Les Chats trump Domino's 57-32

KINGSPORT — The Kansas team with a French name reigned on court Monday night with an outstanding 57-32 performance over the New Orleans Domino’s in the AAU Girls Basketball 12-Under Division I national tournament.

Keeping the passes hot around the arc gave Les Chats, or “The Cats,” several chances for outside shots. They ended with four 3-pointers, two of them from leading scorer Shaelyn Dae Martin, who netted 22 points.

Although Les Chats shot well, they had to play keepaway from Lady Domino’s leader Jenna Deemer, who tossed in 10 points.

“Number 23 (Deemer) is just a fantastic player,” said Les Chats coach Conrad Weledji of Overland Park, Kan. “We tried to deny her the ball as much as possible and make her work for every point she got.”

Domino’s coach Lainie Griffin knew her New Orleans team was tired from the get-go.

“We didn’t show up,” she said. “The combo of five games in three days has taken a toll on us. I could see it at warm-ups.”

A bench full of tired 12-year- old bodies could have been the cause of 12 team fouls committed by the Domino’s. Les Chats cashed in on their mistakes, going 9-of-15 from the free throw line.

Les Chats were not short on hustle, thanks to Weledji, who’s been coaching the girls for five years.

“My girls play hard. I make them play hard,” he said.

His daughter Timawe Weledji added 12 points, followed by guard Mary Catherine Altman with seven.

The Domino’s banked in a 57-46 win over Indiana’s M.B.A. Select on Monday afternoon 57-46.

Because of their loss to Les Chats, the Domino’s are in the ninth-place bracket. They will play Indiana’s ISSA Elite Red today at 10:30 a.m. at Daniel Boone.

Les Chats’ second win was somewhat of a repeat of the first one, 53-32 against the Wisconsin ABC Knights.

The Kansas team will entertain the Maryland Flames at 10:30 a.m. at Sullivan North for a chance to compete in the finals at Sevier Middle School at 4:30 p.m.

As for Les Chats’ chances for finals action, Weledji isn’t ready to make predictions.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “We will give it our best shot.”

Six-footers guide Hoopstars into AAU finals

By Amanda Marsh

Published July 7th, 2009 | 0 Comments

KINGSPORT — Usually, the tall girls surround the paint. Then again, these aren’t normal 12-year-olds.

Both the Dayton Hoopstars and the Kansas Les Chats held their own with squads of versatile players in semifinal play during the AAU Girls Basketball 12-Under Division I National Championship.

Ohio’s Hoopstars pulled out the 60-51 victory, propelling them into the championship matchup today at 1:30 p.m. against the Georgia Pistols at Dobyns-Bennett.

Kathryn Westbeld and Makayla Waterman boasted 16 points apiece for the Hoopstars.

Both girls measure 6-foot tall and aren’t afraid to dribble or pop a 3-pointer.

“They are the key to our team,” said first-year coach Kent Depoorter.

Les Chats coach Conrad Welediji was well aware of Westbeld and Waterman’s talents.

“We were trying to get the bigs in foul trouble,” he said, “but they were so smart.”

The Hoopstars kept a small lead throughout much of the first half by shooting well around the arc. Danielle Shafer swished four out of Dayton’s six 3-pointers.

Outside shooting abilities helped the Overland Park, Kansas, team attempt to close in on several 10-point gaps during the second half. They finished with seven 3-point goals, two each by Kelly Sweeney and Kristen Murphy.

It is no doubt that the Hoopstars are a competitive group. Depoorter sends his seventh-graders to play in tourneys with various freshman teams.

“I think that’s why we have been competitive up here,” he said. “It’s because all year long we played against kids that are bigger, faster and stronger.”

Although the Lady Hoopstars are exhausted from four days of basketball games, Depoorter says his girls are mentally tough and should be ready for today’s contest.

“I don’t know anything about the other team, but when we were down they never gave up. That’s what our team is all about.”

Georgia Pistols Take Out Dayton Hoopsters for AAU National Title

By Jimmy Moore
TriCitiesSports.com
July 8, 2009

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The Dayton Lady Hoopstars found out in a hurry inside the Buck Van Huss Wednesday in the finals of the 2009 AAA Girls’ Basketball 12U National Championship that it doesn’t pay to mess with a ‘smoking gun.’

A 14-2 run just before intermission gave the Hoopstars what appeared to be a comfortable 16-point advantage, 27-11, but someone forgot to tell the Georgia Pistols who rallied to escape with a 46-44 victory.

The Ohio team enjoyed a double-digit lead with just over nine minutes to play when the offense of the purple team from Marietta, Georgia came alive. The Pistols reeled off a 19-8 run to grab only their second lead of the contest, 43-42.

Makayla Waterman’s basket from in close knotted the score at 44-44 before Brianna Cummings drained a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds to play to seal the victory. But it was not until Morgan Glodowski’s desperation shot from back-court bounded off the front of the rim that set off the celebration.

Pistols head coach Lanny Martin said he never doubted his team’s ability to come back despite trailing by 16 points.

“We’re a second half team and we felt like could wear them down,” said Martin, who had guided his team to a seventh-place finish in last year’s AAU National Championship. “We just needed to keep doubling down, hustling and pressing.

“I can’t say enough about these kids. They’re never out of it. It has just been a team effort all year. They really believe in each other.”

