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Tennessee Stars Basketball TEAM me TEAM me FINAL SEASON RECORD 29 - 12 |
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Grant Shanks
David Ball
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Game Results
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March 12-14 Virginia Beach, VA
TN Stars vs. Black Widows (VA)
Stars 48 - Black Widows 43
In their first outing of the 2004 season, the TN Stars defeated a pesky Black Widows team with a balanced scoring attack and some good defensive play. The Stars were lead in scoring by Glory Johnson with 11 and Jasmine Lewis with 10. Eight other players scored between 2 and 6 points. After building a 41-23 lead in the second half, the Stars let the BW's back in the game late. But, got some key defensive stops and late buckets to hold on for the win. This was a game the team can build on and learn from. As the players become more comfortable with each other, the execution and overall play will become more crisp. Each player made positive contributions to the win tonight. Just remember, getting better takes time and patience. Let's go get some more wins tomorrow!
TN Stars vs. James River (VA)
Stars 57 - James River 32
Another balanced scoring effort led to the second Stars victory in VA Beach. Led by 11 points from Glory Johnson, 10 from Faith Dupree, and with 10 of 12 players scoring - the Stars made it tough for the opposition to decide who they needed to stop. With the exception of a poor effort on the defensive boards, the Stars made a positive step forward after last nights effort. Again, each player made positive contributions to the morning's outcome.
TN Stars vs. Pax River Silver Stars (MD)
Stars 60 – Pax River 48
The Stars stayed undefeated on the season with a less-than-stellar effort against this team from Maryland. Yet again, the scoring effort was balanced with 9 of 12 players scoring, led by 20 from Jasmine Lewis. However, missed FT’s continue to plague us as a team. While the Stars never trailed in the game, Pax River did not give up and kept the game interesting til the end. It is always nice to win games when you do not play your best, and that’s essentially what happened in this game.
TN Stars vs. Garner Flames (NC)
Stars 51 - Flames 54
The Stars dropped a close one in the 3rd game of the day to this team from Raleigh, NC. After leading early, we missed too many lay-ups and FT's (10/18) to hold off the Flames. However, a last second in-bounds play was drawn up and ran to perfection - resulting in a 3-pt shot that was missed that would have tied the game. It was nice to get some more physical, athletic competition from the Flames. The Stars were lead in scoring by Glory Johnson with 15 followed by Jasmine Lewis with 10, as 9 of 12 players scored in the game.
TN Stars vs. Boo Williams Red Tide (VA)
Stars 43 - Red Tide 58
This game was much closer than the final score might indicate. In this 5th game of the weekend, the Stars opened up a 14-0 lead and maintained a 31-25 halftime edge as well. However, the Red Tide - which finished in a tie for 9th place at last year's AAU Nationals in Lafayette - would not go away. Their brand of athletic, physical basketball created too many turnovers and easy baskets for their team. A 33-12 advantage in the 2nd half gave them the win in this game. A perfect example of the difference in aggressiveness between the their team and ours is reflected in the FT stats: we only went to the line 7 times, making 5 - while the Red Tide went to the line 21 times (3x as many trips) making 13. The Stars were lead in scoring by Lindsay Smith with 13, with 6 other players scoring between 2 and 8 points each. On this weekend, the Stars learned that it is possible to compete on a national stage but it will take increased toughness and physical play - not just sound fundamentals - to beat teams like the Red Tide. All in all a wonderful weekend of competition and team building. Looking forward to getting back on the court at practice and working on some of the things we found out about this weekend.
March 26-28 Murfreesboro, TN
TN Stars vs. TN Team Pride (Maroon)
Stars 62 - Pride 18
The Stars came out blazing and opened up a 31-6 half-time lead on their way to an easy victory over the host team from Murfreesboro. A good start to the tournament.
TN Stars vs. TN Lady Tigers
Stars 54 - Lady Tigers 17
Another intense first half gave the Stars a 33-8 half-time cushion against the Tigers of Nashville. This win gave us the #1 seed in our pool going into quarterfinal elimination play.
