14U Nationals Tournament – Day Two
On the second day of the tournament, the 14U Firecrackers finished up pool play with two wins to advance to the knockout stages of the tournament. The second game of the afternoon was a pyrrhic victory with two starters (Allie Clement and Alisha Starbird) having to leave the game with injuries and their status for the rest of the tournament uncertain.
Game 2 Recap: Won 65-35 vs. Connecticut Storm
Game two of Pool Play was against a familiar northeast foe – the Connecticut Storm. The 14U Firecrackers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first 4 minutes of the game behind the hot shooting of Alisha Starbird (5pts/1 three) and Allie Clement (5pts/1 three).
As the Storm team settled down after two timeouts, the momentum shifted and they went on a little 6-0 run to close the gap to 17-8 mid-way through the first half. Lack of defensive discipline on the part of the Firecrackers put the undersized Storm team at the foul line for the remainder of the half making 8 of 14 and closing the gap to 6 points at the interval (25-19).
After a spirited discussion at halftime, the Firecrackers came out and played some inspired basketball. They put together a nice run to start the second half. Allie Clement and Ashley Briggs each scored 6pts as they turned steals into points. Sam Frost drilled a long three before the Storm were forced to call a timeout with the Firecrackers leading by 21 (40-19), three and a half minutes into the second half.
The lead stretched to 37pts behind the inside work of Olivia Smith (8pts/8 rebounds), Nina Davenport (8pts/6 rebounds), Brianne Maloney (6pts/6 rebounds), Bailey Cote (2pts/4 rebounds) and Olivia Shaw (4pts/ 5 rebounds).
It was quite a run in the second half which saw all the Firecrackers get in the scoring column. Clement led the team with 20pts, Starbird and Briggs each had 8.
Game 3 Recap: Won 54-44 vs. Vogues (Madison, Virginia)
The Firecrackers won their final game of pool play last night by the score of 54-44. The score aside, it was a frustrating and potentially costly game as two Firecracker starters, were injured and their status for the rest of the tournament is uncertain.
The game started with Firecrackers jumping out to a 25-8 lead. Following a timeout, the Vogues decided a more physical approach was the only way that they were going to get back into the game. With referees swallowing their whistles the game got close to getting out of control. In addition to a number of hard/flagrant fouls that went uncalled, elbows were thrown and players taken to the ground
While we won the game the cost was very high. Allie Clement has a potential broken ankle due to piling on in a jump ball situation, and Alisha Starbird a dislocated thumb. To the teams credit they played the last 16 minutes of the second half without Alisha and 9 minutes without Allie. They maintained their composure in the face of adversity, came together as a group, and won the game with a great defensive effort and offensive execution.
Ashley Briggs stepped up scoring 12 of her game high 16pts in the final 6 minutes of the game to hold off the Vogues and close out pool play with a 3-0record. With Nina Davenport on the bench at the start of the second half with 4 fouls, Brianne Maloney played inspired basketball the entire second half. This gave confidence to her teammates to continue the fight. She ended up with a hard-fought 6 points and 6 rebounds. This tells only part of the story, as she continually dove on the floor for loose balls, fought through screens and played with a determination that would not be denied! Bailey Cote gave us a great effort off the bench as she played with a fire and Sam Frost stepped in for Allie and hit a huge three pointer with 3 minutes to play that brought the parents and teammates to their feet.
Davenport (4pts, 5 rebounds), Olivia Smith (6pts, 8 rebounds), and Olivia Shaw (6 rebounds) took all the dirty tactics the Vogues threw at them and showed tremendous heart in the paint. Clement had 11pts and Starbird 9pts prior to leaving the game.
The Firecrackers play their first game of the Championship round tomorrow. The team remains optimistic despite two of their teammates unable to play due to injury. The one thing that is a guarantee is that they will compete!