By Nick Pantages
@nick_pantages22
Women’s basketball is on a meteoric rise in popularity.
Led by an influx of superstar talent 2024’s NCAA tournament was the most watched ever, while the 2025 edition ranked third. The WNBA on ESPN saw its highest viewership in 2025, just edging out the 2024 season.
The Hoophall Classic has hosted a number of the best players that have helped grow the women’s game, and the 2026 edition at Blake Arena made history. The Friday slate featured six games, and all six were girls games.
According to the Hall of Fame’s Vice President of Events and Partnerships Greg Procino, the recent rise in mainstream media, viewership and fan interest of women’s basketball as a whole led to them implementing an entire day, instead of the previous format where games were sprinkled in among the elite men’s matchups on all days.
“It’s what’s expected now,” Procino said. “You have to look at the current state of women’s basketball and how popular it has become, and this was the obvious choice.”
As girls basketball goes, the games were stocked with talent. Eight of the top 13 teams in January’s edition of the SC Next Top 25 took the floor, and 18 prospects ranked inside the top 25 of their respective recruiting classes. The loaded lineup drew the attention of a packed house and plenty of fans, allowing Procino and the rest of the planners to feel good about their decision.
“There was a lot of interest from a lot of really talented teams [to play at Hoophall],” Procino said. “It just felt like this was the right time to make the decision.”
The slate definitely caught the eyes of the elite coaches of the sport as well. Among the attendees were UCONN head coach Geno Auriemma, South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and Michigan’s Kim Barnes Arico, whose programs rank first, second and eighth respectively in the most recent Associated Press Poll.
From top to bottom, the games lived up to the stacked billing. Springfield Central, currently ranked as the best girls team in Massachusetts, faced off against Northwest Catholic, who is arguably the best girls team in Connecticut. The game was down to the wire, with Central eking out a narrow victory.
Game two featured two national programs, Christ the King and Mater Dei, headlined by Olivia Vukosa. Vukosa is Christ the King’s star center, the No. 3 recruit in the country in the class of 2026, and committed to Auriemma’s Huskies. Vukosa delivered a solid double-double in the loss, playing in front of spectator Rebecca Lobo, a Naismith Hall of Famer who herself played under Auriemma.
Next up was St. James Performance Academy, led by head coach Tamika Dudley, who had appeared at the three previous Hoophall’s with her previous program, Sidwell Friends.
Dudley’s experiences at Hoophall and thirst for competition led her back to Springfield, and she pointed out the rise in women’s basketball’s popularity being a big reason for Friday’s success.
“I just think it’s showing the evolution on the girls side,” Dudley said. “It’s funny, we were at [The Hall of Fame today] looking at the 30 years of Slam, and there weren’t a lot of women featured in the earlier years, and then you look down and there’s more and more females featured on the cover of Slam Magazine. So, I mean, just speaks to the evolution and the respect the girls game is starting to garnish.”
Dudley’s St. James handled a talented IMG squad, led by her duo of Jordyn Jackson and GG Banks, ranked seventh and fourth in their respective classes.
Number two junior Ivanna Wilson-Manyacka took the floor next for Bullis, who fell at the hands of Westtown and No. 6 junior Jordyn Palmer, whose 21 point, 12 board double-double propelled Westtown to a 50-40 win.
Perennial powerhouse Long Island Lutheran took down Sierra Canyon despite Jerzy Robinson’s 33-point effort in front of her future coach, Staley. Kentucky-bound Savvy Swords and four-star junior Taylor Brown combined for 39 points, for LuHi.
LuHi coach Christina Raiti has made her team a staple at Hoophall, partially because of the way that they handle women’s basketball, and this year was no different.
“I think it’s really important that you continue to support places that do things the right way,” Raiti said. “And obviously, I mean, this place does things at such a professional level, it’s a no brainer for us, but it’s always an honor to be in that lineup.”
The final matchup was the night’s best, featuring Ontario Christian, boasting the No. 1 junior Kaleena Smith and No. 1 sophomore Tatianna Griffin, facing Bishop McNamara. It was 1 vs 2 in the latest team rankings, and Ontario Christian seemed poised to keep its top spot for a majority of the game. But Bishop McNamara rallied fiercely late, behind 21-point efforts from Qandace Samuels and Jaylah King to secure a two-point win in a wild final game on Friday.
The day itself showed the talent that the next generation of girls’ basketball has to offer, and the future that the Hoophall Classic has to promote the game. With the level of elite teams and talent the day had to offer, it’s no wonder why the women’s game is reaching the levels that it is.
And with the success of the day as a whole, all girls’ days at Blake Arena during the Hoophall classic may become the new norm at arguably the most marquee event on the high school hoops calendar.
Photo courtesy of Liam Reilly/The Student