TN Stars vs. Wichita Spooks
Stars 62 - Spooks 49
The Stars built a 20 point second half lead against the visitors from Kansas and held on to win by 13. The Spooks were a national qualifier last year and played a good ballgame. The win, the Stars 3rd of the day, earned them a spot in the semi-finals.
TN Stars vs. TN Liberty
Stars 58 - Liberty 55
In the closest game of the weekend thus far, the Stars held on against the Liberty to earn a spot in the finals. After building a 11 point lead with 2:30 left, the Stars saw their advantage erased by several 3 point shots by the Liberty. However, Brynn McCracken came up with the biggest shots of the tournament when she nailed 2 FT's with less than 10 secs remaining to give the Stars a 3 point lead. A last second 3 missed for the Liberty and the Stars marched on.
TN Stars vs. Memphis Elite Silver
Stars 40 - Elite 43
The Stars, playing their 5th game in less than 36 hours, fell a bit short against the defending state champs from Memphis. With both teams struggling to score the first half, the score was only 16-10 at half-time. Frustrated by our inablility to score, we lost focus in the second half as the Elite ran their lead up to 18 points at one time. However, after back-to-back 3's by Jessica Goswitz, and some brilliant defensive play - the Stars whittled the lead down to 2 with less than minute left and had the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead. But, the Stars inexperience in close games led to consecutive turnovers, some indecision, and an untimely foul - all resulting in a 3 point win by the Elite. A great ballgame and a wonderful weekend with a super result - a bid to the NATIONAL TOURNAMENT in Rochester, MN. Congratulations, ladies. Now, let's get back to work.
April 17-18 Harriman, TN
TN Stars vs. TN Raiders
Stars 76 - Raiders 29
Led by Faith Dupree, the Stars came firing out of the gates in our opening round sub-state game. Sound defense held the Raiders to 12 first half points. Due to the smaller number of teams in this year's sub-state, this win gave us a berth in the winner's bracket finals and a chance to win the #1 seed from the East.
TN Stars vs. Upper Cumberland Magic
Stars 60 - Magic 43
Sub-State CHAMPS! The Stars held on today against a tough, well-coached, and motivated UC Magic team to claim the East sub-state title. A 6 point half-time advantage was extended to a final 17 point margin. We struggled defensively throughout the game, but played well enough to win. Interestingly, the Magic were 21/28 from the FT line in the game. We've still got plenty to work on to get to where we want to be. But, we accomplished one of our season goals with the victory and the championship today.
April 23-25 Atlanta, GA
TN Stars vs. Lady Sixers
Stars 48 - Sixers 47
The Stars narrowly escaped with the win in our first pool play game of the tournament. It was a very lack-luster effort against an athletic, but less skilled Lady Sixers team. We didn't really do anything well in this game, but still managed to win - which we'll take. A last-second 3 by the Sixers closed the final margin to a scant 1 point.
TN Stars vs. GA Pistols Gold
Stars 30 - Pistols 43
The Pistols are arguably the best team in the South considering the tournaments they've won and the teams they've beaten so far this season. And, for good reason. They are big and quick, but their advantage over us was their toughness. We turned the ball over 29 times and gave up 23 offensive rebounds! In addition, we went 10/30 from the FT line. Yet, with all of that, the final margin was only 13 points. While we are a more skilled team, the tougher team came out on top in this one.
TN Stars vs. GA Magic
Stars 45 - Magic 28
Needing a win to advance to championship play, the Stars pulled out a win in their 3rd and final pool play game of the weekend. A 6-0 run to close the first half gave the Stars a 20-14 lead, after a frustrating start to the game. We went back to our press in the second half, got some easy baskets, and built the lead to double figures. The Magic did not go away, as the lead was only 10 with 3 minutes to play. However, a few more easy baskets off turn-overs gave us the 15-point win. The second half of this game was our best basketball of the tournament so far.
