GILL, Mass. — The prep girls basketball season is off and running.
A small handful of teams around New England began their winter seasons this week. And though most of the contests were straightforward matchups, the NMH Tip-Off Classic at Northfield Mount Hermon served as our appetizer for a big December month of showcase weekends.
Host NMH, Dexter Southfield, Newman and Wilbraham & Monson — three NEPSAC AAA squads and a AA contender — played two games apiece against each other Friday and Saturday. I attended the second day, dusted off my evaluator's notebook (a.k.a. made a new Notes tab on my phone) and learned a lot about four teams I expect to be around my Top 10 all winter long. They each include some of the top college prospects in the region.
Here's our first dispatch of the season with 10 standouts from Saturday's action.
Results
Friday
Dexter Southfield 72, Wilbraham & Monson 38
Northfield Mount Hermon 53, Newman 37
Saturday
Dexter Southfield 71, Northfield Mount Hermon 51
Newman 54, Wilbraham & Monson 34
Ella Peper, Dexter Southfield
Class of 2028, 6-4 guard/forward
Hometown: Newton, Mass.
I had a parent of a boys player come up to me during this contest who, without knowing anything about Peper's prospect stature, was blown away watching her. It was the type of assertive, confident performance that many have been waiting to see from her at the prep level.
Peper scored a career-high 29 points, all coming in the first three quarters, and completely dominated until the game was out of reach. Her signature strengths were on full display: four 3-pointers, several fast-break buckets and a handful of deflections and steals guarding the perimeter. But I want to zoom in on how Dexter used Peper. She got a lot of touches around the baseline and out of the post, scoring on either short jumpers or attacking the basket. She very clearly is seeking out contact and looking to finish through it — an important next phase of her development as she gets older.
"Definitely, (I'm) going up into contact and making contact first, so I show my presence before they do — so they back off a little bit," Peper said postgame. "I feel like that's very helpful for me. Like at the beginning of games, I'll just body and bump people a little bit, so it'll just show them that I'm here."
I'd even say this still was an imperfect game; Peper can be more efficient finishing through that contact and missed some gimmes early on. But the mindset shift is huge for a star like her. She's setting screens and chasing rebounds more frequently. Though an elite prospect, she's always keeping the offense flowing and doesn't chase highlights. This is a really exciting start to Peper's sophomore year.
Avery Bollin, Dexter Southfield
Class of 2029, 6-3 forward
Hometown: Raynham, Mass.
This was by far the best prep game from Bollin I've watched in person. She was the most impactful big in a matchup with several older Division 1-caliber talents. Bollin opened her 13-point outing with a catch-and-shoot 3 and she also took advantage of mismatches, sealing off one guard on the low block and receiving a good pass from Riley Hamilton for a layup. My favorite sequence came in the second half, when Bollin played great help defense to force a miss, ran the floor hard and got to the other basket just in time for a putback layup.
Bollin's defensive awareness has always been elite for her age, but she really showed off how versatile she can be in this contest. Dexter often had her pressuring the ball either as a switching defender or second helper, and she either flustered the opponents or at least made them think before driving. But Bollin still made her mark in the paint and picked up some blocks too. She appeared on ESPN's 2029 national watch list early last week and backed it up with this effort.
Stephie Regan, Dexter Southfield
Class of 2028, 5-9 guard
Hometown: Framingham, Mass.
Regan would be my breakout pull from Saturday. A new transfer from Framingham, she earned a starting spot on a Dexter team with a very deep guard group and showed why in this contest. Regan was arguably the most impressive defender in the game from my view; she blocked Olivia Fleming on a drive and often switched onto NMH's six-footers, pestering them with her strength as a guard and consistent effort level. Regan also worked well as a cutter and spacer on offense. She finished with seven points, highlighted by a nice pass from Brooke Nunnally-Gardner out of the post to get Regan an open perimeter jumper.
Zariah Ottley, Northfield Mount Hermon
Class of 2027, 5-7 guard
Hometown: Rockland, Mass.
Ottley was the one player Dexter could not contain. Her team-high 22 points are even more impressive considering she took a hard fall and missed a large chunk of the second quarter before returning after halftime and scoring 15 points. Ottley had an awesome fourth-quarter sequence where she put back an offensive rebound for an and-1 bucket, then on the next defensive possession, jumped a passing lane on the perimeter and took the ball coast to coast for another and-1 — two of three total in the frame.
It is remarkable how efficient Ottley is on difficult shots. NMH needed her to spark the offense several times, and Ottley came through on drives to the paint where she would then spin out or pull-up into a smooth mid-range jumper. She seemed unbothered by contact or shot contests, she scored on multiple cuts and she intercepted a few passes on defense. I've long appreciated Ottley's skill because of how smart she is at fitting into her team's needs during a given game. In this one, NMH needed a bucket-getter, and Ottley stepped up.
Olivia Fleming, Northfield Mount Hermon
Class of 2026, 5-6 guard
Hometown: Windham, N.H.
