Pictured above: Jaelyn Alers was one of the contributors to NEPA Elite’s 14U girls teams going 4-0 Saturday.
By Tom Robinson, NEPAElite.com
Kiyomi McMiller and Chrissy Jacklinski had high-scoring individual performances Saturday while a series of strong team defensive efforts led the younger half of the NEPA Elite teams to have a perfect day in the Black Diamond Championships at Riverfront Sports in Scranton and other northeastern Pennsylvania gyms.
McMiller had games of 28 and 33 points as the 17U Macciocco team split a pair of entertaining, high-energy games at Riverfront.
Jacklinski shot 67 percent for the day while scoring 28 and 15 points and her 14U Clark team was among those putting up impressive defensive numbers.
The two 14U teams and the 15U Scoblick team each went 2-0, allowing fewer than 30 points in 5 of those 6 wins. They won by a total of 211 points, an average of more than 35 per game.
NEPA Elite teams went a combined 9-3 on the day with every team winning at least once.
The Black Diamond Championships continue Sunday, but only the 15U Scoblick team is playing. The other five NEPA Elite teams completed their participation Saturday.
McMiller and Jacklinski did more than score.
In her first two games of the season with the team, McMiller showed why she was a first-team Hoop Group Showcase League 17U all-star last season while leading the NEPA Elite 17U Clark team to the HGSL Championship game.
McMiller had 61 points, 19 rebounds, 9 assists, 11 steals and 4 blocked shots.
Jacklinski produced 43 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 steals and 3 blocked shots in just 38 total minutes, 17 of which were played under running clock conditions because of the large victory margins the 14U Clark team was putting up.
A team-by-team recap of Saturday’s action:
NEPA Elite 14U Clark
CLARKS SUMMIT – NEPA Elite’s defensive pressure overwhelmed two opponents to go 2-0 and assure itself a first-place finish out of four teams in the 2027 Girls Division Pool A standings.
NEPA Elite defeated Exodus New York City Junior EYBL 8th, 57-22, and U14 United NJ West Xavier Brooks, 71-23, at Abington Heights High School.
After forcing 14 turnovers to build a 34-13 halftime lead against Exodus, NEPA Elite had 29 steals, 20 of them in the first half while running out to a 46-8 lead.
Jacklinski was 10-for-13 from the floor, 5-for-8 on 3-pointers and 3-for-3 from the line in her 28-point game against Exodus. She also led the team with five assists and five steals while sharing the lead of three blocked shots.
Kam Gallis went 4-for-7 with a pair of 3-pointers while adding 10 points.
Zya Small was 4-for-5 with 8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocked shots and 2 steals. She had 10 rebounds by halftime.
Jacklinski produced an even faster start.
In the first 5 minutes, she had 13 points while missing just once, dished out 4 assists to account for the other 9 points, made 5 steals and grabbed 3 rebounds to help the team to a 22-3 start.
While Small controlled the middle, Jacklinski played a big part in the team scoring 20 straight points for a 25-3 lead, then cruising from there.
Cora Castellani started 7-for-9 while leading the win over United NJ with 16 points, 10 steals and 5 assists. Her double-double made Castellani the team leader in points and steals and she shared the assist lead with Small.
Jacklinski had 5 rebounds and 3 steals to go along with her 15 points.
Ella Clementoni had 10 points and 5 steals.
Abby Schneider came off the bench to make her only three shots, all 3-pointers, for nine points.
Small and Gallis each had eight points. Small also had seven steals.
NEPA Elite scored 8 points before allowing a shot, stole the ball on 7 of the first 8 United NJ possessions and had 10 steals in the first 4 minutes while opening a 19-0 lead.
The lead reached 32-2 and 42-4 in the first half, then NEPA Elite ran off 14 straight early in the second half for a 60-11 lead.
Jacklinski and Small are from Scranton. Gallis is from Notre Dame of Bethlehem; Clementoni is from North Pocono; Castellani from Valley View; and Schneider from Abington He2ights.
NEPA Elite 14U Alers
SCRANTON – NEPA Elite locked up first place in the four-team 2027 Girls Division Pool D before noon with a pair of morning wins at Riverfront.
NEPA Elite handled NEPA Lady Antlers 8th, 52-15, then pulled away in the second half for a 64-40 victory over BBA 14U.
BBA was within 40-35 as the midway point in the second half approached before NEPA Elite took over in the paint to break the game open.
Emma Coleman started and ended a 14-1 run to a 54-36 lead with 3:20 remaining.
First, Coleman scored on a putback, then Jaelyn Alers hit a runner in the lane and made a foul shot after grabbing an offensive rebound.
A 9-0 streak featured seven points in the paint, five of them on rebounds, and a 19-footer by Kayli McHugh.
After BBA hit a free throw, Jackie Gallagher grabbed a rebound and wound up scoring off a give-and-go with McHugh.
Coleman then hit a corner 3-pointer for the 18-point lead.
Overall, NEPA Elite outscored BBA, 24-5, over the game’s last 8:15.
Coleman is from Abington Heights; Alers from Scranton; McHugh from North Pocono and Gallagher from Crestwood.
NEPA Elite 15U Scoblick
CLARKS SUMMIT – NEPA Elite put itself in a first-place battle with Exodus NYC 15U National in the 2026 Girls Division Pool B.
