Hoops For Hope showcases local basketball talent for a good cause
Philadelphia – For the 11th year (third partnering with University of the Sciences) Lauren Pellicane showcased some of the top the area’s top talent (including some from the Main Line) in the Hoops for Hope Tournament benefitting The Cure Starts Now Foundation (aka The Lauren Hill Foundation).
The Cure Starts Now Foundation, Curing Cancer One Child at a time, fights for the cure for children with brainstem glioma and cancer survivors everywhere.
“For 11 years, our tournament has allowed the local basketball community to come together for a great day of play while supporting a wonderful cause,” said Tournament Director Lauren Pellicane. “Our proceeds will benefit a foundation that is in dire need of funding and DIPG research. Our inspiration came from five-year old hero Mandy Kuck (Mandy’s Mark) who lost her brave battle last spring.”
The day-long event featured six games that included plenty of Main Line flavor with Archbishop Carroll taking on Academy of Notre Dame; Episcopal Academy against perennial power Archbishop Wood and Friends’ Central tipping off against Audenreid Charter.
For most of the first quarter it looked as though Carroll and Notre Dame would be locked in a back and forth battle. As the clocked ticked just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter, Academy of Notre Dame freshman Riley Shaak converted feed from senior Tess Phillips to knot the score at 9-9.
After that Carroll began to seize control taking a 17-9 lead after one quarter thanks to an 8-0 run sparked by senior Bella Sorrentino and junior Wynter Bess. The Irish kept fighting but the Patriots kept extending their lead en route to the victory.
Leading Carroll’s balanced attack was Molly Masciantonio with 15 points (including 3 three-pointers) and grabbed four rebounds.; Erin Sweeney with 12 points and Bella Sorrentino with 10 points and four assists. Casey Walsh paced the Academy of Notre Dame with 12 points (including 2 three-pointers).
When EA and Wood took the floor, the Churchwomen knew the difficult task in front of them. For 10 minutes, Episcopal went toe-to-toe with Wood but early in the second quarter, the Viking showed why they are the defending PIAA Class AAA state champions going on a 13-2 run to end the second quarter and give their squad a 29-19 halftime lead.
EA knew a quick start in the third quarter would be key to get back into the contest but unfortunately Wood proved to be too much. Pacing the Churchwomen was Reilly Wright with 11 points (including 3 three-pointers) and Luca Mamula who added nine points, grabbed four rebounds and had three steals. Elodie Furey pulled six rebounds and blocked two shots.
The day finished with the closest game of the afternoon when Friends’ Central dropped a hard fought contest to Audenreid Charter falling 56-53 in overtime. Trailing most of the contest the Phoenix forced overtime when freshman Gabby Carruth banked home an off-balance three-pointer at the buzzer.
Leading Friends’ Central’s balanced attack was Nia Jordan with 18 points while Carruth added 14 and Raanee Smith added 13.
