Thank you to all of the extraordinary candidates that participated in the tryouts for this team and CONGRATULATIONS to those that were selected to compete on this team. Good luck and best wishes to all...
JULY SHOWCASE SCHEDULE
July 7 - 10 11th Grade AAU Super Showcase Orlando, Florida
July 12 - 15 Nike Summer Showcase Chicago, Illinois
July 22 - 25 USJN U17 National Chamionship Washington, DC
July 27 - 31 Nike Nationals Invitational North Augusta, SC
_______________________________________________________________
The Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Premier Showcase team went 4 - 1 at the 2012 Nike Nationals before falling in the tournament quarterfinals to finish tied for 5th in their final tournament of the season.
The Stars went 3 - 0 in round robin pool play, defeated Essence ( FL ); DFW; and Ring City to claim a #1 seed in single elimination bracket play. On Sunday afternoon, they defeated the New England Crusaders to advance to the tournament quarterfinals. They fell in the quarterfinals on Monday morning to the Philadelphia Belles to close their tournament experience and their season.
This is the 3rd year that the Nike Nationals Invitational has included a U15 Division. Only 16 teams from across the United States are invited to attend and compete. It is considered to be the premier college exposure and showcase tournament for the summer travel season. More than 550 college coaches attended again this year.
During the July college evaluations periods, the Stars compiled an 18 - 5 record, playing in the most prestigious tournaments in the nation.
They went 4 - 1, advanced to the quarterfinals and finished tied for the 5th at the 2012 AAU 11th Grade Silver Division Super Showcase tournament in Orlando, Florida. They went 4 - 1, advanced to the quarterfinals and finished 5th at the 2012 Nike Summer Showcase tournament in Chicago, Illinois. They went 6 - 2 and advanced to the semifinals, finishing 3rd at the 2012 U. S. Junior Nationals U17 National Championship tournament in Washington, DC. They closed their season going 4 - 1, advancing to the quarterfinals and finishing tied for 5th at the prestigious 2012 Nike Nationals Invitational tournament in North Augusta, South Carolina.
Including the 2012 Nike Boo Williams Showcase tournament in Hampton, Virginia during the April evaluation period, where they went 5 - 1 and advanced to the championship game, this talented team compiled a record of 23 - 6 at showcase tournaments, playing up in several instances.
For the season, the team went 52 - 6, completing another outstanding year of travel basketball. Congratulations to the players on a tremendous season.
_____________________________________________________________
The Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team advanced to the elite eight before falling to a buzzer beater at the 2012 AAU 11th Grade Silver Super Showcase tournament in Orlando, Florida.
The Stars opened round robin pool play competition on Sunday, July 8th against FL- SCBC. With balanced scoring and 11 players contributing points, the Stars earned a 65 - 34 opening game victory.
Later in the day, the Stars would take on the Southern Indiana Sharks. With tenacious defense and 11 players again contributing points to the offense, the Stars would complete a 96 - 13 victory.
In their final pool play game on Monday, the Stars would meet the always-tough Orlando Comets Red in the first game at the Disney's Wide World of Sport complex. With three players in double figures and 10 players scoring, the Stars would finish round robin pool play at 3 - 0 with a 73 - 51 final score, moving on to the tournament championship bracket and sweet sixteen.
Looking to earn a spot in the tournament quarterfinals, the Stars would meet Baylor- IN on Monday night. After making matchup adjustments to address the speed and quickness of the Baylor team, the Stars would extend their halftime lead and close out a 57 - 29 victory.
On Tuesday morning, the Stars would match up against the Central Florida Elite. After struggling early in the game, the Stars would take a 12-point lead into halftime and a 10-point lead after three quarters. However, CFE would not go away and after hitting a couple of three pointers, the momentum of the game changed. CFE came all the way back and tied the game late. Each team would have a possession and with 9.1 seconds to play, CFE had possession in a tie game.
With the clock winding down, CFE launched a desperation shot that found the bottom of the net with just 0.3 seconds remaining in the game to claim the victory.
The Stars would finish their tournament experience with a 4 - 1 record and a tie for 5th place.
_______________________________________________________________
During the weekend of June 9 - 10, the U15 Girls would travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to participate in the 2012 University of Virginia Team Camp Jamboree. They would open play on Saturday against the U15 Frederick Focus. With strong play throughout the roster, the Stars would win 70 - 26.
In their next game, they would take on Virginia Elite U16 on the main court at the John Paul Jones arena. The Stars strong defense and fast break offense produced an impressive 69 - 20 victory. They would play again on Saturday against the U16 Maryland Pride. Already down one player who was traveling out of town, the Stars would be without another player who injured an ankle in the previous game.
