All rankings used in this story via ESPN.

Friday was a busy day in Springfield, with it being day 2 of the Hoophall Classic. Event organizers decided this year to put all of the girls' basketball games on the same day, and so some of the top ladies in the 2026, 2027 and 2028 classes took the floor in six consecutive games. Here's what I saw from Blake Arena:

Game 1: Springfield Central 56-Northwest Catholic 44

This was an interstate matchup to start the day, with Springfield Central using a 24-9 fourth quarter to win by 12. The only prospect of note that I was aware of here was Northwest Catholic's Abigail Casper (Holy Cross), a G/F hybrid who most of the team's offense revolved around. Obviously Casper is asked to do a lot for this team, but she still managed to be efficient in the first half before dropping off in the second. She has solid quickness for her size and good instincts on both ends. I expect she'll do better with the Crusaders as an inside-out role player.

Maeve Staunton (UConn soccer) also impressed me as a do-it-all point guard for Northwest Catholic. The senior wasn't the most efficient scorer but she drew fouls well, made smart reads and stuck around on defense. She finished with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Huskies fans, take note if your squad gets low on bodies one day.

As for Springfield Central, this team wanted to run, and run quick. Its lead chaos agent was sophomore guard Giavanna Mars, who paired strong takes to the rim with quick hands on the other end. These two-way capabilities offer intriguing upside. Mya Ocana Saunders was also a fearless scorer within the arc, and she shouldered much of the offensive load late with no issues.

Game 2: Mater Dei 53-Christ the King 39

This matchup wound up being good, but it was scheduled to be great with the inclusion of Mater Dei F Kaeli Wynn (#17 SR/South Carolina). She's out for the season with an injury, but Mater Dei still notched the 14-point win.

Wynn's injury meant that Olivia Vukosa (#3 SR/UConn) was the main attraction here. With Geno Auriemma in attendance, the 6-foot-5 forward had 14 points (6-13 FG) and 13 rebounds. I saw some good in Vukosa's performance, specifically in her leadership and command of the paint. Mater Dei had nobody to match up with her, and once she had good positioning, there was no fear in utilizing her simplistic-yet-effective post game. On defense, there wasn't much to catch with her patrolling the middle of a 2-3 zone, but I did see good recovery on the rare occasion she pressed up and got beat.

A couple negatives for her on Friday: she telegraphed a couple passes and her contest wasn't vertical enough. She only had two fouls, but you could absolutely make the case for a couple more.

Without Wynn, Harmony Golightly stole the show for Mater Dei. The 5-foot-7 junior finished with a game-high 17 points, getting the bulk of her work done off individual creation. She had a shifty handle and an acute sense of when to use it, and I loved her work finishing through contact. There was some tunnel vision there, but Mater Dei needed somebody to step up in Wynn's wake, and she gladly took the mantle.

Mater Dei's Stella Hoss had a rough night as Vukosa's main assignment, but she remained confident throughout, showing some potential as a rangy 4. Mater Dei's defense as a whole was excellent, forcing 18 turnovers and showing 100% cohesion in the halfcourt.

It was a rough day for anyone not named Vukosa on Christ the King. There were many defensive lapses (from the wings especially), and non-Vukosa players combined to shoot 23%.

Game 3: The St. James Academy 59-IMG Academy 49

There were more injuries headed into this game than the one before it, but it remained a competitive affair. IMG Academy, without all four of its four-star players, went up by two at halftime before getting outscored 33-21 in the second half.

The star heading in was St. James' Jordyn Jackson (#7 SR/Maryland), whose 13-point performance landed a bit outside her recruiting pedigree. The future Terrapin guard missed her first five shots and disappeared for large stretches of the first half before recovering a bit in the second.

Maryland fans can find some value in Jackson's steady presence throughout her struggles, as the guard refused to force any bad looks. She moved into more of a facilitating role as her slump developed, scanning the floor well and serving as the trigger woman on multiple successful fastbreaks. Her perimeter defense was on point too, but apart from second-chance layups and a couple jumpers, there wasn't much to laud about her scoring.

