The 6th Grade Division playoff picture came into full view after Session 3 of the Girls East Winter Circuit last season.
The Division’s top teams met in a thriller, and other teams jockeyed for position heading into the upcoming Championships on February 21-22.
Here’s a look at the storylines and superlatives from Sunday’s action:
Castle Athletics Rallies Past Unity Legends
The anticipated matchup of unbeatens Castle Athletics and Unity Legends lived up to expectations.
Castle rallied back from 9 points down at the break, and outscored Unity Legends 30-14 in the second half to pick up a 53-46 win and remain the Division’s lone unbeaten at 11-0.
Olivia Jean-Baptiste had 21 points, Madison Bravo 14 and Jayla Alleyne 13 to lead Castle.
During Castle’s second-half run, Bravo hit two big 3-pointers, including one to give Caste a 40-39 lead. After that second shot, she came up with a steal and assist to Jean Baptist to go ahead by 3. Sloane Smith hit a 3 to put Unity Legends up 44-42, but Alleyne hit two free throws to tie. Jean-Baptiste powered up a lay-in to put Castle ahead She then came up with a steal and a lay-in to expand the lead to four. Unity’s Jayla Boykins scored to cut the gap to two, but that was as close as Unity Legends would get after Castle’s Madison Valmon answered with a wing 3.
Smith had 14 guards to lead Unity Legends, while Aniyah Washington had 13.
Team Takeover Goes 2-0 on Sunday
After dropping its opener at Session 3 on Saturday, Team Takeover Jr. EYBL bounced back strong, and picked up a pair of victories Sunday to cap a 3-1 weekend.
Takeover downed Virginia Diamonds 32-21 behind 14 points from Anna Andrews, and followed it up with a 43-32 win over NY Gauchos. TTO now stands at 7-2 after three sessions.
Exodus NYC Caps 3-0 Weekend
Exodus NYC enjoyed a perfect trip, capping Session 3 with a 41-18 win over MD23 Elite to improve to 8-2 through three sessions. Exodus is on a 7-game win streak overall, and will look to carry that momentum into Championship Weekend. London Sales, Paris Sales and Payton Austrie have led the way.
Sunday Superlatives
Paint Presence – Olivia Jean-Baptiste, Castle Athletics
Jean-Baptiste was key to her team’s 53-46 win over Unity Legends, posting a game-high 21 points. She was relentless near the basket, finishing strong through contact and giving her team an interior threat to play off of their perimeter shooters. She attacked the boards hard on both ends, and defender strong in the paint and on the perimeter.
Ms. Consistency – Anna Andrews, Team Takeover
Andrews was a steady presence for Takeover as they bounced back from an early defeat Saturday by picking up two victories.
Two-Way Threat – Paris Sales, Exodus NYC
Sales helped key Exodus’ perfect weekend with her strong play on both ends, continuing her standout play this winter. She’s a consistent double-figure scoring threat, and plays with good instincts and energy defensively.