With strong shooting, rebounding, and defense, the Stars would take a 40 - 16 halftime lead and go on to a 75 - 35 victory, finishing the first day with three wins.
On Sunday, the Stars would meet the talented U15 Cap City Ballerz from Richmond. With a slow start, the Stars would find themselves trailing against a good team at halftime, 19 - 14. Getting on track to start the second half, the Stars would come out strong and close the deficit and then take the lead. In a tough game with strong plays made on both ends of the court, the Stars would finish a 44 - 35 victory.
Closing their tournament experience, the Stars would move back to the main floor to take on the impressive Boo Williams-Richmond team. Another very talented team, the Stars knew that they would have to play a strong game to have a chance to win. Both teams competed at a very high level and the Stars took a 31 - 25 lead into halftime. The second half would see more of the same with the Stars going on a run to open a bit of breathing room in their lead. In spite of two more players having to leave the game due to injuries, the Stars would go on to complete a 62 0 48 victory and finish their weekend with a 5 - 0 tournament record.
_______________________________________________________________
Participating in the 2012 Fairfax Stars Summer Spectacular Girls tournament the weekend of June 2 - 3, the U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team would work to continue to improve as they prepare for the July journey of showcase tournaments.
In their opening game, they would take on the U16 New Jersey Tar Heels. After the Stars took a double digit lead into halftime, the Tar Heels battled back in the second half to reclaim the lead. However, with tenacious defense, effective execution on the offensive end, and efficient free throw shooting, the Stars would claim a hard fought 54 - 50 victory.
In their second game, the Stars would meet the Prince Wiliam Dream U16 team. This time there would be no comeback after the Stars took a strong 54 - 18 lead into halftime and completed a 71 - 30 win.
On Sunday morning, the Stars would play the tough U16 Team Sol. In a game that was feisty, fast, and physical, the Stars played well in the first half, leading 35 - 19 at halftime. The tempo increased even further in the second half, but the Stars responded, completing a 63 - 42 victory to finish the weekend 3 - 0.
_______________________________________________________________
The Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team traveled to the Discover Sports Center in Germantown, Maryland during the Memorial Day Weekend to compete in the 2012 Maryland Future Stars Classic tournament.
The Stars opened play on Saturday morning against the U16 Columbia Ravens. With balanced scoring that saw all 12 players contribute to the scoring output, and tenacious defense, the Stars claimed a strong 65 - 18 victory to begin play.
In the afternoon on Saturday, the Stars would take on the U16 Teasley Assist. With 11 of 12 players scoring, the Stars book 50 by halftime and went on to complete a 71 - 15 win.
On Sunday morning, the Stars would meet Lady Liberty U16, who went 2 - 0 on Saturday. With teamwork and great fast break offense, the Stars would take a 45 - 18 lead into halftime and earn the championship title with a 63 - 34 final score victory.
The Stars improved their season to date record to 26 - 1 heading into next weekend's Fairfax Stars 2012 Summer Spectacular Girls tournament.
______________________________________________________________
The Fairfax Stars U15 Elite Premier Showcase team took the court to participate in a roundup series of games on Saturday, May 19th at West Springfield High School.
In their opening game of the day, the Stars would take on the PSPA U16 team. In a tough game that was close throughout, the Stars would take a 28 - 21 lead into halftime. Behind strong defense and getting significant contributions from throughout the roster, the Stars would complete a hard fought 53 - 45 victory.
In their second game of the day, the Stars would play the PSPA U15 team. Behind a strong defensive effort, the Stars would go into halftime with the 38 - 20 lead. They would build upon that lead in the second half and finish with a 66 - 37 win.
In their final game of the day, the Stars would meet the highly touted U16 Germantown Lady Panthers who feature a number of top ranked Class of 2013 players. In a tough, physical, and fast paced game, the Stars would come from behind to take a 20 - 17 lead into halftime.
The intensity elevated in the second half as each team competed with tenacity on every possession. Once again, with strong contributions up and down the roster, the Stars would earn a tough 46 - 42 victory to claim their 3rd victory of the day and improve their season to date record to 23 - 1.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the Stars will compete in the Maryland Future All Stars Tournament
_______________________________________________________________
On Saturday, May 5th, the Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team traveled to Richmond, Virginia to participate in the 2012 Battler of the Ballerz, hosted by the Cap City Ballerz at the U-Turn Sports Performance Academy.
In their opening game against the U16 Virginia Beach Titans, behind balanced scoring from all 12 players, the Stars would come away with a strong victory. Their second game of the day would pit them against the U16 Culpepper Lady Thunder. Once again, with balanced scoring and strong defense, the Stars would capture their second victory of the day.