TN Stars vs. New Jersey Sting
Stars 57 - Sting 45
This semi-final match-up had an interesting sub-plot to it as it was a re-match against the team that put us out of pool play at last year's Nationals in Lafayette. The Stars had a rousing start to the game, only to see their lead erased by sub-par defense and communication. We were trailing at the half 25-24. However, another exceptional start to the half - this time combined with sound defense - helped the Stars mount a double digit lead early and hold the lead throughout the remainder of the game. The win earned us a berth in the championship game and a re-match with the Pistols Gold.
TN Stars vs. GA Pistols Gold
Stars 36 - Gold 50
There was not much difference in this game than in the first game against the Pistols. This time, we turned the ball over 20 times and gave up 20 offensive rebounds - many in key situations when we were mounting a run. So, times when we were down by 6 with a chance to cut it to 4 would be turned into an 8 point deficit after a turnover and subsequent score by the Pistols. Also, and 8 point run to end the first half turned a 18-15 game into a 11-point half-time lead. We had our opportunities in the second half, but missed too many lay-ups and gave them too many second (and third, and fourth) chances. Again, their toughness and in-your-face attitudes proved superior to our skill. We showed some resolve, however, buy not getting beat by 30 when things were certainly looking like they might go that way. So, we ended up taking second in this AAU Super Regional. For us to fulfill our potential as a team, we will have to continue to work on our execution and poise under pressure and our team toughness. If accomplised, great things are possible.
May 1 Oak Ridge, TN
TN Stars vs. TN Mystics 15-U
Stars 45 - Mystics 32
Well, this tournament was - for whatever reason - exceptionally unorganized. Fortunately, we didn't travel from out of town, get hotel rooms, or play on more than one day. The Mystics were sort of a combination of the Coalfield and Kingston HS teams, and weren't as strong as we had hoped for a 15-U team. But, we played relatively well, handled their press, and got some good work in on some of the things we've been developing in practice.
TN Stars vs. AL Rattlers 14-U
Stars 48 - Rattlers 21
After calling ahead and making sure we'd have a team to play, a court to play on, and officials to ref at 4:00 - we got there and didn't have any of the 3! They set us up to play this "really good" 14-U team and eventually we did get started an hour late on a different court - with the same refs we'd had at 10:00 in the morning (we felt for them!). Anyway, this team was not very strong - but neither was our play in the first half! We came out and went on a 18-4 run in the 3rd quarter to finish strong. We looked good moving the ball, scoring 70% of the time we made more than 3 passes on offense. We'll need to keep this up as we head into our next three tournament weekends as it will be a very tough stretch of games.
May 14-16 Jefferson City, TN
TN Stars vs. SD Lady Eagles
Stars 61 - Lady Eagles 36
We opened the TN Miracle Classic with a sound victory over the Lady Eagles from GA. We got quality minutes from each player as well as a balanced scoring attack. Getting a win certainly got this tournament off to a great start.
TN Stars vs. Cincinnati's Finest
Stars 30 - Cincy's Finest 34
Well, we played a tough game against Ohio's best team. We didn't get any breaks, and as you can tell from the score - it was not the prettiest of games. Not having a shot clock was certainly to our disadvantage in this one since we had to come out on the floor and guard them in order to force tempo and get the possessions we needed to comeback once we got behind. Dramatically, we were down 10 with 5 minutes to play and somehow clawed back to being down 3 with 20 secs left and missed a 3 point shot to tie. They hit a FT after we fouled and that gave them a 4 point win. They are a tough team, hopefully we'll get another shot at them in MN.
TN Stars vs. Louisville Jaguars
Stars 59 - Jaguars 8
We made quick work of this overmatched team. Fortunately, we were able to keep the clock running the second half, get lots of rest for everyone, and move on to the quaterfinals against the GA Pistols...can you say rematch?
