ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Avery McNulty’s dominance of a taller opponent helped make sure the NEPA Elite 17U Rini girls AAU basketball team got off to a fast start on the way to playing for a title in its final game together.
McNulty had 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots when NEPA Elite opened The Hoop Group Championship Weekend in Atlantic City July 10 with a 60-34 victory over Hunting Park Warriors team that featured a combination of 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-1 post players.
The 6-foot rising senior at Scranton Prep, who resides in the Pittston Area School District, was the biggest reason NEPA Elite was able to score 42 points in the first half of the matchup.
McNulty had 11 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in a game-changing, 5½-minute stretch of the first half. NEPA Elite turned a tie game into a 24-point advantage by outscoring the Warriors, 33-9, in the 9½ minutes that McNulty played during the first half.
“When I got in there, I knew she was going to try to block my shot, so I just tried to go up strong,” McNulty said. “I tried to pump fake because (6-foot-5 Mikala Carter) was flying right up. I also knew when I got it inside, I could pass it back out because it’s a little tough when there’s someone (6-5) on you and you’re 6-foot.”
McNulty and Pittston Area’s Kallie Booth, the team’s only rising junior, helped NEPA Elite win its first four games in the Gold Championship bracket before settling for second place out of 32 teams.
It was a familiar finish for the team, which went 4-1 in three of its events and 3-1 in the other three, for a 21-6 season.
Booth had five assists in a 67-62 victory over Rhode Island Basketball Club in the second game.
McNulty gave the team its only lead in the championship game with a 3-pointer on the opening possession of what turned into a 57-27 loss to Comets 2022, a Philadelphia team that is the only Under Armour Association team in the eastern half of Pennsylvania.
