The Post high-school staff takes a look at the top performers in boys basketball and girls basketball from the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1
BOYS BASKETBALL
Ed Correa, Mount St. Michael
The Rice transfer led Mount St. Michael to the Josh Palmer Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament in Elmira, N.Y. last week with his two-way excellence. Correa earned MVP honors after scoring 20 points in a 55-37 win over Bishop Timon of Buffalo and shutdown Long Island Lutheran star Kentan Facey in a 57-42 semifinal win while also scoring nine points.
Damien Davis, Wings Academy
Academically eligible after two years, the 6-foot-7 big man made his varsity debut this week to rave reviews. He helped lead Wings to a third-place finish in the STOP-DWI Holiday Classic in Binghamton with nine points and six rebounds in the third-place game, a 53-46 win over St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.). Skilled and blessed with soft hands, Davis also put up 13 points and nine rebounds in a 57-53 loss to Friends’ Central (Pa.) and elite forward Amile Jefferson in the Villa Holiday Classic on Sunday.
Daniel Dingle, St. Raymond
The Temple-bound wing reached the 1,000-point plateau in a 66-56 win over Middle Creek (N.C.) in the opener of the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational in Raleigh, N.C. He also had 12 points in a 60-56 semifinal win over Millbrook (N.C.), though Dingle had to sit out the final, which the Ravens lost to Garner (N.C.), 75-63, with an injured shoulder.
Shamiek Sheppard, South Shore
The junior forward scored 21 points to lead South Shore back from a 10-point deficit and past Imhotep Charter (Pa.), 58-52, in the fifth annual Villa Holiday Classic on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Richard Williams, Transit Tech
Three games, three Transit Tech wins, and three stellar performances for the improving forward. He had 23 points in the Express’ 67-29 rout of Midwood on Thursday; 19 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in Transit’s 64-25 win over Evander Childs on Wednesday; and 20 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 54-38 victory over New Utrecht on Tuesday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Kelsey Carey, St. Joseph Hill
Carey recorded her 1,000th career point in style. The Hilltoppers junior combined for 55 points in two wins at the Amsterdam Holiday College Showcase including a career-high 32 against tournament host Amsterdam in a 45-38 win.
Rayne Connell, Christ the King
The senior missed the bulk of the early season after having a cyst removed from her back. She returned slowly at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, Ariz., but broke out last week in two non-league wins. Connell scored 25 points against James Madison and followed that up with 17 in a win over St. Mary’s (L.I.).
Gabriella Marinaccio, McKee/Staten Island Tech
The Seagulls shot the lights out at Murry Bergtraum last week and Marinaccio led the charge. The junior guard scored a career-high 19 points and connected on three of her six 3-pointers in the second quarter to help MSIT knock off Midwood, 50-37.
Fannisha Price, South Shore
While some of her other teammates took care of the late game heroics, they wouldn’t have had the chance without the play of the Marshall-bound forward. She earned MVP honors while leading the Vikings to the Diamond State Classic title in Delaware. Price averaged 13 points per game in the three-game tournament.
Imani Tate, Bishop Loughlin
The Lions junior was benched for the first quarter by coach Kasim Alston for missing practices to go on vacation. Tate used it as motivation and dropped in 20 of her 27 points over the second and third quarters to lead Loughlin to a 68-49 win over Lincoln.