Out & About: Elite Storm/Queens of the Court 16s

#2 posting 6.7.2006
Your Daily Dose of Girls Basketball News and Information

This game took place Sunday, June 4th in Hopkins
Elite Storm 60, Queens of the Court 43

This game was in the 16 Red Division. The other two games I reported on were in the Blue Division. Elite Storm scored at will early on and established their dominance over the Queens of the Court. ES scored 8 of their first 10 possessions and raced out to a 15-4 lead. Apipphany Asberry started it off with a three, and she added another later in the run. Kelsey Thingvold also provided six points for ES. After the initial scoring burst the second half of the first half was a forced march in the desert. ES was 10/17 the first half, but only 3/15 in the second portion of the half. QotC had the same experience. It wasn’t that the defenses all of a sudden became cellophane/seran wrap, but the players started making tired decisions. QotC had droughts of 7, while ES had two sets of 5 dry spells. Both teams primarily were not shooting well. That initial burst was the margin at half as ES led 30-20.

The game never veered off course in the second half. Asberry opened the half with a trey just like in the first half. ES pushed their lead to 38-20 for their biggest lead. QotC showed their aggressiveness by attacking the basket. Two players in particular: Selman and Coleman went to the line each three times and each shot six times. Coleman made 5, one more than Selman. ES made five total as a team for the half. There was no real suspense as ES walked off the court with a 60-43 victory.

AAU ROSTERS

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, high school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
ELITE STORM
STARTERS
Apipphany Asberry, Mpls North, 11, 10, 110.0, .400 handled the ball handling duties, made her living at the 3 line. RF: not extremely comfortable with ball handling duties.
Ashley Sykora, Cooper, 9, 5, 180.0, .800 another player with 3 range. Efficient. active defensively
Kelsey Thingvold, Cooper 11, 13, 84.6, .385 hard nosed player, active on glass. RF: as a "4" may be too small post HS.
Olivia Omoyani, Armstrong 8, 6, 133.3, .667 inside player. RF: not big enough to play inside in the future.
Monica Sykora, Cooper 4, 7, 57.1, .286 worked the boards. RF: general efficiency
BENCH
Anisa Starks, DeLaSalle 9, 12, 75.0, .417 quick. more active. RF: shooting consistency
Sierra Mills, Mpls North 0, 1, 0.0, .000
#4 (not Nicole Brown) 4, 5, 80.0, .400

QUEENS OF THE COURT
STARTERS
Brandy Selman, Cooper 17, 21, 81.0, .381 a tough, street fighter. Has some flow. RF: needs much more polish and experience. But has some ability. worth keeping an eye on.
#34 unknown name, unknown school 2, 5, 40.0, .200
Kelli Holmes, Mpls Henry 3, 12, 25.0, .083 RF: forced too many things
Jessica Coleman, Mpls Henry 12, 11, 109.1, .636 aggressive to the glass. scores off the drive. RF: positioning, and polish. Tried driving at times when it wasn't appropriate.
Dekoia McLemore, Mpls Henry 0, 2, 0.0, .000
BENCH
White Jersey, unknown 7, 7, 100.0, .429 this could be Takara Bradley, Mpls Henry,
Teyona Stevenson, Mpls Henry 1, 1, 100.0, 1.000
Sanniah Farkarlun, Mpls Henry 0, 2, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Apipphany Asberry

BY THE NUMBERS
team, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
Elite Storm 60, 61, 98.4, .443
Queens of the Court 43, 61, 70.5, .328

This was the first time I saw either team this AAU season. Elite Storm was close to the gold standard of 100 pp100, but the quality of the opponent had much to do with their success. This was the second division of the 16 tournament. I am quite sure that if Elite Storm ran into any of the Blue division teams their numbers would not be as high.

This was the first time a coach refused to cooperate with names and numbers. Not a good move on their part. The irony is most of these kids are Henry players, and I coach at Henry during the volleyball season. I was having a good conversation with the youngster keeping the book talking about Henry, volleyball and such when the coach rudely interrupted and closed the book. It is probably best to work to promote your kids, not try to hide or cover up what is happening. Luckily most coaches welcome the attention they receive getting their players posted. And now with the photos it just throws the spotlight even more on the action, players, and results.

I don't know if the coach thought I was out trying to steal his players, or was some creep, but he wasn't ready to engage in dialogue.


PHOTOS
On the far left, #34, Queens of the Court sorry, the name wasn't provided, goes up for a lay up against Ashley and Monica Sykora of Elite Storm



In the middle Jessica Coleman, QotC is fouled by Apipphany Asberry. She went to the line and made one.
The last photo shows Brandy Selman, QotC going up for the layup.





Next up: Tomorrow morning with the regular news.