Latest Info 

	Winter League Tryouts for current 5th-8th graders have been scheduled for mid-October. Go to "League Info" to find out more.
	Open Gym Nights to Start on Tuesday September 21st (see below).
	PBA Summer League Game Results Posted under "Schedules".
	Winter 2010-11 Coaches are listed under "Organization"
	All 2009-10 Winter League Game results are posted under "PBA Player Info".
	PBA 2009-10 End-of-Year Awards Banquet was held on March 21st. Awards posted under "PBA Player Info".
	2009 Sugarloaf Shootout 8th Grade Boys Holiday Tournament results have been posted under "Tournaments"

 

 Open Gym Nights Start Tuesday September 21st 

The PBA begins its Open Gym Night series, for current 4th-8th graders, starting on Tuesday September 21st at JPMS. The "Girls Only" session runs from 6:00 to 7:00 PM and the mixed session (boys and girls) will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. The cost is $1.00 per participant. PBA coaches will be providing supervision. Players should bring their own drink and remember to keep it in the lobby. Parents of younger players are encouraged to stick around while your son/daughter is playing. 

 

 Summer League 2010 Game Summaries Week 6 

JV Girls Polish Off Damascus, Finish Summer Undefeated!
Cecco Paces PBA Rising Star Girls, RS Boys Finish with Split 

The PBA JV Girls finished their dream summer season with a perfect 10-0 record after defeating Damascus 25-4 Thursday night. "These girls played very well this summer. We provided a lot of playing time for everyone to show case their skills and they did just that. This summer their transition game was top notch and many of their points were scored running the court." said Coach Chris Hall after the milestone victory. Breanne Hall led all scores Thursday night with 10 points, followed by Jami D'Amelio with eight. Also scoring were Kristen Darragh with five and Jessie Martinez adding a bucket. The Lady Falcons dictated the game right from the start. Damascus controlled the jump ball and before they could dribble, Hall stole the ball and scored an uncontested lay-up. The Falcon's defense continued to caused havoc all night and in the end, the team racked up 21 steals. Reflecting on this summer, Coach Hall continued, "Tonight was a great finish to a perfect season. Many of these girls produced some great stats and I'm looking forward to the winter season in Mid-Maryland to see how we stack up." Here are the top two leaders in each category on this epic season: Scoring: Jami D'Amelio 53 points (6.6 / game) & Breanne Hall 43 (6.1 / game); Rebounding: Jessie Martinez 49 (5 / game) & Lauren Lightcap 34 (4 / game); Steals: Lauren Lightcap 22 (2.4 per game) & Hall 20 (2.9 / game); Assists: Hall 12 (2 / game) & Kristen 8 (1.6 / game). Congratulations Falcons! See you all at Open Gym nights and tryouts in October.

The PBA JV Girls won Tuesday night 20-10 over DeChantal. Taylor Behrens playing her best game of the season and walked way with tally marks in every stat column. Taylor ended the night with six points, three boards, two steals and an assist. Kristen Darragh back from vacation finished the night where she left off. Kristen had six points, a couple boards, three steals and an assist. Breanne Hall playing a "big man" all night, controlled the paint with ten boards, added four points, several steals and an assist to the victory. Also scoring for the Lady Falcons were Lauren Lightcap and Jami D'Amelio with a bucket each. A rematch against Damascus on Thursday night is the only game that stands between the JV Girls and an undefeated summer league season.

In a wrap-up of their final four summer league games, the PBA Rising Star Girls did not fair well on the scoreboard but significant progress was made and Delaney Cecco showed her chops by scoring 42 points in those final four contests. In their most recent two games, the young Falcons fell to the Mustangs by a final score of 23-17 with Cecco hitting for eight, Hailey Khalil and Kristen Hepburn scoring four each and Siann Riggs also scoring. Against the Dynamo's, Poolesville lost a tough one with Cecco scoring 10 and Khalil and Riggs scoring four each. Hepburn and Kaley Fisher also scored. The RS Girls lost a heartbreaker to the MD Lady Hoopsters by a final score of 26-24 with Cecco shouldering the load with 16 points. "While we finished 3-7, I thought the girls did a nice job in their first season of higher level basketball," said Coach Margaret Heimbach. "We're looking forward to getting back out on the court again in the fall with lots of practices to work on the fundamentals. I hope to see all of the girls at the Open Gym Nights as well!"

After splitting their last two games of the season, the PBA Rising Star Boys finished the year with a 5-5 record. "We have plenty of work to do," said Coach John Weber. "This group of kids has shown they can work hard. We have a lot of players who are very even in terms of their abilities. I'm looking forward to seeing who wants to jump out in front of the pack coming up this fall and winter."

