By Christian Mordi / @thedribbledrop
Team: Trenton Catholic
Ranking:
Record Last season: 26-3, 8-0 in conference play
Key players: Giana Boulden, junior
Leiyana Massenat, junior
Potential emerging stars: Maniya Custis, junior
Jasmin Boyd, sophomore
Team analysis: TCA was one of the best surprises of last year, posting a massive jump in wins from 2017 to 2018. Much credit is due to coach Bob Fusik, the newly hired head coach last year who was previously an assistant as Rutgers Prep.
TCA is a very tough team to matchup with. They have great length, speed and athleticism at all spots on the floor. They use that to their advantage by relinquishing a wide array of defensive looks to befuddle their opponents. With the turnovers they create, TCA gets the game going at a faster pace than most teams are comforatable with in transistion.
TCA returns a solid nucleus from last years 26-3 team. Giana Boulden is back after a sensational AAU summer and has taken her offensive game to another level.
TCA has a new edition at point guard in Maniya Custis. Custis is a dynamic player who will make a lot of noise in New Jersey this year. TCA’s style of play is perfect for the crafty floor general. Custis is incredible in the open floor and dynamic in pick and roll situations.
With that being said, in order to win the big games, TCA will have to show their ability to be extremely effective in a slower paced game. Many teams will look to slow them down and force them to be very efficient in the half court. If TCA can figure that out come tournament time, this team could make some major noise down the stretch.
Stat to know: With a slight uptick in her average this year, Boulden should break the 1,000 point mark this year.