Seventeen teams competed in the Amsterdam Holiday College Showcase hosted by the Amsterdam Lady Rams basketball program on December 27-28, 2017 at Amsterdam High School. Teams from New York, Massachusetts, and Quebec, Canada, many of them top-ranked, participated in the two-day event. There were several outstanding games including an overtime contest between New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Section 2 Class AA defending champion Shenendehowa and Massachusetts Division 1 defending champion Springfield Central, as well as many outstanding individual performances.
Scores from the 2017 Showcase
Wednesday, December 27
Saugerties 63 Guilderland 53
Beekmantown 51 Lee (MA) 51
Gloversville 61 Haldane 44
Cicero-North Syracuse 62 Kingston 45
Binghamton 70 Gerard Filion, Quebec, CAN 43
Springfield Central (MA) 63 Bethlehem 58
Amsterdam 66 Pittsfield (MA) 59
Shenendehowa 73 Francis Lewsis (NYC) 14
Thursday, December 28
Saugerties 52 Holland Patent 48
Beekmantown 46 Haldane 44
Kingston 75 Gerard Filion (Que) 42
Cicero-North Syracuse 58 Gloversville 49
Bethlehem 67 Francis Lewis (NYC) 29
Shenendehowa 57 Springfield Central (MA) 52 (OT)
Pittsfield (MA) 75 Guilderland 67
Top Individual Performances
Bella Aitken, Pittsfield (MA) – Aitken led all players in scoring over the two-day event with 51 points. The sharpshooter guard put up 24 against Amsterdam in a loss to the Lady Rams, and scored a game-high 27 points in a victory over Gloversville.
Amani Free, Cicero-North Syracuse – Free scored a game best 28 points in a victory over Kingston, and then registered 18 more in a Lady North Stars win over Gloversville.
Chloe Chaffin, Kingston – Chaffin poured in a team best 19 points in a win over Gerald Filion (Que) and a team best with 21 points in a loss to Cicero- North Syracuse.
Allison Chiera, Haldane – Chiera led her team with 19 points against Gloversville, and 18 points in one of the closest games of the weekend against Beekmantown. Chiera’s steal with ten seconds to play in that contest led to game-clinching free throw.
Maggie Kirby, Bethlehem – Kirby has battled back from a torn ligament injury that prematurely ended her 2016-2017 season, and led her team with 20 points in a close game with Springfield Central (MA), and 15 points in a win over Francis Lewis.
Grace Van Roy, Saugerties – Van Roy scored a total of 33 points, 21 vs. Guilderland, and 12 vs. Holland Patent helping the No. 20 ranked NYSPHSAA Class A school pick up a pair of wins.
Alexandra Tudor, Shenendehowa – Tudor posted 15 points in a win over Francis Lewis, and led the Lady Plainsmen with 17 in a hard fought overtime victory over Springfield (MA).
Jessica Cook, Cicero-North Syracuse – The freshman registered 20 points in a win over Kingston, and 12 in a victory over Gloversville.
Jaid Harrell, Kingston – Harrell’s 20 points helped her team defeat Gerard Filion (Que), and she followed that with 11 points against Cicero- North Syracuse.
Julianna Okoniewski, Bethlehem – Okoniewski’s 17 points helped her team top Francis Lewis. She put up 12 against Springfield (MA) for a total of 29 points.
Cameron Tooley, Shenendehowa – Tooley had a team high 16 points in a win over Francis Lewis (NYC) and followed that up with a 12 point effort against Springfield (MA) helping the NYSPHSAA Section 2 Class AA defending champions collect two wins.
Alyssa Waters, Beekmantown – Waters netted 28 points over the two day event. She scored 17 against Lee (MA), and 11 versus Haldane to help Beekmantown become one of four teams to win a pair of games at the showcase.
Lexi Gross, Binghamton – Gross scored a game high 27 points in Binghamton’s win over Gerald Filion (Que.).
Harmony Philo, Gloversville – Philo’s team high 16 points helped the Lady Dragons defeat Haldane. She scored 10 against Cicero-North Syracuse.
Makayla Thompson, Springfield (MA) – Thompson scored 16 points in a win over Bethlehem, and followed that with a ten point effort against Shenendehowa.
Yasmine Gasmi, Gerard Filion, Que. (CAN) – Gasmi posted a game high 21 points vs. Kingston.
Top “Starting Five” Performances
Amsterdam – The starting five of Giuliana Pritchard, Lucia Liverio, Elena Fedullo, Antonia May, and Jackie Stanavich scored in double digits in points or rebounds in the Lady Rams’ only game, a victory over Division 2 MIAA Western MA champion Pittsfield. Pritchard led the way with 16 points and 16 rebounds for her sixth “double-double” of the season. May contributed all 13 of her points in the first half including three three-pointers. All 12 of Liverio’s points came in the second half including several key free throws in the closing minutes. Fedullo scored in every quarter and totaled 13 points, and Stanavich added 11 rebounds to the Lady Rams cause.
Shenendehowa – Cameron Tooley, Alexandra Tudor, Catherine Almeida, Megan Gillooley, and Meghan Huerter did all the scoring in the Lady Plainsmen’s overtime win over Springfield (MA). Tooley and Almeida made their free throws in the extra session, and the big basket came from Gillooley with 15.4 seconds left to seal the win. Shenendehowa held Springfield (MA) to only two points in the overtime period. Tudor (17 points), Gillooley (15), and Tooley (12) all scored in double digits for the ninth ranked Section 2 Class AA Lady Plainsmen.
Bethlehem – Maggie Kirby, Julianna Okoniewski, Tessa Hughes, Karen Huang, and Molly Kirby nearly pulled off a win over Springfield (MA) in their first game. Trailing the MA Division 1 MIAA champs 39-28 at halftime, the Lady Eagles outscored their opponent 18-5 in the third quarter to go up by two before falling short late in the final period. Maggie Kirby cut the lead to two 60-58 with a pair of free throws with 23.1 seconds left, but Springfield made their free throws down the stretch to get the win. All five Bethlehem starters scored in the third period to help boost them into the lead.
The best “sixth player” – Gianna Derosa, Amsterdam – Derosa came off the bench and scored five points for AHS at a crucial time, helping the Lady Rams keep their lead vs. Pittsfield.
