HAMPTON, Va. -- The biggest sports rivalry in the Northeast might be between Boston and New York City, but the rivalry between New York City and Philadelphia is the region's biggest in the world of girl's basketball.
A merging of the two cities would be among the most unlikely of pairings, but the Philadelphia Belles are all about breaking standards this summer.
It's a complete reversal of last summer's squad, on which Delaware's Dara Taylor and New Jersey's Haley Peters were the only players not from Pennsylvania. The 2009 version of the Philly Belles has five New York players, four from New Jersey and only two from Pennsylvania -- Maggie Lucas and Alexa Gallagher, who are teammates from Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.).
"We've always had battles with the New York teams," Lucas said. "They're just full of great players up there, players who love to get on the break and run. [Peters] and I from last year's team, we love doing that. We loved playing with Dara Taylor, she was all about doing that, and they just bring that back to the team again."
Lucas and Peters (No. 20 and No. 40, respectively, in the HoopGurlz Super 60 for 2010) are the only returning players from the 2008 summer squad that nabbed the spotlight by beating a Brittney Griner-led DFW squad at Nike Nationals in July.
Four of the five New Yorkers come from two high school programs -- Murray Bergtraum (New York City) and Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.). Both are known for quite a bit of speed and style. CeCe Dixon and Doris Ortega are two of Bergtraum's top juniors, while Ariel Edwards -- a 6-foot-3 junior -- is one of Christ the King's best inside presences.
"The New York kids really bring a different thing to us," coach Brian Creech said. "The New York style basketball is a lot more physical, and they're used to playing that way. They really bring a bit of toughness to us, that New York experience."
Dixon and her sprinter-like speed at point guard drove Bergtraum to the top of the polls all season, and the Blazers finished the year No. 12 in the ESPN RISE Fab 50. Ortega, a long, 5-10 forward, was another key for the Blazers and likely will contribute inside and from midrange for the Belles.
"People on message boards and all that have been talking about [us] playing with Philly," Ortega said. "But I think it's just the best decision for me to play with a new team and new people and travel to the best tournament. And that's what this team does."
But the message boards haven't gone completely crazy about the New York City-Philadelphia merger, and many of the players consider it a non-issue. The New York girls have built their own camaraderie during commutes to practices, where they said they are welcomed with open arms and have no problems getting the team to mesh together, despite the tougher, more physical traits of New York City basketball compared to those of neighboring regions.
"I'm real happy to see how our chemistry is right off the bat," Lucas said. "It can only go up from here, and it's great to see how well everyone's playing together."
Two of New York's promising underclassmen -- Bria Smith and Breanna Stewart -- also are joining the Belles. Smith is a sophomore point guard from Christ the King, and Stewart is a 6-4 freshman forward from Syracuse, N.Y. Both fit in well with their New Jersey and Pennsylvania teammates.
"They get along so well. I'll give you an example, Breanna Stewart --- they treat her almost like she's a puppy, they're so good to her. They put an arm around her all the time, they get her involved, they love her. ... They all want to be a part of something pretty good instead of just going and individually excelling," Creech said. "It's a chance for us to start changing the complexion of the program a little bit and start offering what we do to a more expanded base of kids."