In their final contest of the day, the Stars would play the host U16 Cap City Ballerz. In a much tougher game that went back and forth, the Stars would take a slim 4-point lead into halftime, 22 - 18. That score would be matched in the second half, and the Stars would complete their day in Richmond with a 44 - 36 win.
With three wins, the Stars would improve their season to date record to 20 - 1.
______________________________________________________________
Congratulations to the Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team as they won their pool and then advanced to the tournament championship game at the 2012 Nike Boo Williams Invitational this past weekend in Hampton, Virginia.
With 32 teams beginning the competition in the U15 Girls Elite Division on Friday morning, each team would be tested this early in the season, looking to win their pool and advance to bracket play beginning Saturday night. When the dust settled on Sunday afternoon, and all but two teams had been eliminated, the Fairfax Stars had earned a spot in the championship game and the 2012 travel season was now fully underway. This was the only weekend of the spring would college coaches could be in the gyms to observe and evaluate the players, and more than 300 coaches made the trip to see players on the more than 250 participating teams.
The U15 girls began competition on Friday afternoon against the Philadelphia Comets. With a total team effort and contributions from throughout their roster, the Stars would open play with a strong 56 - 33 victory.
On Saturday morning, the Stars would take on North Tartan, the defending AAU Division I National Champion, and one of the presumptive favorites to win the tournament. In a hard fought contest, the Stars would prevail by a final score of 65 - 51, and head into their final pool play game with a 2 - 0 record and needing a win to advance to the tournament quarterfinals.
On Saturday afternoon, the Stars would meet yet another tough opponent as they would play the Michigan Crossover. With another strong team effort, the Stars would capture a 68 - 49 victory, finishing pool play 3 - 0 and thus earning a spot in the quarterfinals later on Saturday night.
Facing their third tough game of the day, the Stars would have something of a rematch game in their nightcap as they would face the very talented and nationally recognized All Iowa Attack. During the 2011 Nike Boo Williams Tournament, the Fairfax Stars U13 team, playing in the U14 Division, defeated the U14 All Iowa Attack by one point in a buzzer beater in the tournament semifinals.
It was evident early on that this game would take on a similar tone as the teams battled back and forth on each possession, taking a 33 - 33 score into halftime. Once again, the Stars depth allowed them to keep up with the frenetic up and down the court pace of the game. Late in the game, the Stars would find themselves down by 7 points, but fought back to tie and take the lead, only to have All Iowa reclaim the lead with just 16 seconds to play. Executing their offense, the Stars would score with 8.5 seconds left to take a 1 point lead. All Iowa advanced the ball into the front court and called time. While Iowa set their offense, the Stars set their defense and with 7.5 seconds, the Stars would take their own timeout and make their final defensive adjustment. The Stars defended well, and came away with an exciting, intense 63 - 62 quarterfinal victory to earn a spot in the tournament final four.
Early Sunday morning, the Stars would arrive at the Sportsplex to take on the BWSL Maryland team, another team considered one of the favorites to win the tournament. Even that early in the morning, the Stars got off to a good start and handled the BWSL MD pressure defense to take a 10 point halftime lead. They built on that lead in the second half to claim a 59 - 41 victory and earn a spot in the tournament championship game a couple of hours later.
In the championship game, the Stars would meet the Georgia Pistols, an athletic team that won their semifinal game by 30 points. The Stars competed strong early in the game, facing a 19 - 16 deficit before Georgia ran off 15 straight points on their way to a 38 - 18 halftime lead. The Stars struggled to get traction on either end of the floor, but battled back to a single digit deficit before falling by a final 67 - 55 score, finishing as the tournament runner-up.
What a tremendous performance by this young team that has only been together for 4 - 5 weeks, going 5 - 1 at one of the premier showcase tournaments in America, playing in the elite division and taking home the runner-up medals. Congratulations to Marta, Karlie, Kenya, Diamond, Kortni, Kelly, Lindsey, Amber, Zhara, Sydney, Stephanie, and Nae Nae on an outstanding tournament.
________________________________________________________________
The Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team went 4 - 0 and claimed the 2012 BRYC Tar Heels Classic tournament championship on Sunday afternoon, defeating the U16 Virginia Xplosion to win the title 69 - 43 at West Springfield High School.
With the win, the Stars improved to 12 - 0 on the young season as they prepare to travel to Hampton, Virginia next week to participate in the 2012 Nike Boo Williams Invitational tournament.
The Stars opened competition on Saturday afternoon against the Annandale Boys & Girls Club Lady Bulldogs. With tenacious defense and balanced offense, the Stars would complete a 59 - 25 win. Later on Saturday night, the Stars would take on the U16 VA Xplosion. With contributions from throughout the roster, the Stars would build on a 8 point halftime lead to earn a 57 - 28 victory.