TN Stars vs. GA Pistols Gold
Stars 47 - Pistols 46
What's that? A typo...no, no, that's right. The team that "should win this tournament" won't! In our 3rd game against them this season, we finally played up to par and came away with a brilliant, come-from-behind victory on a last second 3-pt shot by Jennifer Maynard. Even after being down 9 at the half, 12 in the second half, and - get this - 10 with 1:40 to play (remember, no shot clock at this tourney), we made enough things happen to win at the end. After having problems with turnovers and rebounding in our first two meetings (see capsules above), we managed to take care of the ball and keep them off the boards. Only one of their players scored in double figures - Rucker 21 - and no one else had more than 5. This was an emotionally and physically draining victory that should be a point of motivation we can call on the rest of the season. We're sure the Pistols (and others) will now be gunning for us more than ever. We are proud to say we played well enough to beat them on this day.
TN Stars vs. Central KY Angels
Stars 48 - Angels 55
Not surprisingly, we had a tough time in this ballgame following our victory over the Pistols. We got down 34-19 at half and stayed down by 15 throughout first part of the second half. But, we found one last energy reserve and closed the lead to 3 with less than 2 mintues to go and had a 3 pt shot to tie that went awry. Credit the Angels though, they made their FT's and did what they had to do to win the game late. The final 7 pt margin reflects their ability to do so. This team is strong and balanced, and we just didn't have to mental or physical sharpness left to pull this one out. As much as we would have loved to win the tourney title, the mental and physical fatigue was starting to take it's toll in the form of injuries, and we're probably healthier that we just finished up and got on home. We accomplised so much this weekend, and gave some great teams a real scare and put a target on our back with our win over the Pistols. After two sub-par weekends of play, it was nice to get back on track and see some very real progress individually and as a team. Congratulations ladies! You did an amazing job this weekend, and elicited lots of positive comments from several unbiased spectators. We've got to keep working if we want to continue to make this kind of progress. Just like the great Norman Dale said in "Hoosiers", "it's all starting to come together"! Stay excited and enthusiastic for yourself, your teammates, and your team!
May 21-23 Cincinnati, OH
TN Stars vs. Cincinnati Celtics 14-U
Stars 32 - Celtics 45
We didn't exactly get this tournament off to a good start with this lackluster performance. After leading at half-time 17-16, we went in the tank defensively and watched as the Celtics out hustled, out rebounded, and out played us on both ends. Plain and simple, we got beat. Perhaps our lack of focus is represented in out FT shooting, where we went 3/12 from the line. But, there are alot more games to play and we'll have a chance to bounce back.
TN Stars vs. Cincinnati Bearcats 14-U
Stars 37 - Bearcats 28
Well, we found our defense in this one and put another team in the 40-point club! Congratulations ladies. While we only managed a few more points than we scored in our loss earlier in the day, we held the Bearcats to almost 20 points less than what we gave up to the Celtics. Interestingly, the Bearcats have beaten the Celtics head-to-head earlier this season.
TN Stars vs. Northern KY Lady Hoops 14-U
Stars 47 - Lady Hoops 28
Alright! We finally put it together for a whole game. This was by far our best effort of the tournament and our best game overall since our win over the GA Pistols last weekend. Another team goes down in the 40 point club as we hold our second consecutive 14-U team to 28 points. Nice job ladies! You must have really wanted to go to the Reds game bad. You knew we wouldn't take you if you didn't play well! Considering how much we scalped those 3 extra tickets for, it wouldn't have been entirely bad if we didn't go and just sold all 25 of them! Just kidding, we needed to play a strong game and you did it! Congrats...
TN Stars vs. Miami Elite 14-U
Stars 36 - Elite 26
Ugh...an ugly game. Up early, 9:00 tip, tartan floor...we should have known this would be a struggle. The Elite, who did not win a game in pool play, were fired up to take us out in this first round game of elimination play. They did not go away even when we took an early double-digit lead. Oh well, another team goes down at the hands of our defense - and chalk up another member of the 40-point club. On to the quarterfinals...
