Beginning on Friday, December 2, Peddie hosted its 7th annual Tip-Off Tournament. The Peddie Girls Varsity Basketball Team competed in three games against Kimberton Waldorf, St. Benedicts, and Wilbraham & Monson, finishing the Tournament with a record of 1-2. 

On December 2, the Falcons kicked off the Tournament with a dominant 54-13 victory over Kimberton Waldorf. Key contributions were made by Marcela Nearing ’24, who scored a team-high 13 points, and Jordyn Jefferson ’26, who added another 10. All in all, it was a collective team-effort by the Falcons and a memorable way of starting the Tournament. 

In their next game, the Falcons would suffer an unfortunate 28-60 loss against St. Benedict’s Prep. Aisha Caban ’25 and Sydnee Eggleton ’23 both contributed a team-high 7 points, with Chloe Salapatas ’25 adding another 6. Although the Falcons may not have secured the victory, the game was highly competitive and a fierce battle from start to finish. 

On December 4, the Peddie Girls Varsity Team ended the Tournament with a narrow 45-61 defeat at the hands of Wilbraham & Monson. Sydnee Eggleton dropped a team-leading 18 points and Marcela Nearing contributed another 10. After the game, Sydnee Eggleton expressed her thoughts on the Tournament: “Following the tournament, I’m really proud of how far and how much we were able to overcome as a team that weekend. I think after a tough loss against St. Benedicts we fought back hard and focused ourselves mostly on spacing our offense and rebounding against teams that had greater height than  us. Although we went 1-2, we finished out strong in the last game against Wilbraham & Monson by better executing our offense and limiting our turnover percentage to work on creating better shots for each other while also focusing defensively on individual players and increasing our rebound percentage.” Eggleton added that the Girls Varsity Team “looked to move the ball better in transition and execute overall on offense. We played better as a collective in terms of managing our energy and attitude while on the court, which we felt we lacked most in our second game against St. Benedicts.” Looking back on the experience as a whole, Eggleton remarked that the team made a conscious effort to “take each game as a learning experience, and a chance to grow despite the outcome.” 

In conclusion, Peddie’s 7th annual Tip-Off Tournament was certainly one to remember, with excellent performances from each member of the Peddie roster. The Falcons look forward to hosting the tournament once again next year with hopes of winning it all.