GymRat Event Has Many Drawing MAAC Interest

The 8th annual GymRat CHALLENGE AAU basketball tournament for girls was held in New York's Capital Region this past weekend and, as promised, below you can find our reports on a number of players that are getting some level of interest from MAAC schools.

There was no Epiphany Prince here this year ... the WNBA's current leading scorer played in the GymRat twice during her high school days. But, there were dozens and dozens of players who will wind up at mid-major level programs in future years, many of them turning up at MAAC schools.

Here are a few, in no particular order:

- Staci Barrett, a 6-foot-0 power forward. Has gotten interest from Rider, also from LIU and some other mid-majors. She showed an ability to drive the baseline and finish, or continue on for a reverse. She also had a nice mid-range jumper, was athletic and was a force in the paint.

- Rose Ayala, a 6-2 post player from the Albany City Rocks program. She is hearing from Canisius as well as St. Bona's UBuffalo, Eastern Michigan and UAlbany. A nice solid post player who can finish in the paint, plays hard and takes pride in her defense.

- Kellyns Scarbrough, a 5-11 power forward with the NYC Lady Warriors program. She lists Marist, along with Providence and Bucknell as showing interest. She is a very strong power forward who uses her strength and power dribble to get to the hoop.

- Margot Hetzke, a 5-11 power forward from the Crystal City Stars program. Another strong post player who really rebounds, runs well for her size and can hit a mid-range jumper. She lists Niagara and Siena among programs with interest.

- Tiffany Corselli, a 5-7 point guard from the Westchester Hawks program. She lists Siena and Rider, among others, with interest. She has a good, quick handle, distributes the ball well, sees the floor and showed a good mid-range jumper.

- Sydnie Rosales, a 5-9 shooting guard from the Saratoga Sparks program. She originally gave a verbal to Siena, but withdrew it after the change in coaching staff. She attends Colonie H.S., only a few miles from the Siena campus. And, now, she lists Sacred Heart, Hartford and Central Connecticut as potential destinations. She was one of the top long-range shooters here and also showed an ability to play the point when necessary.

- Anna Ross, a 5-9 point guard with the Unity Wildcats. She lists Niagara, Canisius, Marist and Siena among interested programs. She is perceived as having the potential to play higher than the MAAC. She is a standout athlete who plays hard at all times and is a great, unselfish leader.

- Maeve Parahus, a 6-1 wing player from the Hudson Valley Elite program who has given a verbal to Manhattan. She was one of the top long-range shooters here, and made six three pointers in one game.

- Lexi Martins, a 6-1 wing who has offers from Loyola and St. Bona's. She showed an outstanding ability to score, and hi the three-pointer but seemed to prefer taking it strong to the basket. Another hard worker whose length was an advantage defensively. She also was a strong rebounder here.

- Ciara Rosten, a 6-1 post player from the New York Revolution program. She has heard from several MAAC programs. Good strong inside player with a nice touch around the basket who can also put the ball on the floor to create her own shot.

- Dominique Ward, a 5-11 wing player from the Ring City program. She lists Siena, Delaware and St. John's as having interest. She is an outstanding athlete who finishes with both hands. A terrific jumper and a good rebounder.

You can read the full report on the tournament on the GymRat's website: www.gymratchallenge.com

There, readers can see individual reports on all stars selected at each of the four age levels contested. Close to 3,000 players participated and usually well over half of those wind up playing some level of college basketball.