TN Stars vs. Dayton Lady Hoopstars 13-U
Stars 49 - Hoopstars 41
Comeback kids, cardiac kids, put-gray-hair-on-their-coaches'-heads kids...whatever you want to call it, we made another trademark comeback in this one to march on to the semi-finals. It was pretty dramatic too, we were down (and seemingly out) 23-16 at halftime. We didn't look good doing it either. After halftime, sound defense led to easy baskets and a charge of energy. Players that struggled in the first half put it behind them and played an excellent second half. And, the FT's went down to the tune of 12/15. That's being focused. So, again, even without the benefit of a shot clock, we made it happen with defense and teamwork. Very impressive ladies!
TN Stars vs. Cincinnati Bearcats 14-U
Stars 37 - Bearcats 35
Did you read the capsule above about the "comeback kids" thing? It could just be cut-and-pasted here! Are you kidding us ladies?!? Tied at the half, we got ourselves down by 11 at one point in the second half. Down by 1 with less than 30 seconds left, we got a defensive stop, and Glory got a lay-up to put us up by 1. After getting yet another stop, Jennifer hit 1/2 from the line and we dodged a couple of last-second bullets to avoid overtime and head on to the finals. The Bearcats had not played their earlier round game since it was forfeited to them. So, while we were busy coming back against DLH, they were resting. Way to go ladies, you gutted out another one - and put another team in the 40-point club.
TN Stars vs. Cincinnati Celtics 14-U
Stars 28 - Celtics 42
Day 2, Game 7. The travel, the comebacks, the heat...it all finally caught up with us in the finals. Despite it all though, we had the lead cut to 8 with 5 minutes to play. We had a hard time scoring without any legs to drive our shots. The Celtics played well though, and made all but one of their FT's down the stretch to win by 14.
Ladies, you showed a great deal of physical and mental toughness this weekend. It's hard to keep getting up for games when they all just seem to run together. Remember, though, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger - and none of you are dead yet! Rest up this week and get ready to play for a state title next weekend. By the way, I can still smell the odor of Ready-Whip in my hair. It actually seems to function as a very nice conditioner. You ladies might want to give it a try sometime...JG, be careful...
May 28-30 TN State Tournament Tullahoma, TN
TN Stars vs. Cookeville Ladies
Stars 56 - Ladies 41
We got the tournament off to a good start with this victory over this tough, hard-nosed team from Cookeville. We had plenty of opportunities to pull away, but couldn't manage. Our defense nearly missed putting a team in the 40-point club, and we managed enough buckets to get a good win. We had 9 of 11 players score in this game, and our bench play was excellent. Let's keep it going!
TN Stars vs. TN Team Pride
Stars 47 - Pride 27
It was a re-match with this Murfreesboro team we beat 62-18 earlier in the year. They are playing much better basketball, but we played well enough to get the win. We got alot of rest for everyone as we kept the substitutions coming early and often since we had another game to play later in the day. Getting the win assured us of an opportunity to play for the championship tomorrow. Another wonderful team effort was reflected in 10 of 12 players scoring in this game!
TN Stars vs. TN Liberty
Stars 65 - Liberty 54
This was a rematch from earlier in the season as well. We jumped out to an 11 point halftime lead and maintained in the second half to win by the same margin. They played us tough, as expected, but a late run turned an 8 point advantage into 14 and they hit a few late baskets to make the final margin 11. This win gave us the #1 seed in our pool and earned us an oppotunity to play the #2 team from pool A in the morning.
Stars vs. Upper Cumberland Magic
Stars 52 - Magic 30
Yet another re-match from earlier in the year. We beat the Magic at the sub-state back in April. Not much has changed between us since then. They are a tough, scrappy team...but just don't have enough firepower to run with us. Their kids were worn out from playing alot of minutes earlier in the tournament and our pressure and fresh players just wore them out. This game was never really in doubt, as we led wire to wire. We had 9 players score and got unbelievable minutes from each of our 12 players. The win earned us a re-match with the Memphis Elite and a shot at the State Championship!