Jezelle Banks (#4 JR) and Ashley MacCalla (#46 JR) were the two other highly-touted prospects for St. James, and each showed off different aspects of their game. Banks did an outstanding job of disrupting IMG passing lanes, finishing with six steals, while MacCalla had a more hard-nosed defensive showing.

Each had initial offensive struggles – Banks settled for floaters in the first half and MacCalla missed a couple lightly contested bunnies – but they improved post-halftime.

Without all of its stars, I thought first-half IMG was a team of role players that did their jobs perfectly. Asia Keels (Norfolk State) did well as a lead table-setter and slasher, Emma Hart looked good as a two-way guard, the team's defense looked stellar.

After halftime, the fatigue caught up to the seven-player rotation, and things went downhill quick. The passes that Hart and Keels fired in early on lost their zip, the missed shots accumulated and St. James' looks got much, much better.

The saving grace that prevented IMG from a 20+ point loss: sophomore sharpshooter Stevi Harmon, one of my standouts of the day. We didn't see much of the wing's shot creation, but her catch-and-shoot skills were outstanding, leading to six made triples. Harmon's best play came in the fourth, when a pump fake/stepback three combo had Miami (FL) associate coach Fitzroy Anthony opening his notebook.

Game 4: Westtown 50-Bullis 40

Defense defined this prep school showdown, with both schools combining for just 38 points in the first half before Westtown rode a 22-3 third quarter to victory.

All eyes were on the wings, as Bullis stuck Ivanna Wilson-Manyacka (#2 JR) onto Westtown's Jordyn Palmer (#6 JR) for much of the contest. Westtown did a great job using screens to create mismatches for the 6-foot-2 Palmer, though, and once she saw somebody else on her, she feasted.

The five-star from Pennsylvania finished with 21 points on an efficient 8-of-15 shooting, bringing a surgical game onto the Blake Arena floor. I remarked in the first quarter that it felt like Palmer was playing in 0.9x speed, and I stand by that comment. It seemed like no matter what got thrown at her, she stayed calm and dedicated to her brand of basketball. That brand largely consisted of spot-up drives and floaters, with Palmer using her impressive physicality to convert. When she wasn't scoring, her aggressive defense left Bullis players uncomfortable and her vision led to great looks.

She ultimately outshone Wilson-Manyacka, who faltered after an impressive start. For someone touted as a versatile wing, the five-star mostly made three-pointers in this game, although her spot-up ability was very good. Once Bullis fell into a team-wide slump in the third quarter, it was tough for her to even get open, let alone generate good looks.

On the bright side, when Palmer was left in isolation, Wilson-Manyacka guarded her extremely well. Palmer pulled off multiple moves in the second half that would work on 99% of athletes, but Wilson-Manyacka did a great job of sticking to her assignment and forcing either passes or turnovers.

Elsewhere on the court, I liked some of what Westtown's starting point guard, Atlee Vanesko (#74 SR/Ohio State) did. Her scoring fell off hard after a quick start, but she's a pest on defense and would be undaunted leading an offense against Big Ten powers. Jada Lynch looked good on defense as well, with the wing having a strong base that bumped Bullis players off their spots.

Like IMG in the last game, Bullis had a very short rotation that caused fatigue to hit hard in the second half. It wasn't the best showing for its supporting cast, but I did think sophomore guard Taylor Williams looked promising as a facilitator with good lateral quickness.

Game 5: Long Island Lutheran 70-Sierra Canyon 60

This was the first of two co-main events in Springfield, as Dawn Staley was on hand to watch her five-star Jerzy Robinson (#5 SR/South Carolina) go head-to-head with a loaded LuHi squad.

It was LuHi who won out, and you can argue Robinson wasn't even the best guard on the floor in this one. That honor goes to Taylor Brown (#33 JR), LuHi's lead initiator who showed it all against one of the nation's top teams.