The PBA Varsity Boys game against the Pistons on Wednesday night was a tale of completely different halves. "The 1st half we thought three-point shots were the ticket and against a team that has three big boys, if you're not hitting you're in trouble, and we weren't hitting!," said Coach John Weber. "The real issue with this approach was the Pistons would get the rebound, run transition, beat us back and end up with an easy basket. As a result we ended the half behind, 32 to 9 (no typo, 23 points down). The second half we started to move on offense against the 2-1-2 zone and started to attack the basket. The Pistons continued to press us, kept their big men in the game and tried to ran transition but we just played much better than the 1st half," said Weber. The Varsity Boys ended up losing 52-26. "The majority of our 17 second half points came either from inside the paint or from free throws," said Weber. "If we'd have played this way the entire game, who know what we might have been able to accomplish? I liked the fight I saw in them tonight, they were down big but never gave up or quit fighting."

Against Damascus, the Varsity Boys fell behind 11-9 and ended up losing 30-21. Zack Long hit for seven points, Joey Cartwright had six, Logan Rocco had four and Vincent Posey and Ryan Shorts both hit for two each. "They put a lot of pressure on us but Cori Riggs and Ryan Shorts handled the pressure well," said Coach Bill Cartwright. "Zack Long did a great job on the boards despite giving up some height." Poolesville hung in there against the Flames as well behind the rebounding and shooting of Joey Cartwright but fell by the final score of 40-29. Cartwright hit for 11, Long went for double-digits with 10, Riggs had three, and Rocco, Eric Lee and Matt Hepburn also scored.

The PBA JV Boys played hard in their games against the Badgers and the Classic Blue but turnovers played a large role in what would turn out to be two losses. Against Classic Blue on 7/15, Poolesville outscored the Blue 16-13 in the second half but it wasn't enough to overcome a 18-point halftime deficit and the Falcons fell 37-21, Tim McIntyre and Ryan D'Amelio scored six points each in the loss, Jake Armstrong and Kevin Simmons hit for four points each, and Nathan Onderko also scored. On 7/20 against the Badgers, Poolesville lost by a final score of 28-22 despite 14 points from Joe Soltis. McIntyre (four points), Simmons and Justin Souder also scored in the loss.

 

 Summer League 2010 Game Summaries Week 5 

Varsity Boys Send St. E's Packing!
Fantastic RS Four Play Like Superheroes, Varsity Girls Fall in O.T., JV Girls Stay Hot, JV Boys Hold Off K-Town Cavs.

The PBA Varsity Boys pushed out an early lead on St. Elizabeths and took a 19-10 advantage into the locker room at the half. St. E's tightened things up in the second half and forced the Falcons to win the game from the line. Poolesville responded by going 10 for 15 from the charity stripe and took home a 34-29 victory for their efforts. Zach Long went for double-digits and finished with 13 points in the win. Steven Morningstar manned the pivot and finished with nine points and nine rebounds. Guards Joey Cartwright and Corey Riggs finished with four points each. Vincent Posey, Logan Rocco, and Chris Novell also scored for Poolesville. 

The PBA JV Girls defeated the Classics-Ball Skillz Thursday night 44-11. "We started off a little slow with a 5-4 lead after a few minutes of play, then the doors opened and the seas parted." commented Coach Chris Hall. By the half, the Lady Falcons had a commanding 23-6 lead. Coach Hall continued, "At the break, I challenged the girls to play smart, work the ball into the paint, look for open shots and to exceed the 40 point mark - a scoring territory they have never seen. We had 7 turnovers in the first half and I wanted the girls to play smarter. Oh yeah, I also lifted the ban on three pointers." With the WSSC-like restriction now lifted, the threes came raining down. The Lady Falcons shot 3 for 4 from the beyond the arch with Breanne Hall, Lauren Lightcap and Jolee Rains each going 1-1. With that kind of performance, maybe Coach Hall will let the Lady Falcons shoot outside a little more? We'll see! Breanne Hall lead all scores with 14 followed by Jami D'Amelio 10, Lauren Lightcap 9 and Jolee Rains 5. Taylor Behrens, Mollie Bodmer and Morgan Mullett also added a bucket to the effort. Just shy of her first double-double, Lauren co-led with Morgan to grab 10 rebounds. Breanne and Jessie stayed in the mix pulling six and four boards respectively. According to Assistant Coach Steve Lightcap, "My favorite part of their game is how they run the transition, these girls have that nailed down." Lauren and Breanne combined for six steals, three each, and Breanne dished out three assists. After the game, Coach Hall and Lightcap both concurred, "These girls are playing very well this summer and building confidence."

