MEDFIELD — Local gyms have remained vacant for far too long.

However, with winter rapidly approaching, fans gleefully strolled into Medfield High School on Tuesday evening, clamoring for the unofficial start of hoops season as some of the top players in the state made their way to the Eastern Mass. Girls Basketball Showcase.

Oliver Ames standout Avery Gamble quickly returned to form. The junior drained 17 points, pacing all scorers as Team Downs defeated Team Fallon, 86-75, at the local All-Star event.

“I had a lot of fun,” Gamble said. “It was cool playing with all of these girls. I have obviously played against them before, and they’re really good, but it’s just fun to see what we can all do together.”

Gamble was one of 26 players chosen to participate in the showcase, which drew many of the premier athletes from the vaunted Hockomock and Tri-Valley Leagues.

However, some were invited from schools outside of the local realm, such as Andover, Central Catholic, Nashoba Regional, Natick, Wachusett and Walpole, to name a few. From there, they were divided into two groups, with Foxboro coach Lisa Downs and Millis coach Dave Fallon leading the respective benches.

“To have that much talent on one team (is something) that I don’t get to all the time as a high school coach,” said Downs. “But the motivation that they brought to the court, and gave at practice last night, then the way that they approached, not knowing any of their teammates really, they just all gelled because they’re good athletes. They obviously have come from some good basketball programs, because they all just knew what to do, to help strangers become teammates quickly.”

Some All-Star showcases can turn into chaos, with little competition. This one turned out to be quite the opposite, with both squads trading extended scoring runs. Nashoba star Maddy Cotter sank a running layup at the buzzer to provide Team Downs a 43-30 lead at the half.

Once the third quarter got underway, Gamble caught fire, hitting a series of shots to provide her squad a slim 62-58 edge entering the final frame.

Team Downs was able to pull away as the fourth quarter proceeded, using suffocating defense to seal the deal.

Team Downs was also propelled by Bishop Feehan’s Mollie Mullen (13 points) and by Maliah Pierre (10 points) of Whitman-Hanson.

Bella Bingham of Walpole (13 points) shouldered things offensively for Team Fallon, while Foxboro’s Kailey Sullivan chipped in 11 points.

Fresh off a Div. 3 girls basketball title in 2023, Downs is looking forward to the next few months.

“So excited,” Downs said. “You don’t realize how much you miss it until you see it, and are back out here. You get all the nerves back, in a good way. But just getting the girls out here, and to see how excited they are for the season? Just gets you all that much more motivated.”