Berkshire Trio Excel with Albany AAU Team
Three Berkshire County athletes recently wrapped up a successful 10-day trip to the Midwest with the Albany Lady Stars AAU basketball team.
Mount Greylock’s Jenna Benzinger, Miss Hall’s School’s Grace Guachione and Pittsfield High’s Peyton Steinman -- all seniors -- helped their team dominate the competition while continuing to capture the attention of college coaches at tournaments in Cincinnati and Chicago.
The 13th annual USJN Invitational-Midwest Tournament in Ohio had more than 200 teams playing at four different sites, July 5-8. The Albany Lady Stars won their first five games, winning their division in pool play. The sixth win came against a top-ranked St. Louis Blue Chip team, the Indiana Flight. Their first semi-final championship round win allowed the Albany Lady Stars to advance to the championship round, where the Lady Stars fell to Skylar Diggins Elite Team from Indiana.
Guachione and Steinman each earned a place on the USJN MidWest Premier Showcase All Star Team following the Invitational.
“The girls played awesome,” Lady Stars coach Antwan Morrison said. “We knew the competition would be great in the midwest, and it turned out that my Lady Stars stepped up and dominated. In fact, on Thursday we beat one of the biggest blue star teams in the tournament, which goes to show that our girls are as talented as anyone in the country.”
On July 10, the Albany Lady Stars joined more than 600 teams from across the country at the Chicago Nike Tournament of Champions. The Tournament of Champions in Chicago has long been considered the most competitive NCAA observation event in the country, is the largest single venue team event for girls in the world, and is one of the just four Nike-sponsored girls’ events in the United States.
The Albany Lady Stars continued to dominate their competition by winning all five of their division games, and then crushed their final tournament opponent, Illinois Lightning, by more than 30 points.
“These girls played with 100 percent effort each and every game,” Morrison said. “It was amazing to coach and watch as they dominated teams from all over the country. For the past two years, these young players have grown tremendously. Their skills, including both offensive and defensive, have improved greatly and they give our team everything they have, every time they step on the court. They practice and train year round, and are very dedicated athletes and a pleasure to coach.”
“Jenna Benzinger has made an early commitment to Brown. Grace Guachione and Peyton Steinman are taking their time and weighing their options. One thing is for sure: These girls are being seriously recruited from Division I, II and II schools, and they have earned every bit of the interest based on their performance and commitment to basketball these past two years.”
Earlier this spring, the Lady Stars traveled to a high profile Adidas event in Indiana, the Nike Rose Classic in New York City and the Deep South Classic in North Carolina. Later this month the Lady Stars will compete in the USJN Tournament in Washington D.C. The last event is the Adidas Nationals in Atlanta, which will give the team a chance to play against other Adidas sponsored teams for the Adidas Crown. In the fall, to complete the viewing period cycle, the team will be play in the Spooky Nook Tournament in Pennsylvania.
Taconic senior Madison Quinto is a recent addition to the Lady Stars and is traveling with and playing with the team this season.