STM8 Wins St. George Tournament!

STM8 26 SGS 23

STM8 wins the SGS Tournament and remains unbeaten this season at 17-0! EVERY PLAYER shot the ball and we got scoring from six different players to seal the win. The girls shot the ball 73 times and forced a season high of 27 turnovers as they lived our basketball philosophy, RUN TO WIN!

Before the game we said a special prayer and every player was reminded of what they had to "let go of" and where they could find the inner courage to succeed when the game got rough. We spoke together that this team cannot be explained by asking why...but more so, why not...why not take every player who wanted to come out, why not play every girl, why not let every girl shoot, why not allow every player to be the best they can be...and that's exactly what these wonderful girls, who are pretty, smart & ------ strong. They decided before the game that they would win. They would do so through the love they shared for one another all season and would lean on one another as the game's intensity reached its crescendo.

Tonight there was not one player that made the difference. It was 10 players that did. Comet led the scoring with 8 points and forced 9 turnovers. She was our tourney MVP, and as co-captain, she showed her greatness. Comet now has gone over 200 points for the season and currently stands as the 2nd all-time single season scorer for MONGOOSE SYSTEM players, and that's boys AND girls!

In our total team concept, even Comet sits over a quarter of play in each game. Comet is such a team player she never once has complained or been upset by giving her teammates the opportunity for greatness. However, even she was battered and exhausted as we entered the final quarter of play and the decision was to rest her, additionally, from the 5:30 mark until 3:00 minutes were left in the game. She was able to to re-charge and return like the force of nature she is. And even though SGS went ahead with 1:30 to go, she coolly sprinted back down the court and sunk the 3-pointer that put us ahead for good. It showed to be the finest dagger in the hands of a master basketball assassin and it drew blood from a spirited SGS team!

Pistol, co-captain, and playing with a badly bruised finger which she simply "rubbed some dirt on," and taped up looking more like Mordicai "three finger" Brown (Hall of Fame baseball player)than her regular self scored 7 points and now has 95 for the season! She decided tonight she would just go ahead and make two 3 pointers! She also forced 4 turnovers made THE clutch free throw at the end of the game to put it out of reach! I think the only way for her to have played better would have been for us to actually break that finger...because she was not going to be stopped - although there were dragons out there - she was set to slay them!

Snoopy came through with 6 points in the game and 5 forced turnovers. Is it wrong to crack a huge smile when our opponents foul our best free throw shooter and put her at the line? Well, if so, I'm guilty as charged. Snoopy made 4 free throws which we had to have to win. As a pure shooter it's not fair to say she plays with ice water in her veins because she is so cold, so deadly, ALL THAT WATER MUST BE FROZEN. With her points tonight, she has now eclipsed the century mark with 101!

Goldy was challenged tonight before the game to perform at 100% on both on offense and defense. We asked her to rebound strongly and be the hero she could be when her chance came. She came through as her defense was tenacious all night and she scored a key bucket off a rebound to spark our team. Even though she hasn't been one of our top scorers, it was she who came through tonight when her best was needed and she delivered it!

Cam Cam took one of our most important shots of the night, and it ended up being an air ball. BUT, that was NOT a bad thing. She shot without hesitation, without fear and inspired the team to shoot & continue to shoot without delay when whenever open. At that key juncture in the game, some of our girls had become a bit anxious due to fatigue, but not Cam Cam, and her leadership drove everyone forward. Later, she scored as well in a tight rebounding situation, without hesitation and played her best game all season on both offense selflessly setting pick after pick and on defense standing like a stone wall against the furious assaults thrown at her from the Dragons.

Ocho again proved her mettle by shutting down the biggest threat posed by SGS and ran through her own personal exhaustion to finish as a champion. She rebounded well and made an early free throw lifting the whole team.

Rogue played well and never quit as she frustrated SGS all game as our rabid Mongoose defender. Her work is pressure up front resulted in numerous bad choices by SGS guards and DIRECTLY accounted for numerous turnovers. We are all so proud of her courage tonight in such a high pressure environment. There is nothing this girl won't do for her teammates and nothing she can't do in life!

Thundercat owned the defensive boards tonight and hustled all game to stop the SGS fast break. She ripped down 2 offensive rebounds and even forced a turnover. As one of our centers, her role in giving 100% provided our team with an anchor which grounded our other players with confidence all night. Previously, in the tournament, Thundercat's key basket off a fiery rebound was needed for us to escape with a one point victory!

Last being announced on our roster, but first in depth of heart and team spirit, Speed again showed why we can't win without her on the floor. Intense defense and grabbing two offensive rebounds were her major contributions in the championship game. Again, just as Thundercat had done, Speed also scored a critical basket in the final two minutes in our other single point win, over the mighty SJV and without her, we wouldn't get to play for the trophy!

Tonight's game saw Montana do what she does best, simply infuriate our opponent's point guard. Her desire to do all she can for her teammates, she sometimes tries to do too much, but any coach would rather a player who plays with that unbridled enthusiasm, than one who might play without energy. Montana did it all tonight. She shot without fear, she forced 3 turnovers and she grabbed 1 offensive rebound. She played both small forward and shooting guard and continues to improve through hard work and relentless pursuit of perfection.

I'm so proud of these girls as they are now 17-0 and also, they contributed to an old man win his
"100th CSAL" game tonight. All of these wins using every player, every game, and allowing them the freedom to be the best they could be. No other team I've coached has shown the total devotion to each other and dedication to our philosophy as this one has. I'm so happy that we reached this milestone in this game, with this coaching staff, with these players! I'm certainly most appreciative to all the players, coaches and parents who have supported and believed in this total team philosophy this year and in years past, without which, none of this would have been possible. Now it's time to finish the task ahead, by winning the
St. Michael Super Six!!!