16U capture third tournament championship of the summer
Firecrackers close out a great week in Atlanta by earning Suwanee TOC crown
The 16U Maine Firecrackers proved why they are considered one of the top programs in the Northeast, and maybe the East Coast, as they closed out an impressive run at the Tournament of Champions in Suwanee, GA, with a exciting 38-37 victory over the 17U Kenner Angels (LA). The Angels team was one of the most gifted athletic teams the Firecrackers have faced this year with multiple Division I players, including a point guard who is the top recruit for LSU and a wing headed to Davidson.
This game was a back-and-forth affair from the beginning as neither team could create separation of more than three points for most of the half. Emily Esposito carried the scoring load early on for the Firecrackers as she continually attacked the rim against the aggressive Angels defensive leading to a basket and five-of-six shooting from the foul line early on for seven quick points. The two teams mirrored each other in terms of man to man defensive pressure. Brie Wajer also scored early off of a perfectly executed play by the Firecrackers and Mackenzie Holmes hit a basket giving the team a 13-10 lead with about six minutes to play in the half.
Anna DeWolfe the mercurial point guard for the Firecrackers then put on a show to close out the half, showing why she is already one of Maine’s best. It a matter of minutes she hit a driving lay up, knocked down a three-point shot and hit a patented floater in the lane to push the lead out to five. Faith Blethen added two free throws, but the Angels were going nowhere and the Firecrackers held a slim 21-18 lead at the half.
Defensively in the first half it was a total team effort as everyone contributed, however, especially impressive was the play of Alex Hart, Danasia Fennie and Alaina Birkel. The interior did a great job of handling the defensive rebounding chores and Holmes, Blethen and Katie Butler controlled the boards.
The second half of the game was nothing short of a championship heavy weight fight as the two teams went at each other with off the charts intensity. DeWolfe continued where she left off hitting two quick circus shots and than Esposito had a great baseline drive and finish to give the Firecrackers their biggest lead of the game up eight points. With Coach Briggs imploring the team to continue playing defense, when one of the Angels stars buried a deep three-pointer to get them right back in the game.
It was than time for the interior play of Holmes to step up and relieve the pressure the Angels guards were putting on the Firecracker players. Wajer found Holmes for a nifty left handed lay in, not long after Coach Briggs called for a baseline inbounds play and a lob to Holmes who hit a short six-foot jumper. However, the play of the week for Holmes came shortly after as she put a step through move on the Angels defender that would have left a smile on Kevin McHale’s face.
The Ladies from Louisiana continued to pressure the Firecrackers players and cut the lead 36-35 with a little over a minute to play. After a Firecracker miss the Angels took their first lead since the beginning of the game with a strong move to the basket for a 37-36 score. The Firecrackers pushed the ball inside to Holmes who got fouled on a strong move to the basket. Holmes hit one-of-two from the line to tie the score at 37. The Firecrackers turned up the pressure as Wajer, DeWolfe, Fennie and Esposito pressured the Angels into a harassed shot, which led to a fast break for the Firecrackers, after a miss shot Holmes rebounded in traffic but missed the put back, however, Fennie was “Firecracker” on the spot and got fouled with 1.4 seconds left to play. Fennie calmly sank the free through to give the Firecrackers the lead back 38-37.
After a missed second shot, the Angels called a time out to set up a final play. As the Firecrackers came out of the time out, assistant coach Frank DeWolfe suggested the insertion of Katie Butler to harass the inbounds pass. With Butler’s pressure the Angels guard had to loft the pass high which led to a hurried play and eventually no shot getting off before time ran out. The Firecracker players rejoiced together as they celebrated an exciting championship and 5-0 record in the event.
It’s hard to explain the level of athleticism the team faced this weekend until you see it. The Firecrackers never backed down and impressed everyone in the facility as you could hear people talking “have you seen that team from Maine” – The stands were filled with new found fans of the team from Maine who made their way South and returned with a tournament championship.