This time, the BWSL hosts had to come from behind, but pulled out the championship in overtime with a 51-48 win over Tennessee Flight Silver.
Tennessee Flight Silver had lost to BWSL in its previous six meetings in this event, each time prior to the final. For highly regarded Flight Coach Tom Insell, “7” did not prove to be the lucky number.
College coaches attending this year’s tournament were a veritable Who’s Who of the game. Though the tournament boasts a plethora of age divisions and brackets, each of them boasting an abundance of talent, we focus here on the climax of top undergraduate division, the Gold Division of the Girls’ 16-and-under Newport News Bracket. This division alone featured 32-teams, divided into eight pools of four teams each, the winners of which advanced to play for the title.
The premier division of this invitational, which dates back to 1988, had never been won by BWSL prior to 2006. Now, however, the host team has won three out of the last four titles. Coach and tournament founder Boo Williams credits their recent success to a combination of an increased recruiting base and better development of younger players in the program.
Previously, BWSL drew its roster primarily from the Tidewater area surrounding their Hampton, Virginia, base of operations. Players on this year’s roster come from as far north as Maryland and as far south as North Carolina. Still, compared to the Tennessee Flight Silver, which posted a roster with seven players from Tennessee, three from Mississippi, two from Kentucky, and one each from California, the District of Columbia, and New York, BWSL could be considered a “local” team.
Final: BWSL 16U 51-48 (OT) Tennessee Flight Silver
Prior to the tournament, Flight was considered the favorite, sporting a line-up of current and future high school All-Americans. The final was played at a fairly slow pace in spite of the fact that both teams had more than enough ammunition to run all day. Given their perceived greater quality depth, it was a bit surprising that the Tennessee-based squad did not attempt to play a more up-tempo style, instead opting for the deliberate pace BWSL prefers.
The hosts’ goal appeared to be getting the ball inside to their super sophomore Elizabeth Williams (6-3, C, Princess Anne HS, VA) who finished with 15 points, while the Flight was either trying to work the ball into Stefanie Dolson (6-5, JR, C, Minisink Valley HS, NY; UConn -verbal) who scored 12 for the game. Alternatively, the Flight looked for their own super-soph, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (6-1, F/G, Mater Dei HS, CA), to connect on a jumper. Lewis scored 15 points to lead her team but was plagued by fairly poor shooting (7/19), perhaps in part due to a hyperextension of her knee, suffered in an earlier tournament game.
There was little separation between these clubs, with the score tied at 21 at halftime and 45 at the end of regulation. Flight led by a few points for most of the second half but needed a three-ball by Lewis with 20 seconds left to bring her team level at 45. During the last five minutes of regulation, three calls of note ran against the Flight. The refs failed to call a possible offensive foul as BWSL’s Chloe Wells (5-8, JR, G, Apex HS, NC) drove to the basket, appearing to clear out the defender during the drive. (Wells finished with 11 points.) On another play, Flight appeared to clear a defensive rebound but instead drew a late whistle as they were about to go up court; a shooting foul awarded to BWSL. Finally, with just over a minute left, two officials of the three-man crew had different calls on the same play (foul on BWSL or travel on the Flight’s Lewis). The verdict was traveling and BWSL ball.
Still, the Flight had a chance to take the game to a second overtime. With seven seconds left in OT, Ronika Ransford (5-8, JR, G, H.D. Woodson HS, DC) missed the second of two foul shots, which would have tied the score at 49. In the aftermath, Elizabeth Williams was fouled and made both free throws to provide the final margin.
Semifinals: Tennessee Flight Silver 63, DFW TJack/Elite, 55
DFW, perhaps still feeling the effects of Saturday night’s hard fought (and really closer) 68-51 win over the talented Cy-Fair Texas team, did not play with the same energy as seen the night before. Even though Flight led by only 25-23 at halftime, they appeared in charge for the majority of the game and particularly the second half.
With the final game coming about 90 minutes after the semis, it was more important to exert as little energy as possible to have enough for the last game rather than run up a score. Stefanie Dolson with 16 points and Ronika Ransford with 10 led the Flight. Odyssey Sims (18 points) and Kelsi Baker (10 points) led DFW in defeat. Both Sims and Baker were named to the All-Tournament team.
Semifinals: BWSL 16U 64, Philadelphia Belles Nike Team, 56:
This game was similar to the other semifinal in that one team seemed in charge, only more so. The hosts led 33-26 at halftime, staying on top throughout the second half. BWSL’s Chloe Wells led all scorers with 22 points while the Belles were led in scoring by their All-Tournament team member Haley Peters, who posted 13 points.
Not that this would have altered the outcome, but the Belles played this contest without freshman standout Breana Stewart (6-4, C/F, Cicero-North Syracuse HS, NY) who had to leave the tournament early due to other commitments. This is very likely one of the top players in the class of 2012, who has a maturity of play equivalent to those several years older.
For their part, BWSL seemed to have drawn the easier road to the semis, though their performance in the semifinal and final proved them a worthy victor. Of a pre-tournament shopping list of likely high-quality teams to evaluate during pool play, only pool G, whose winner BWSL faced in the single-elimination quarterfinals coming out of pool B, had no team on the list.
All-Tournament Honors
Tournament MVP honors went to the BWSL 16-and-under team’s Elizabeth Williams (6-3, SO, C, BWSL, Princess Anne HS, VA). Joining Williams on the Boo Williams 2009 Nike All-Tournament Team were:
- Kelsi Baker (6-0, JR, F, Mesquite Horn HS, TX) of the DFW TJack/Elite;
- Stefanie Dolson (6-5, JR, C, Minisink Valley HS, NY -- verbal commitment to UConn) of the Tennessee Flight Silver;
- Maggie Lucas (5-10, JR, G, Germantown Academy, PA – verbal commitment to Penn State) of the Philadelphia Belles Nike Team;
- Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (6-1, SO, F/G, Mater Dei HS, CA) of the Tennessee Flight Silver;
- Haley Peters (6-3, JR, F, Peddie School, NJ) of the Philadelphia Belles Nike Team;
- Samisha Powell (5-8, JR, G, Princess Anne HS, VA) of the Boo Williams Summer League Girls 16-and-Under Team;
- Ronika Ransford (5-8, JR, G, H.D. Woodson HS, DC) of Tennessee Flight Silver;
- Odyssey Sims (5-8, JR, G, MacArthur HS, TX – verbal commitment to Baylor) of DFW TJack/Elite; and
- Chloe Wells (5-8, JR, G, Apex HS, NC) of the Boo Williams Summer League Girls 16-and-Under Team.