|
Offense Sells Tickets
Panthers Defense Wins T-Shirts!!!!!!!!
Posted June
12, 2008
That was
the theme for the Delaware Lady Panthers this past weekend at the
Penn Jersey Atlantic City Classic at Stockton College in Pomona, NJ.
As advertised the Penn Jersey Tournaments offer t-shirts to all
teams who finish 4-0 in their age group and that was the Lady
Panthers motivation. As stated in Jim’s article last week at the
West Chester University Tournament, “the Lady Panther’s do have
named high school players on their roster and appear to be short on
the bench” which has been true all-season due to other commitments.
But this weekend the Lady Panthers had for the first time their full
roster and showed what they could achieve and played tenacious “D”
especially on Sunday. Saturday’s first game was a match up with
Regional participant New Jersey Blue Devils. The Panthers pulled out
to a ten point advantage in the first half and held off a furious
Blue Devil second half run with a 37-31 victory. The Panthers had
all players score and were led by Kristen Marbury’s 10 points. The
second meeting was against Hudson Valley which was a mirror image of
the Blue Devil game where the Panthers defeated the Knights 37-31
lead by Lizzy Wises’ 9 points.
 Sunday the Panthers brought out their
best defense efforts of the season. The first game they were matched
up against Lower Bucks Lightning in which the Panthers beat them in
an earlier Fencor Tournament. So needless to say revenge was
lurking. The Lightning held a 16-14 led at the Half but the Panthers
roared back to allow only 9 points in the second stanza to win going
away 38-25. The Lady P’s were paced by Sanford High’s Naiesha Brown
who put up 14 and Caravel Academy’s Lizzy Wise who chipped in 12.
The final game, for the T-shirts was against the IYB All-Stars who
had two players who measured 6 foot plus. In the first half the
score was Panthers 18 – All-Stars 17 with 14 of the 17 All-Star
points coming from those two post players. But in the second half
the Panthers undersized low post players Megan Chudzik, Judy
Ramirez (pictured above in an earlier tournament), Taylor Smith and Lizzy Wise buckled down and Panthers
guards Devon Arceri, Chantille Kennedy, Alison McGovern and Kristen
Marbury kept intense pressure on the guards and yielded only 5
points in the second half and won 32-22. The Panthers were led by
the Sanford tandem of Brown and point guard Alexa Webb with 12 and
11 points respectively. Needless to say when the Lady Panther’s left
Atlantic City they had smiles on their faces and t-shirts
forthcoming. Oh and an invitation to Penn Jersey’s Best of the Best
Tournament.
Coach Chudzik & Marbury
Delaware
Lady Panthers Attack Sharks, 58-47
15U Regionals Review
Posted May 16, 2008
It was Saturday morning,
May 10th, at Nanticoke Middle School in Nanticoke, PA -
the site of the 15U Regional Tournament and the 3rd game
of the day featured an all-Delaware match-up between the Delaware
Lady Panthers and the Delaware Sharks.
From the tip, the Delaware
Lady Panthers came out as the aggressor going up early in the first
stanza 16-4. The Sharks, though, would not go down easy as they
climbed back by knocking down three pointers on three consecutive
possessions. By half, the Panthers early lead was down to one
25-24. Megan Chudzik led the Panthers with 8 points in the first
half (finished with 11 points).
Beginning the second half,
the Panthers came out clawing and led by point guard Alexa Webb's 20
point performance (9 for 13 from the foul line) and Naiesha Brown’s
10 points and 20 rebounds. The Panthers again went up by double
digits and defeated the Sharks going away 58-47. Devon Arcieri
played stellar defense and contributed 7 points and Judy Ramirez
scored 6 points in the second half. The Sharks had a balance scoring
attack with 9 of their 14 roster scoring. The Sharks were led by #31
and # 23 who both put up 9 points respectively.
Although neither team
qualified for Nationals, they both were commended by their fellow
players, coaches and officials for the way each team played and how
they conducted themselves as professionals, on and off the court.
Fran Chudzik, Murphy
Marbury
15U Lady Panthers Coaches
Delaware PAL Wildcats 14U (#2)
Lizzie Haddon Tournament Review
Posted May
13, 2008
I have always heard about the Lizzie
Haddon Invitational and how great the town is during this event and
I was not disappointed. A very well run tournament, with many of
things to do in town during our wait before our next game.
My team went 1 - 3 but played very well
in 3 out of the 4 games. We played the Central Jersey Cardinals who
finished in 2nd Place in the New Jersey State Championships for
their age bracket. They beat us 53 - 35, but my girls played hard
every single second. The Cardinals were just too much for us. Our
second game was against the Burlington Banshees and we played poorly
and the officiating was just as bad. Now understand, even if the
refs were great, we still would have lost this game but they
contributed to the result. On Sunday, we came with a fresh attitude
as what took place the day before was history and it was a new day.
Our first game was against the Atlantic Cape Wildcats and it was a
classic game. Both teams battled closely, matching each other's
intensity, and for this coach, it was nerve wracking and also fun to
watch. We had a chance to tie the game with 4.5 seconds left.
Our designed play worked to get a player open; however, the shot
went in and out and we lost 51 - 49. Our parents were thrilled with
the girls' effort and each player made a contribution in the game.
In our last game, we played the Renegades and my girls stayed
focused and pulled off a 47 - 35 win. They needed this win very
badly, as being a #2 team, we face a lot of top teams and we have
lost 9 games this year by 9 points or less. I am proud of all my
players as they are continuing to get better each week.
My last piece I sent in, I profiled four
players and would like to introduce you to four more players from
our team.
 Sam
Sell, my starting point guard is very deceiving, as she stands
barely at 5'0 tall but her heart is bigger than she is. Sam is a
very smart player who would rather pass to a teammate then take an
open shot. Sam is a deadly 3 point shooter who also shoots her free
throws very well. Sam had 24 points on the weekend.
(Above photo from an earlier
tournament. Provided by DGB.com.)
Haley Thomas is a versatile player who
can play every position. She plays hard and involves all her
teammates. She leads our team in scoring, but like Sam, I think she
would be happy to lead the team in assists rather then scoring.
Haley is a threat in every aspect of the game and is a highlight
reel with some of the plays she makes. Haley finished the weekend
with 36 points.
Casey Thomas, twin sister of Haley, is one of our blue collar
workers. Casey has really developed well this year from where she
started. She came in as a strong rebounder but has improved her
offensive game and is a threat on both sides of the court now. Casey
had 13 points this weekend.
Alicia Scalessa is a player I have
coached on and off at the grade school and AAU level since her 5th
grade year. Another blue collar workers, Alicia is one of those
players every coach loves to have on their team. I have never
coached a player who has worked so hard to improve her game. During
the off season, she works with a coach or on her own to make herself
a better player and it shows. Alicia scored 13 points this
weekend.
Next weekend we are playing in the King of Prussia Tournament and I
will introduce the remaining roster of players.
GO WILDCATS!!!
Coach Starr
|