Stars vs. Memphis Elite Silver
Stars 55 - Elite 44
STATE CHAMPS! STATE CHAMPS! STATE CHAMPS! What else can you say? We built an early lead, and despite a late charge from the Elite that cut the lead to 4, we finished strong and with poise to get an 11 point TEAM win! Great job ladies! We never were behind at any point in any game we played all weekend - which is a big, pleasant change for us. The biggest contributer to our weekend was our bench play. Because everyone was so effective when coming into the game, no one ever got tired or had to play at less than 100%. Our opponents did not have this luxury and it showed. That's why we are team, that's why each of you are important, and that's why we are the 2004 Tennessee State Champions! Your hard work, dedication, and selflessness has and will continue to pay off for you and our team. Now, we have to continue to work and prepare to show the rest of the country what Tennessee already knows - that we are the Stars and we are comin' for ya...You guys are awesome! David and I are so proud of each of you! Congratulations!
July 9-17 AAU National Championship Rochester, MN
TN Stars vs. Garner Flames
Stars 62 - Flames 50
This was a re-match of a game we played way back in March. Does anyone even remember March at this point?!? Anyway, we avenged that loss with a sound victory in this game. However, we nearly pulled defeat from the jaws of victory as we gave up a second half lead before waking up and finishing strong. Clutch free throw shooting helped build the final margin to 12. This win means that we need only one more to advance into championship play. Nice job ladies!
Stars vs. Houston Houstonians
Stars 57 - Houstonians 52
This game was played at a frenetic pace, with the Houstonians looking to push the ball at every opportunity. Their guards went straight to the whole and created alot of opportunities for themselves. However, we handled their pressure relatively well and build a double-digit 2nd half lead. Yet again, we gave that lead up and saw the bad guys cut it to 2 with just a few minutes remaining. But, we rallied, got the stops we needed, and made some lay-ups to hold them off. This win assured us of nothing less than 2nd place in our pool and a spot in the final 47 and championship play.
Stars vs. Minnesota NC Heat
Stars 43 - Heat 56
That final margin, 13, is not indicative of how close this game was. Down only 5 at the half, we rallied to take a 1-point lead with 5 minutes to play. As the final minutes wore on, the Heat re-took the lead and we struggled to score. Despite being behind, we had several good looks at 3 pt shots to close the gap. It just wasn't our day as those shots rimmed out or hit front rim. The Heat made their FT's down the stretch to secure the win. A few steals and lay-ups in the final minute caused their lead to balloon from 5 to 13 at the final buzzer. This was a deflating loss since we were right in the game and just couldn't get the shots to fall. This loss put us 2nd in our pool and earned us a first round game with Indiana's Finest on Monday morning.
Stars vs. Indiana's Finest Black Cats
Stars 27 - Finest 62
Wow. This was just plain ugly. Indiana's Finest brought their "A" game into this one. Early on, it was evident it was not going to be our day. They had obviously been scouting us and brought some strong back-court pressure. If we weren't turning it over, we were missing shots. In the meantime, they were absolutely on fire. After the game, their coach said it was the best game they'd played all year. If it was their best, it was clearly our worst. Trying to pick back up after the loss to the Heat on Sunday was difficult. Our shooting woes continued to plague us, we only had 8 fg's for the game - with 2 of those coming in the last couple minutes. Losing put us in the loser's bracket. Several coaches that saw this game told us how surprised they were to see us get dominated like this. Knowing that they felt strongly about our team was flattering, but offered little consolation. There's not much more that can be said.
Stars vs. Texas Breakers
Stars 38 - Breakers 39
Our season ended with a loss in this Tuesday morning game. It was a close game throughout and we did a great job of staying in it despite yet another horrific shooting performance. With less than 1 minute left and down by 1, we had three seperate possessions to take the lead. However, those three possessions ended in missed shot-turnover-missed shot; which was sort of a microcosm of our tournament play...too many missed shots and turnovers to be effective against good teams. This was the 16th time we have held a team under 40 points for a game and only our second loss in those games. Simply, a frustrating end to a frustrating tournament.
SEASON WRAP-UP
