March 31, 2008

The 2008 AAU season of tournaments began at several area venues this past weekend.  One tournament that has proven to be a draw for quality competition is the Penn-Jersey Tournament held at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.  Making the trip this year was the 14u team from the Wilmington Tigers.  The Tigers are a local club going into their third season of play.  They field six teams ranging in age from 9u through 14u.  At this particular tournament, the Tigers were the only girls team present from the State of Delaware.  They were to represent the First State well.

 

Their first opponent was a scrappy team called "Logan".  Not sure where they hail from, but they kept things close the whole way.  The Tigers held onto a 20 - 16 lead at the half.  The last 16 minutes of game time were basically a repeat of the first 16.  The Striped Ones were to prevail 41 - 36.  Pacing the offense of the Orange & Black was Tiger veteran, Alison Zimny.  She scored 13 in the contest -- more than double any other teammate!  However, of the eight players present, all but one put up at least 2 points, so, many had a hand in contributing to the score.  Other high scorers included Tori Casper, Erin Moffitt and Marianna Gallo (6 each), and Maria Talarowski with 5.

 

For Game #2, the Tigers would have to take on the Lower Delco Wildcats.  The Lower Delco program has been around a long time and has a great reputation for deep, quality teams.  This game would turn out pretty much like the first one.  Two nearly identical halves of basketball.  The Delawareans would score 22 in each half, while the Wildcats posted 19 in the first and 16 in the second.  Once again, Alison Zimny came up big pouring in 17 points.  First year Tiger, Marianna Gallo would contribute 12, while Victoria Boyd chipped in 5.  Again, 7 players scored.  If nothing else, the Tiger 14u team was fast becoming a model of consistency.

 

Game #3 was to prove to be the Tigers breakout performance.  They would prevail over a youthful and inexperienced New Jersey Angels team, 48 - 12.  Leading the way offensively was Kristyn McCoy with 9 points.  Joining her were Victoria Boyd and Marianna Gallo (7 each), Alison Zimny and Tori Casper (6 each).

 

The getaway game would feature a rematch of the first game.  Logan would try a second time to knock off the Lady Wilmingtonians.  For the Tigers, this game would prove to be both their best offensive and worst defensive game of the weekend.  They would overcome Logan, 56 - 41.  Alison Zimny threw down 11 points.  (No other game stats were available.)

 

This 14u team is exciting and fun to watch.  They play hard, in-your-face defense, and are just as intense with the ball. 

 

Here are some things Coach John Kulesza had to say about his roster:

 

DGB:  Last year, your team was vastly improved from the year before.  In fact, you even went to Nationals.  This year, you've already had a nice start in your first tournament.  What do you look for in the 2008 edition of your Tiger team?

 

Coach Kulesza:  This by far is the most balanced team we have had. We can actually go 11 deep. We return 5 players from last years team. We have a lot of work to do between now and regionals. Our practices will be valuable learning time for our entire team. Its going to take a while for our team to come together. We need to show improvement each time out whether its a practice or a game. I strongly feel this can become a great team if we put in the time and concentrate on our quality of performance in practices and games. We need to be able to execute on both ends of the floor to be successful

 

DGB:  Describe the challenges you face in taking so many girls from all different scholastic programs and getting them to play as a team.

 

Coach Kulesza:  Time, effort and quality are the keys. That is always one of the fun and challenging things about coaching. Teams that I have been around have always improved and gotten better as the season progressed. That's a sign that the players have put in the time and effort.

 

DGB:   How hard is it to work new girls (new to your team) into your system?

 

Coach Kulesza:  Each year it becomes a bit easier. When you have 5 players returning it is an added benefit. We work on a lot of the fundamentals and try to make our players more refined.

 

DGB:   What made you happy about this weekend's tournament/What areas still need work?

 

Coach Kulesza:  Each player showed some improvement during some course of the weekend. They listened to our coaching and made the needed adjustments. That's what this game is all about. We have several areas that still need work but thats why we practice.

 

DGB:  How has the attitude/commitment of the girls been?
 

Coach Kulesza:  This year has been a little tougher because many of our players were involved with their school teams, which lasted until the March 8th or 9th. Then Spring break is very early this year as well. We have only had 2-3 practice with all of our players there. Now that all of that is behind us we can start to get some consistency that will benefit us as a team.

The Wilmington Tigers 14u team:  Alison Zimny (St. Mark's), Allie Pitti (St. Mark's), Tori Casper (St. Elizabeth's), Morgan Joyce (Charter), Marianna Gallo (Unionville), Kara Gallager (Corpus Christi -> St.Mark's), Liz Freud (St. Thomas More), Kristyn McCoy (AI), Erin Moffitt (Archmere), Maria Talarowski (Delcastle), and Victoria Boyd (St. Anthony's -> Padua).