the offensive boards and looking for putbacks and fouls. From her guard position, she was 2nd on the team in rebounds. She handles the ball a lot and has been one of the Gemz PGs the last couple of years. The additions of Lynch and Platt and the return of Carnegie, she may get the opportunity to play off the ball more which is probably a more natural position for her. A very good finisher inside for her size, Ava is not afraid of contact and likes to play up and down and get out in transition. She is a good distributor off dribble drive and is a solid mid-range shooter. She is shooting the deep ball more but, with 28 3-pointers in 3 seasons at Rutgers Prep, the other aspects of her offensive game are clearly more dependable for her. She is back for a 3rd season with the Gemz and her 2nd on the 17U team. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559136' first='Camden' last='Epstein'] - Ramapo</h2>   <p>Camden is back for a 3rd season with the Gemz and went over 1,000 career points at the end of her junior year at Ramapo. She set career highs in scoring, rebounds and steals in her 3rd season. She saw a dropoff in 3-pointers made and 3-point %, but made up for it with more transition baskets and more trips to the foul line. Despite her drop in 3-point production in the high school season, she is likely to provide the most value to this Gemz teams as a floor stretcher. With multiple players having a dynamic post presence and several slashers who can break down a defense, Epstein should have no problem spotting up and knocking down open catch and shoot 3s. She will benefit fromt the EYBL pace as she likes to get out in transition for pass ahead layups off misses and turnovers. AAU allows her to play off the ball more than she does at Ramapo. She is a good finisher in transition off two feet and will add backcourt depth to this loaded team. This will be Camden's 1st season on the Gemz 17U.</p>

The Jersey Gemz 17U EYBL had a good offseason bolstering a roster that already features 3 players returning to the 17U roster, 1 returning 16U moving up, 1 returning from injury. Now they have added 2 girls from Philly Rise, 1 from Exodus and 1 from United. Every girl on this team has D1 offers. This team has size and high level talent and is ready to compete on a challenging 17U EYBL circuit. Let's take a look.