In their final pool play game, the Stars would meet the U16 Maryland Lady Clippers early Sunday morning. With stifling defense and scoring from every player, the Stars would earn a spot in the tournament championship game with a 68 - 14 victory.
The championship game would be a rematch with the Virginia Xplosion who won their semifinal game. Behind a big run in the last five minutes of the first half, the Stars would take a 39 - 22 lead into the break. The lead would grow in the second half and again, with contributions from players up and down the roster, the Stars would claim the title with a strong 69 - 43 final score.
Congratulations to Jonquanae Cole; Karlie Cronin; Kenya Holland; Stephanie Jones; Sydney Jordan; Kelly Koshuta; Zhara Laster; Darlene Mickle; Amber Mixon; Lindsey Oblitey; Kortni Simmons; and Marta Sniezek and good luck next weekend in Hampton. GO STARS!
______________________________________________________________
Battling back from a double digit deficit, the Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team completed tournament play with an exciting 55 - 54 victory over the Maryland Grizzlies U16 team on Sunday afternoon at the 2012 Fairfax Stars THINK PINK Girls Tournament of Champions.
In their opening game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon, the Stars would take on the NY Gauchos U15, a nationally recognized team considered by many to be one of the best in America in their age group. The Gauchos are known for their fast, physical, and intimidating style of play. The Stars were not intimidated though as they matched the intensity of the Gauchos on each possession.
Behind a total team effort that produced scoring, defense, and rebounding from throughout the entire 12-player roster, the Stars came away with a hard fought 67 - 52 victory to begin their tournament competition.
Later that evening, the Stars would meet the Philadelphia Belles U15 team. Coach Greg Halligan brought another talented group of players to compete in this year's TOC. After trailing early in the game, the Stars would take a 37 - 26 halftime lead. With balanced scoring once again, and tough defense, the Stars would complete a 74 - 45 victory.
On Sunday morning, the Stars would play Team Virginia U16 team that traveled from the Roanoke and Lynchburg areas of Virginia. Behnd three players in double figures and contributions from throughout the roster, the Stars would jump out to a 36 - 19 halftime lead and complete a strong 74 - 48 victory.
To close the day and their competition at the 2012 Tournament of Champions, the Stars would take on the Maryland Grizzlies U16 team at McLean High School. The Stars got off to a very slow start and found an aggressive Grizzlies team that ran the floor and attacked the basket. With several players in early foul trouble, the Stars fell behind by as many as 12 as they battled to get consistency on the floor. The game went to halftime with the Grizzlies holding a 32 - 23 lead.
The second half brought a renewed energy from the Fairfax Stars. Fighting through foul trouble, the Stars turned the momentum with tough defense to create turnovers and begin to narrow the deficit. With about four minutes left in the game, the Stars grabbed a slim lead that then went back and forth as the clock wound down. Down by 1 with just four seconds to play, the Grizzlies would have one more chance with an out of bounds possession under their own basket. With smothering defense, the Stars forced an errant shot, and claimed an exciting come-from-behind victory with a final score of 55 - 54.
Congratulations to this talented team that went 4 - 0 for the weekend and improved to 8 - 0 in the early season. Team members include: Nae Nae Cole; Karlie Cronin; Kenya Holland; Stephanie Jones; Sydney Jordan; Kelly Koshuta; Zhara Laster; Diamond Mickle; Amber Mixon; Lindsey Oblitey; Kortni Simmons; and Marta Sniezek.
______________________________________________________________
The 2012 Fairfax Stars U15 Girls Elite Premier Showcase team opened their season by participating in the PVI Spring Warm Up tournament and claimed four victories over the two days.
The Stars opened play on Saturday afternoon against the Western Fairfax Basketball Club Mustangs, and with a strong overall team effort completed a 65 - 30 win.
Later in the afternoon, the Stars would take on the U16 1 On None team from Maryland. With all 12 players contributing to the scoring total, the Stars completed a 72 - 29 victory.
On Sunday morning, the Stars would meet the U15 Annandale Boys & Girls Club Bulldogs. In a tough, physical contest where the Stars at one time trailed by 6, they regrouped and came back to claim a hard fought 45 - 38 victory.
To close out the weekend, the Stars would play the U16 Vogues Select team in the afternoon. With tough and tenacious defense and well rounded offense, the Stars would come away with a 65 - 32 win.
Great contributions from throughout the roster during all four games of the weekend. The Stars will play next weekend in the 2012 Fairfax Stars "THINK PINK" Tournament of Champions.
_______________________________________________________________
If you have any questions at any time, please contact Head Coach Bob Dix at dix03@verizon.net |
