Another team that we got to concentrate on at the tourney was the 11U entry for the Wilmington Tigers.  This is a fine team that features several Ursuline Academy students and a ton of depth.  The drop off in talent as you go down the bench is almost imperceptible.  Of the 11 girls on the roster, all 11 scored before the weekend was over.  More impressive, considering the age group, eight of the eleven had ten or more points!  Three girls had 20 or more!

 

While a 2 - 2 record for the tournament might not seem like anything to crow about, one of the losses was a three-point 37 - 34 heartbreaker in overtime to an older (12U) team.  So, this was a "hard" 2 - 2.

 

It's easy when reporting on most teams - scholastic or club - to look primarily at offense.  But this team defies convention.  They emphasize an intense man-to-man defense (which is the way to go in most situations), but the real attraction are the steals and pass interceptions.  This team simply isn't happy unless they have the ball.  There might not have been a better anticipator of opponent passes in the whole tournament (45 teams) than Hannah Gladnick.  I completely lost count of all the passes she picked off.  They should call her The Interceptor.  She also shows leadership throughout each game, calling plays and generally being a rallying point for her teammates.  Oh yeah.  She also had 25 points over the four games - tops on her team.

 

But there's a whole bunch of good and exciting players on the roster.

 

Erin Joyce is the smallest girl on the team, but she has the heart of a 10-foot giant.  Erin loves basketball too much to let her size hold her back.  If anything, she uses her stature to her advantage.  She's a fantastic point guard who protects the ball well, reads the floor and situation, passes strong, and uses her head.  And, putting the ball in the hoop is no big deal for her as her 10 tournament points would attest.

 

Rebecca Peete is a nice "swing player" who can help her team from just about anywhere on the court.  Deceptively good speed.  Not afraid to play physical.  I've seen her play for 3 AAU seasons now, and every time I see her, she is twice as good as the time before.  At this rate, she'll pass Candace Parker in 2010!  Eighteen points on the weekend, including a team-leading 6 points in the infamous overtime game.

 

Game results:

38 - 23 win over Sparks

52 - 15 win over Delaware Lady Sharpshooters

37 - 34 loss (in OT) to Maryland Cyclones 12U

55 - 34 loss to Mid-Penn Motion

 

This is an awesome team that we'll have to keep up on.

 

Tourney Pics

 

The long strides of Megan Doogan as she runs along the baseline with her eyes on the basket.  Megan would contribute 18 points on the weekend.

 

Kayla Moffitt goes up strong with a right-side layup.  Kayla had 20 points in the tournament.

 

Hannah "The Interceptor" Gladnick brings the ball up.  Hannah makes everything she does look easy, but it's obvious to the trained eye that she worked awfully hard to become the athlete she is.

 

Point guard Erin Joyce lines up a baseline jumper under pressure from a Mid-Penn Motion defender.  Nobody plays with more purpose and determination than Erin.

 

Rebecca Peete in the blocks.  Rebecca is one of several UA players on the team.

 

Christy McDermott looks to pass.

 

The Tiger guards love working the baseline.  Here, Kate Payne takes a stab at it.

 

Miranda Schiccatano eyes the basket with Delaware Lady Sharpshooter Brittany McLean in hot pursuit.  Miranda has crazy skills and will be fun to watch as she progresses toward high school ball.

 

Kate Payne unwillingly becomes the meat in a Sharpshooter sandwich.  All Laura Bohannon (#33) can do is lend her sympathy.  Tying Kate up are Olivia Gumbs (behind) and Kadesha Dix (#23) for the Sharpshooters.

 

Kayla Moffitt with the shot.

 

Hannah Gladnick

 

Multi-time Delaware State Champion, Kayla Miller (UA), helps out on the Tiger 11U team.  Here she is with some of her 11U buddies.

 

 

 

 

Other Delaware Teams:

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 14U (Amy Rausch), 3 - 1 (11 - 1 overall)

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 14U (Tom Starr), 1 - 3

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 13U (Allan Cox)

 

Delaware PAL Wildcats 10U (Steve Colella), 2 - 2

 

Wilmington Tigers 12U (Hugo Romero)

 

Wilmington Tigers 11U (Matt Payne), 2 - 2 (8 - 4 overall)

 

Delaware Lady Sharpshooters 11U

***  The purpose of this page, like the rest of this site, is to promote girls basketball in the State of Delaware.  This is hard to do if individual players cannot be singled out.  However, I will honor all requests by players or parents to remove their/their daughters' names and/or images from this review.  I will also gladly correct any misspelled names, or add names where now I list only a player uniform number.  Just email me. ***