Playing in front of University of Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, the NEPA Elite Clark 17U girls won two more games Wednesday in the Select Events Basketball Summer Championships at Spooky Nook Sports in Manheim, Lancaster County.
The Summer Championships were added to the Clark team’s schedule after the National Collegiate Athletic Association released its restrictions on in-person recruiting by major colleges and turned July into a “Live Period” for Division I recruiting on the AAU circuit.
That decision put the NEPA Elite girls in front of an impressive group of college coaches, headed by the man who has guided UConn to a record 11 national titles.
Ciera Toomey, one of the nation’s most pursued women’s basketball recruits, responded to the extra attention by scoring 41 points in the 2 wins.
NEPA Elite improved to 3-0 at the event, ran its winning streak to seven straight and improved to 20-3 since June 11 and 26-7 on the season.
Toomey went 6-for-8 from the floor with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots in a 62-39 victory over Nebraska Attack GUAA in the 2022 Division Pool A to begin the day.
Kaci Kranson went 3-for-5 on 3s and finished with 13 points.
Maria Belardi was 5-for-6 from the floor for 11 points to go along with 3 assists and 2 blocked shots.
Kylie Lavelle had nine points, two steals and two blocks.
Toomey was 4-for-7 from 3-point range and finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in a 53-48 victory over Example Sports Wolfpack, an Under Armour Asssociation team from Illinois.
Lavelle added 11 points and 7 rebounds.
Moriah Murray, who missed the first two games of the event, had six points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Belardi had two steals and two blocked shots.
Toomey and Murray are high school teammates at Dunmore. Kranson is from Holy Cross, Lavelle from Riverside, Belardi from Scranton Prep.
NEPA Elite plays for the last time until September when it faces two more opponents Thursday to conclude the Summer Championships.