NCAA: Lehigh
Fleming (17 points) and Ottley combined to score 39 of Northfield Mount Hermon's 51 total points. Fleming faced a ton of attention from Dexter's perimeter defenders but still orchestrated the offense well. She caught fire for three 3-pointers in the third quarter and looked confident shooting off the catch. She's also stronger than her size would indicate, and forced one Dexter opponent into a travel simply by walling up on defense and absorbing contact on a drive. As the season goes along, I'd bet we see Fleming develop better chemistry with forwards Molly Sisson and Jocelyn Gesner, which should showcase more of her ability as a high-level passer.
Morgan Jenkins, Newman
Class of 2026, 6-2 forward
Hometown: Higganum, Conn.
NCAA: Xavier
Jenkins gave us a diverse sampling of her versatility with this 15-point effort in Newman's first win of the season. I thought she played fantastic, high-effort defense that led to several turnovers. Jenkins slid her feet extremely well and poked away one steal after switching onto a guard that led to a fast break and eventually her own bucket when she ran the floor. She also stopped a guard one-on-one, saw her post assignment cutting, and during the ball reversal recovered back to intercept the inside pass. Then on offense, we saw her taking command in the post for layups and short hook shots, dominating the offensive boards, and even spray out an assist from the elbow to Ava Egan for 3.
Jenkins was playing through an injury that's going to sideline her for an extended period. But this was a great chance to check out her fit on Newman and remember why she's one of the best prospects in this 2026 class.
Shannon Welburn, Newman
Class of 2027, 5-8 guard
Hometown: Wellesley, Mass.
Welburn made her mark particularly in the first half, scoring all eight of her points before the break. She defended at a high level on the ball and helped Newman clamp down on the opposing guards. I also think Welburn does a great job playing offense at a consistent fast pace. Her cuts were great, and she drove hard on the baseline before dishing out one assist to Hillary Simo for an easy layup. Newman also drew up a baseline-out-of-bounds play that got Welburn a jumper off a cut, where she was able to square herself up to the basket while her momentum carried her away and hit the difficult shot.
Ayla Keefe, Newman
Class of 2028, 5-11 guard/forward
Hometown: Cave Creek, Ariz.
This was a pretty low-scoring, balanced win from Newman, so I want to shout out Keefe for her defense in particular. I thought she was disciplined and smart with her contests and she also defended pick-and-rolls well, including a possession where she swiped a high-low pass out of the air for a steal. Keefe is another great cutter on Newman, and though she's best on the wing, she can handle the ball and drive a bit too. She's got a handful of Division 1 offers from schools like Cornell, Army, UMass, Yale and UNH, and it's because she's a really solid glue player with a high basketball I.Q.
Avery Vanderburg, Wilbraham & Monson
Class of 2028, 5-9 guard/forward
Hometown: Easton, Conn.
Vanderburg brought a competitive edge that helped Wilbraham & Monson battle in the first half before the third quarter got away. She stole an inbounds pass in full-court pressure, then drew a backcourt charge on the very next play in the first quarter. Vanderburg scored eight points and found buckets as a cutter, but her physical, aggressive drives also helped her draw fouls. She's super strong for her age and size, and though she didn't have an opportunity to show it off Saturday, Vanderburg can shoot from distance too.
Gabby Ravosa, Wilbraham & Monson
Class of 2028, 5-11 forward
Hometown: East Longmeadow, Mass.
Ravosa's growing confidence is really starting to pop through the Titans' first three games this season. Though she only scored four points, those two buckets came via a decisive attack of a post mismatch and a finish through contact. She also blocked Jenkins one-on-one and consistently made solid straight-up defensive contests. Ravosa isn't going to dominate possessions for the Titans, but she's a consistent cutter and does a lot of the dirty work setting off-ball screens for teammates. She fits in well on a WMA offense that relies heavily on cutting and off-ball motion to create opportunities.
Quick shouts: Dexter Southfield in general is the big winner from the weekend. Their defense is light years better than last season and everyone is raving about the new identity. And that's even without head coach Tammy Millaps present for either victory this weekend. Brooke Nunnally-Gardner (Stoughton, Mass./Cornell) was rock-solid as usual with her post footwork and scoring, and she made a few smart passes out of the paint as well. New 2027 transfer Juice Coston (Boston, Mass.) also shined with her on-ball defense and explosiveness. Another big takeaway: keep an eye on Xzyla Simpson (Mattapan, Mass.). The tiny 2030 point guard has earned more minutes and made two crafty layups as part of her nine points.
... Newman earned its first win under head coach Katie Kolinski, and she's clearly confident in the depth of her roster. Gabby Middleton (Stoughton, Mass.) scored eight points mostly via free throws but had a sweet step-through layup and made some sharp passes running the offense. Though Shannon Welburn got a nod above, I thought twin sister Shea Welburn (Wellesley, Mass.) played some impactful defense as well off the bench in addition to her four points. ... This is a tough start to the season for Wilbraham & Monson, and it hurts that star big Caterina Ravosa (East Longmeadow, Mass.) is out for an extended period due to injury. But the Titans did show off a swarming press that helped keep the game close in the first half. Vanderburg, Gabby Ravosa and 5-foot-1 point guard Iyanna Hodge (Springfield, Mass.) deserve a lot of credit for the press success.