The 5-foot-8 junior looked like one of the best guards in the nation. As a passer, there were multiple difficult reads that she made, putting the ball right into shooters' pockets. As a slasher, her acceleration was off-the-charts, leading to easy baskets before help defenders could respond. As a defender, she held Sierra Canyon's Delaney White (UC Irvine) completely in check.

There were plenty of moments where Robinson played up to her billing, as she ultimately had a game-high 33 points (with some coming in garbage time). Her individual shot creation is at a level higher than any other woman in this class, with her ability to create space standing out. She has a very high motor, which showed in five offensive boards and multiple tough layups. LuHi would blitz her off screens and penetration, and she remained composed.

There were two nitpick-y areas of improvement I spotted for the future Gamecock, although she did improve in both during the second half: help defense and entry passing. There were multiple times in the opening two quarters where she was caught in no-man's-land, refusing to step towards an attacking Brown for fear of leaving her assignment (or not wanting to get in foul trouble?). I saw a couple nice finds from her in both halfcourt and transition offense, but she had multiple post entries to Emilia Krstevski (#41 SR/Oregon) that were off-line in one way or another.

Elsewhere for both sides, Savvy Swords (#19 SR/Kentucky) finished with 19 points, showing off multi-level scoring and an innate ability to crash the offensive glass. If she's alongside Clara Strack, SEC defenses will cause nightmares for SEC defenses. Emily McDonald (#23 SR/Kentucky) is also joining BBN, and her and Sanai Green (#25 SR/Duke) will both be microwave scorers for their programs.

Sierra Canyon's supporting cast was led by sophomore Cherri Hatter, a tough two-way guard who impressed me with her scoring both inside and outside. Krstevski was a brick wall down low but a liability outside of the paint, also showing very little of her offensive abilities.

Game 6: Bishop McNamara 57-Ontario Christian 55

After five consecutive games with double-digit margins, we finally got a good one. This was a game of runs, with Bishop McNamara coming up huge late to secure the win.

There were dynamic guards galore here. I'll start with what I assume is the main reason coaches like Staley and Miami (FL)'s Tricia Cullop stayed for the nightcap: Kaleena Smith (#1 JR). The Ontario Christian star is 5-foot-5, but her play and her heart rises far above her stature.

Smith was a killer from deep, hitting four threes with four misses that looked good. She is the only prospect I saw whose ability to create space rivals Robinson's, although she's more reckless when doing so. The junior also had no trouble whatsoever putting her head down and driving into the teeth of the McNamara defense, finishing amongst the trees on a couple occasions. Outside of the obvious size concerns, she had great feet and anticipation on defense, although her passing does leave a little to be desired (we didn't see much of it).

Her running mate isn't too bad, either: Tatianna Griffin (#1 SO). The top-ranked sophomore's fluidity stood out amongst all of the players I saw, regardless of class. She moves like a pro, with the ability to change tempo on a dime, keep a tight handle and create space with her powerful frame. She displayed tunnel vision at times, but I think we can give any No. 1 recruit some grace in that department.

Dani Robinson (#38 JR) and Layia King were the auxiliary pieces on a short Ontario Christian rotation, stepping up for the occasional shot or stop. There was one glaring issue that I thought they, plus Smith and Griffin, had: ball-watching.

That one facet allowed Bishop McNamara to claw back into the game after an up-and-down start, with the team ultimately securing 15 offensive rebounds. The triumvirate of Qandace Samuels (#14 JR), Nyair McCoy and Jaylah King fought hard here, gathering additional opportunities for their team. I like McCoy's potential as a facilitator/defensive stalwart at the next level, while King is a little more one-dimensional but a better scorer.

Samuels' game aligned pretty well with Griffin's, as both stars are strong wings who like operating from 10-15 feet the best. I expected a solid offensive showing from Samuels, but I was also impressed with her defense, driving players off their spots and affecting shots even from inopportune locations.