So as I mentioned on Tuesday, the Hudson Valley scholastic team scrimmaged the Westchester Hawks on Wednesday night at Manhattanville. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it over there from the office (way too much to do), but it sounds like I missed a strong showing by the ESG team.

I’ll get to the meat of this post immediately: The 10 players who made the team were decided. Here they are…

Guards:
Alaina Walker, Jr., North Rockland
Porsha Postell, Jr., Woodlands
Caitlynn Moran, Jr., John Jay-East Fishkill
Allyson Biordi, Sr., Beacon
Shannon Ray, So., Ursuline

Forwards:
Emily Stallings, Sr., Burke Catholic
Brittany Shields, Sr., Haldane
Mary Abrams, Sr., North Rockland
Sophia Aleksandravicius, Jr., Holy Child
Maggie Blair, Jr., Briarcliff

From what I was told, Ray and Biordi really played their way onto the team with strong performances against a Hawks team that consisted of Angelei Aguirre and Paige Sprewell of White Plains, Kwinnyata Mercer of Mount Vernon, Tricia Liller and Rosie Crean of Ursuline, and was coached by Mark Aguirre. (Normally, Patrice Wallace-Moore is the coach but she had another commitment. Also, I thought Nadia Duncan would play but she did not.)

The Hawks came in on late notice after the AAU Long Island Lightning canceled. With the talent on the team, they were a good test for the ESG squad.

Ray’s overall court sense and basketball IQ were what ultimately won her a spot on the roster, while Biordi can shoot and play some D. They will join forces with a well-established backcourt trio of Walker, Postell and Moran, who have all shown the versatility and athletic ability to be a major strength in a run for a medal.

As I mentioned Tuesday, Stallings, Shields and Abrams will anchor the frontcourt. Shields started at point guard last year, but will move around more this time around. Stallings, who is about 5-foot-11, has already committed to Marist. She’s the only player on the team to commit so far. And Abrams is 6-foot-1 and can handle the ball and shoot like a guard.

The other two players I haven’t mentioned will each fill a key role as well. Blair, a skilled, 5-foot-11 guard/forward, can pretty much play any position as needed. Then there’s Aleksandravicius, the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-3. I mentioned her several times during the regular season. She’s not someone you guys probably know very well, but she will be. Her height makes her a shot-blocking presence on any court at any time. She may even be the first player off the bench.

All and all, this is a very young team…only four seniors on an ESG team is rare. They will definitely be very versatile, but they will probably need either Abrams or Aleksandravicius to provide key minutes inside. The team’s athleticism shouldn’t be an issue.

My one guarantee for this tournament: It will establish Walker and Postell as major stars and earn each of them a heavy dose of attention from recruiters a year ahead of schedule.

They both are blessed with the skills and natural gifts Division I coaches look for. To anyone who hasn’t seen Postell play, this may come as a surprise. But anyone who did see her play? They’re probably surprised she hasn’t attracted more attention already.

I’ll have a lot more on both teams in the future. Should be fun over the next six weeks.

I’m hoping to scoot over to Manhattanville tomorrow night for the scholastic team’s scrimmage against the Westchester Hawks. The scholastic team will be finalized after tomorrow, when the roster will be trimmed to 10.

From what I hear, it sounds like North Rockland’s Alaina Walker has starred so far. That’s not much of a surprise. I always thought Walker was one of the most talented players in the section and that with a little assertiveness she’d be one of the toughest players in the section to stop.

Right now, the team has played Walker together in the backcourt with Woodlands’ Porsha Postell and then had Haldane’s Brittany Shields, North Rockland’s Mary Abrams, and Burke Catholic’s Emily Stallings in the frontcourt. John Jay’s Caitlyn Moran has been in the backcourt rotation as well.

Frankly, I think the frontcourt will determine how well Hudson Valley does at the Games next month. The backcourt will be nearly impossible to stop, with Moran’s ability to shoot and Walker and Postell’s size and versatility.

Hudson Valley will face the Westchester Hawks tomorrow…the same team with Mount Vernon’s Nadia Duncan and White Plains’ Angelei Aguirre, among others. It should provide a good gauge for the scholastic team and determine how much further it has to go before the Games tip off in late July.

If I get there tomorrow, I’ll check in with some thoughts.

Here are the 10 players selected to compete for Hudson Valley in the Open Division of the ‘07 Empire State Games, from July 26-29:

Georgia Anderson — Peekskill HS/Monroe Comm College
Kristi Dini — Putnam Valley HS/Boston University
Tara Flaherty — Hastings HS/Fairfield University
Liz Flooks — White Plains HS/Niagara University
Emma Markley — Yorktown HS/Princeton University
Jaimie McFarlin — Burke Catholic HS/Washington University (St Louis)
Angela Pace — Woodlands HS/Robert Morris University
Julianne Viani — Our Lady of Lourdes HS/Marist College
Amy Voekel — Lakeland HS/College of St. Rose
Ashley Wallace — Pace University

Head coach: Al Viani
Asst coach: Manny Martinez