Te’A Omari Cooper and Jamine Carter led the Pistols with 12 points each while Asia Durr and Brianna Cummings chipped in with eight points each.

Martin said the history of AAU teams from Georgia the past few years added a little pressure for this year’s finalist.

“Our organization’s nine-year-olds won the nationals last week,” added Martin. “In this 12U division the past three years a Georgia team has won it. They’re (Dayton Lady Hoopstars) a heck-u-va of a team with a lot fight in them. I guess it was just our turn.”

Lady Hoopstar head coach Kent Depoorter said his team had played two years up all season long to help prepare them for the week and they had played great basketball.

“The Georgia Pistols are a heck-u-va basketball team,” said Depoorter. “We were just happy to be in the national championship game. (We’re) disappointed to lose. I wish a couple of shots had went down that didn’t.”

Despite the huge lead, Depoorter said his team has been on both ends of the spectrum and despite the loss it has been a good week for his girls.

“We’ve been up and gone down,” he added. “The lead is never safe especially when you’ve got an athletic team like we were playing against. We got tired too. It’s been a long, tough week.

“I told the girls probably 300 teams started off and you get down to 64 that actually go to the nationals and you end up first or second.”

Kathryn Westheld led the Lady Hoopstars with 15 points followed by Morgan Glodowski with 11. Brittani Rizzi and Makayla Waterman added nine points each.

A couple of teams from the Missouri Valley area battled it out for third place that saw Les Chats from Kansas turn back The Missouri Valley Magic/Blazers Elite 50-37 to take home the third place trophy.

Timawe Weledji led the winning team with 15 points followed by Kristen Murphy with 11. Imani Symone Johnson was the only Magic player in double figures with 10 points.

“We finished seventh last year so this is a step forward for us,” said Les Chats’ head coach Conrad Weledji. “I’m really proud of my girls. They played really hard and that’s all you can ask for.”

Losing head coach Steve Aldridge said his team had the remnants of two teams from a year ago that included a team that finished third at the AAU Nationals.

“We’ve had a really good year,” said Aldridge. “They’ve worked hard and deserve all the credit. It’s one thing for me to tell them what to do, it’s another thing for them to go out and do it.

“They’re a real coach-able group of kids. I think they did more with less than anybody in this whole tournament.”

2009 AAU Girls' 12 & Under Tourney Down to Elite Eight by Steve 'Parrothead Vol' Wilmoth TriCitiesSports.com July 6, 2009 2009 AAU Girls' 12 & Under Photo Gallery Brackets - Championship / Consolation / Classic / Classic Consolation KINGSPORT -- The 2009 AAU Girls' 12 & Under Tournament began championship bracket play on Monday at various sites in the area and after 48 games, only eight are still in contention for the National Championship. The eight teams still vying for the national championship site include the Maryland Flames, Les Chats, Dayton Black, East Bay Xplosion, Tennessee Pride Gold, Georgia Pistols, Magic-Blazers and Thunder Lambert. Tennessee Pride Gold, based in Murfreesboro, defeated another Tennessee-based team, the Tennessee Team Glory from Memphis to reached the quarterfinal round. Quarterfinal action is set for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday at various site across the region. The championship bracket is back at 4:30 with semi-final action at Sullivan North and John Sevier. Les Chats from Overland Park, Kansas and the East Bay Xplosion [San Francisco] were impressive in gaining the semi-finals rounds Championnship Bracket Results & Pairings  First Round ISSA Elite Red 52, WFBC Mustangs 30 Maryland Flames 58, Garner Flames 36 Domino's 57, M.B.A. Select 46 Les Chats 53, Wi ABC Knights 32 Dayton Black 64, West PA Bruins 35 Thunder-Lewis 47, ISSA Elite White 39 East Bay Xplosion 57, Hot Shots 39 North Tartan 56, Vogues 37 Tennessee Team Pride 73, Bucks Lightning 35 Tennessee Team Glory 47, Kentucky Blast 41 St. Louis Threat 46, Central Hawks 41 Georgia Pistols 60, Cardinal Allen 29 Magic-Blazers 61, ERSE Blazers 33 Fairfax Stars 59, U.S. Elite 2014 48 Thunder-Lambert 60, Fast Breakers 21 MO Elite 52, Lady Magic 30 Second Round Maryland Flames 48, ISSA Elite Red 40 Les Chats 57, Dominos' 32 Dayton Black 57, Thunder-Lewis 33 East Bay Xplosion 55, North Tartan 43 Tennessee Team Pride 62, Tennessee Team Glory 54 Georgia Pistols 50, St. Louis Threat 40 Magic-Blazers 65, Fairfax Stars 56 Thunder-Lambert 45, MO Elite 39 Quarterfinals Maryland Flames vs Les Chats @ Sullivan North, 10:30 a.m. Dayton Black vs East Bay Xplosion @ Sullivan South, 10:30 a.m. Tennessee Pride Gold vs Georgia Pistols @ Sevier, 10:30 a.m. Magic-Blazers vs Thunder-Lambert @ Dobyns-Bennett, 10;30 a.m. Semi-Finals Maryland Flames/Les Chats Winner vs Dayton Black/East Bay Xplosion Winner @ Sevier, 4:30 p.m. Tennessee Pride Gold/Georgia Pistols Winner vs Magic-Blazers/Thunder-Lambert Winner @ Sullivan North, 4:30 p.m.