The teams will meet in the pool finale Sunday at 3 p.m. at Old Forge.
NEPA Elite won its Saturday games in the Auxiliary Gym at Abington Heights High School, routing New York Rebels Elite, 61-11, then pulling away from Midstate Lady Raiders, 46-29.
Jackie Brown scored the last two points of the first half and the first three of the second half as NEPA Elite took control.
Midstate was down 24-16 until NEPA Elite scored twice in a three-second span with less than 20 seconds left in the half.
Natalie Goldstein scored on one putback while being fouled. When she missed her attempt at the three-point play, Brown got the rebound and scored for a 28-16 halftime lead.
Addison Kilmer set up Brown off a high-low feed for the three-point play that opened the second half.
Midstate followed with a 3-pointer, but NEPA Elite did not allow another score for almost five minutes while running off seven more for a 38-19 lead.
Kilmer blocked three shots and Amanda Dempsey blocked one while NEPA Elite was allowing just one field goal for a span of more than seven minutes.
Brown and Dempsey are from Dunmore; Goldstein is from Honesdale; and Kilmer is from Mountain View.
NEPA Elite 16U Rini
NEPA Elite split two games in the 2025 Girls Division Pool B at Scranton High School.
After opening with a 59-30 victory over BBA 16U Black, NEPA Elite fell to Team Melo 2025 Black, 48-43.
NEPA Elite 16U Butler
NEPA Elite opened the day with a 51-15 romp at home at Riverfront Sports over 25th Hour Athlete 10th-O’Brien, then traveled to Wilkes University where it lost to the New Jersey Raptors 16U Select NE2K, 50-39.
The team competed in the 2025 Girls Division Pool D.
Bella Dennebaum, Madeleine Walsh and Madelyn O’Shea all finished in double figures for NEPA Elite in the opener.
NEPA Elite led 35-6 at halftime.
Dennebaum is from Scranton Prep; Walsh from Abington Heights; and O’Shea from Scranton.
NEPA Elite 17U Macciocco
SCRANTON – NEPA Elite split games to finish second in the three-team 2024 Girls Division Pool B.
NEPA Elite defeated United NJ East 17U Devaney, 81-78, then lost to Exodus NYC 17U EYBL.
In the opener, NEPA Elite went from 12 down to 11 up in the first half, then stayed in front the entire second half before needing 4-for-4 free throw shooting by Taylor Tmms in the final 46 seconds to secure the victory.
McMiller had 22 of her 28 points in the first half, including 18 during a 37-14 dominance over a span of 8:45 to take the team’s biggest lead at 47-36 late in the half.
After spending the 2022-23 season at Life Center Academy in New Jersey, McMiller is the seventh-ranked recruit in the country in the Class of 2024, according to espnW. She had 28 points, 14 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots in the win.
Timms had half her 18 points in the last 4:10.
Mackenzie Perluke added 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Kahmiyan Napier scored nine points, made three steals and dished out three assists
Samiya Greene had six rebounds and three steals.
Mya Bushrod scored 18 points and Isabella Suero had 17 for United NJ.
Suero hit five 3-pointers, including going 4-for-4 in the first 5½ minutes, capped by draining a 30-footer for a 22-10 lead.
Perluke took a big hit while finishing on the fastbreak for a three-point play that launched a 15-point streak into the lead at 35-31.
NEPA Elite tied and went ahead on a reverse three-point play.
McMiller made a steal in the backcourt and got the ball to Greene, who was fouled and made the first of two shots for the tie.
When Greene missed the second, McMiller grabbed the rebound and fed Frankie Martinelli for a wing jumper and a 35-33 lead.
NEPA Elite added another 10 straight points, including 8 by McMiller. She started it by hitting a straight-on, 32-footer while bringing the ball up the court, then hit another 3-pointer on a step-back move 35 seconds later.
NEPA Elite led 75-65 with 2:10 left before NJ United came charging back to get within three on three occasions.
NJ United scored with 13 seconds left to make it 79-78, but Timms hit both ends of a one-and-one with 5.7 seconds left then joined Greene in a backcourt trap that forced a clinching turnover in the last second.
Exodus NYC used an early 19-4 run to build a 20-10 lead with 10 minutes still remaining in the first half.
The Nike-sponsored team went right to work after McMiller hit 25- and 32-footers in the first minute for a 6-1 lead.
Leah Harmon led Exodus with five 3-pointers and 21 points. She had a personal 8-0 streak late in the half for a 47-31 lead.
NEPA Elite chipped away at times in the second half, but never got closer than seven.
Kate Koval, a 6-foot-5 center who is the New York Gatorade Player of the Year, finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. She is espnW’s No. 3 player in the Class of 2024.
Kayleigh Heckel had 11 of her 13 points in the first half as Exodus placed five scorers in double figures. She is already a 2,000-point scorer in high school.
McMiller had team-highs of 33 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. She was 5-for-8 on 3-pointers.
Perluke made all three of her 3-point attempts as part of the team’s 11-for-20 (55 percent) effort. She finished with 13 points and 4 assists.
Mackenzie Schirg contributed four rebounds and Ella Cooper had three assists.
Timms and Greene are from Maryland; Napier is from New Jersey; Perluke from Wyoming Valley West; Martinelli from Marian Catholic; Schirg from Lackawanna Trail and Cooper from Valley View.