First in Bellingham, Santa Barbara

Danielle (23), Caitlyn (1), Chelsea (22) and Kasey (3), in retro-Dragon, listen to Coach Glenn, but Sassia (10) has heard it all before.
BELLINGHAM, Nov. 10 - It rained in both Bellingham and Santa Barbara, Calif., this weekend, but it still turned out to be a perfect weekend for Triple Threat.
The Triple Threat 87s used the three-pointer to perfection, taking a pair of games on the final day of the Green Wave Classic to win the 9th Grade championship.
Later in the day, thousands of miles away, the Triple Threat 89s beat the sixth-ranked team in the country, the Monterey Park Heat, to claim the 8th Grade title in the Swoosh Fall Classic in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Monterrey Park also finished third in the country at the 11u AAU Nationals in 2001.
The Triple Threat victory in Santa Barbara capped an impressive run, during which they rolled through seven of California's best, including the NJB Blue, which finished 13th at Nationals in 2002. The 89s had to win through four games in 11 hours on Sunday, including playing the first game of the Sunday session at 8 a.m. after playing the last game of the previous night's session.
In Bellingham, the Triple Threat 87s held Sehome/Mt. Baker to just two points in the second half and overtime and Brittany Heilman sank the game-winning three during a comeback 26-23 overtime victory in their first Sunday game. They then wrapped up the Green Wave championship with a three-point barrage to subdue the Bellingham Blue Rush 58-30.
Starting post, Kasey Prom, downed a pair of three-pointers, and Alyssa Bowman, Danielle Greaby and Sassia Nelson also connected from beyond the arc, as Threat 87s raced to a 26-10 lead in the first quarter against Bellingham.
Earlier in the tournament, the Triple Threat 87s beat the Northwest Heat 37-31 behind a team-leading nine points by Chelsea Goodrich and overtook the South Langley (B.C.) Comets 38-17 behind 13 points from Brittany.
The matchup with Sehome/Mt. Baker turned out to be the deciding game. Triple Threat came out ice cold and fell behind 21-11 at halftime, but held Sehome scoreless for the entire third quarter and first five minutes of the fourth. Meanwhile, Sehome's star center, Samantha Tinned, fouled out on a great blockout play by Caitlyn Faidley and Erica Huffman's three-point bomb capped a furious Threat rally.
Sehome/Mt. Baker finished second in the 9th Grade division.
The championships were the fifth for the Triple Threat program this fall - two tournament and a league title for the 89s and two tournaments for the 87s.

Triple Threat 87s: back row (l-r) - Coach Glenn, Danielle Greaby, Erica Huffman, Kasey Prom, Brittany Heilmen; front - Sassia Nelson, Chelsea Goodrich, Alyssa Bowman (not pictured: Caitlyn Faidley)
|