Mt. Rushmore: Bay State Games

This past weekend, I attended the 2021 Bay State Games at the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. A fun-filled, competitive two-day tournament that consisted of exciting buzzer beaters, lights-out shooting performances, and compelling matchups between 4 regions. The Gold Medal game was Team Metro vs. Team Coastal that ended in a Coastal 85-71 victory to cap off a 4-0 weekend. Team West-Central brought home the bronze medal. Below are the 4 biggest standouts from the Bay State Games. https://x.com/BayStateGames/status/1416919234534326272   [player_tooltip player_id="263816" first="Mairead" last="Gallagher"] - Team Coastal - 5’10’’ - SG/SF - ’22 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/27270432_Unknown-crop-1872x1230-1626780878.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-309025" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/27270432_Unknown-crop-1872x1230-1626780878-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> ’22 Rank: #88 Gallagher, per usual, was the hardest working player on the court. She is also one of the most coachable players that I have seen, regardless of class. Whatever you need her to do, Gallagher will happily accept the challenge and do what is necessary to help her team win. She was initiating the offense and being a playmaker in the halfcourt, took advantage of scoring opportunities around the basket, and was easily the best defender from the weekend. Gallagher will always guard the opposing team’s primary offensive option and bring an unmatched intensity to the defensive side of the ball. She is a workhorse and one of the best-conditioned athletes on the court. Never taking a possession off, Gallagher communicated louder, ran the floor harder, and consistently went full speed more than anyone at the Bay State Games. https://x.com/BashHoopsNE/status/1416429389466816514 [player_tooltip player_id="297223" first="Faith" last="Newton"] - Team Metro - 5’11’’ - PF - ’23 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/27270528_Unknown-crop-1388x912-1626780937.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-309027" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/27270528_Unknown-crop-1388x912-1626780937-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> ’23 Rank: WL Newton’s performance vs. Team Northeast that clinched a berth to the Gold Medal game for Team Metro was insane. She shot the lights out, ending with 25 points which tied for the team-high. It was a three-point bonanza Sunday morning with Newton leading the charge, and I honestly lost count of how many she buried after the 5th one. Newton is a stretch 4 that coaches dream of having on their roster. She runs the floor well, shoots over the defense confidently, is efficient knocking down the trail three, and when she gets cooking from the outside, it leads to scoring outbursts like the one she had Sunday. Newton’s reliability all weekend with her jump shot, and her elite precision and marksmanship from the 15 feet and beyond earned her a spot on Mt. Rushmore.   [player_tooltip player_id="184039" first="Sophie" last="Bradbury"] - Team Coastal - 5’7’’ - SG - ’23 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-309029" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/27270448_Unknown-crop-1639x1076-1626780982-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> ’23 Rank: #75 Bradbury showed me an aspect of her game that I have not seen much of this spring/summer, and that was her playmaking ability and facilitation on offense. In the Gold Medal game especially, I saw Bradbury slide over to the point guard slot and continuously make plays for herself and her teammates. I always viewed Bradbury as a very valuable two-way player. A gritty, aggressive on-ball defender and lethal sharpshooter who will drain threes from the parking lot. Seeing her beat her defender off the dribble and get to the hoop along with throwing pinpoint accurate passes helped Coastal take complete control of the Gold Medal game. A relatively close game for the first three quarters wound up getting out of hand late due to the efforts of Bradbury on both sides of the ball. Showing her offensive versatility this weekend immediately raised Bradbury’s stock, and she is a combo guard that will put people on notice moving forward.   [player_tooltip player_id="301042" first="Bleu" last="Kerr"] - Team Metro - 5’8’’ - CG -’25 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-309031" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/07/27270416_Unknown-crop-1473x968-1626781030-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> ’25 Rank: #21 No one’s stock rose more than Kerr’s after a brilliant showing at the Bay State Games. Kerr has it all: size, athleticism, three-level scoring capability, playmaking, tenacious defense, style, swagger, and the list can go on and on. In the first game of the weekend, Kerr stole the show by hitting the game-winning layup against Team West-Central, set up by one of her many intercepted passes. On Sunday vs. Team Northeast, she matched teammate [player_tooltip player_id="297223" first="Faith" last="Newton"]’s 25 points with her own 25. Kerr followed that up with the most difficult 21-point performance you will ever see. She is a rising freshman, matching up against an experienced Coastal team full of class of ’22 and ’23 players, was being face guarded the length of the floor all game long, and somehow found a way to score over 20 points. The 14-point margin of defeat does not illustrate how close the game was. Kerr was putting the team on her back and did her best to keep the game close for the first three quarters. Kerr hits threes, can beat you off the dribble, is explosive in transition, and is as unselfish as any player in the ’25 class. Her electric weekend has her hovering around top 10 status. Kerr is built differently than the rest. https://x.com/BashHoopsNE/status/1416410275914436611