The PBA JV Girls defeated Damascus on Tuesday night with a 36-16 win. "These girls are en fuego!!!" commented assistant coach Steve Lightcap after the game. Coach Hall was also very pleased with their effort and after the game he was quoted saying, "We had seven our of nine players score tonight, our turnovers were very low, we had a respectable number of steals and assists - both of which out numbered our turnovers....Now that's a good night." Leading the Falcons in scoring were Jolee "Pebbles" Rains and Breanne Hall with nine points each. Jolee's nine was achieved with a bottom of the net draining three---"Way to go Jo" said Coach Hall. Also scoring were Jami D'Amelio with seven, Mollie Bodmer with four and Jessie Martinez with three. Morgan Mullett and Lauren Lightcap each added a bucket. Although Damascus had many inches of height over the Falcons, the girls controlled the paint. Lauren Lightcap ripped six boards followed by Morgan Mullet pulling away four. Also rebounding were Mollie, Jami and Jessie with three each. The Damascus coach came to the Poolesville bench at half time and said, "These girls are a pleasure to watch, the PBA program should be proud of them." (we are!)

"Alert the presses," said one. "I've seen a lot of basketball games, but I've never seen anything like that before," said another. The observations had come from two of the Poolesville fans who had just emerged from the Seneca Valley sauna / gymnasium, having watched the PBA Rising Stars Boys team play with lots of heart, but with only four players, against Damascus. The game had started out close, but when Damascus substituted for all five players on the court with about two minutes left in the game, it symbolized that the outcome was no longer in doubt. Pete Barry, Michael Collins, Michael McDonald and Tim McIntyre had been too much for Damascus to handle. When the final buzzer sounded, Poolesville had scored 33 and had limited Damascus to 22.

"Before the game started, I told the team that when they grow up, they'd be able to tell their kids about the time that they had played with only four players and still won the game," said Coach Steve Morgan. "They'll have that chance. They should be extremely proud of how they played. They played smart. They played well. But most importantly, they played with tons of heart. They hustled all the time. They dove on the floor for loose balls. They battled for rebounds. They played through their exhaustion. They were an inspiration to me, to Coach McIntyre, and to all of the Poolesville fans."

Damascus started the game playing half-court man-to-man, but with two players guarding Poolesville's primary ball-handler, Tim McIntyre. Despite the constant double-teaming, Tim handled the pressure, finding open teammates for good shot opportunities. Damascus maintained a small lead early in the game, but when Poolesville took the lead midway through the first half, Damascus switched to a full-court press. Michael Collins did a great job inbounding the ball against the press, finding passing lanes despite the numbers disadvantage. Once the ball was inbounded, Poolesville was off to the races, dribbling around and through traps, passing over, under, and around the defense, and converting lay-up chances, executing the 4-on-5 fast break to perfection. Pete Barry and Michael McDonald were frequently the ones converting those scoring chances. In the second half, Damascus occasionally tried a 2-3 zone, but Poolesville dissected that as well, leading Damascus to stay primarily with the press.

McDonald scored 14 points, Barry scored 11, Collins scored 6, and McIntyre scored 2. McIntyre had 4 of the 8 assists that were recorded. Although rebounds weren't recorded, each of the four players were probably in double-figures. Said Morgan, "Sometimes the stats sheet tells the story of a game, but not tonight. Tonight was all about heart."

In the PBA Varsity Girls game on Tuesday night against a team that had beaten them quite handedly in the first meeting, the Tigers jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead after hitting several outside shots to include two 3-pointers. Coach Carnahan implored the girls to be more aggressive on defense and they responded (and also hit a few shots themselves) and only trailed 15-12 at the half. The second half was played close with neither team really taking control and was tied at 23-23 with approximately 30 seconds to go and the Tigers in possession of the ball. With 10 seconds to go a Tiger player drove to the basket and was fouled. The Tiger player missed both shots and the ball was knocked out of bounds by them with 7 seconds to go. Poolesville inbounded, got the ball down court and had an open baseline jumper at the buzzer, that missed, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, the Tigers hit two quick shots and ended up winning 29-25. Afterwards, Coach Carnahan commented that the passing was better and that there were several times that quick sharp passes led to good scoring opportunities. "We still need to be more aggressive on defense and rebound better, but overall we played better than when we played them previously" she said. Anna Murgia led the team with ten points, Denise Larson added eight, Rachel Neville added four and Anna DeSoto added two. Molly Bodmer rebounded well getting nine rebounds and added a free throw.

In their second game of the week, the PBA Varsity Girls shot better but too many turnovers and a St. Mary's team that was red-hot from the field resulted in a loss for the Falcons. In a fast paced first half, St. Mary's pulled out to a 26-18 half-time lead. The Falcons scored the first five points of the second half, but St. Mary's pulled away for a victory behind a 3-point barrage. The Falcons guard tandem of Denise Larson (13 points, five for five from the free throw line) and Anna Murgia (12 points, eight for twelve from the free throw line) led the way with numerous drives into the St. Mary's defense resulting in either a layup or free throws. Rachel Neville scored two points and Mollie Bodmer added two free throws and Taylor Thomas and Allie Gruber added one free throw each to round out the scoring. Anna Desoto played well on defense getting five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Ashley Adkins disrupted the St. Mary's defense resulting in several steals or turnovers. After the game, Coach Carnahan commented on how much improvement the team had made over the summer. She encouraged the girls to work on their basketball fundamentals in their driveways and was looking forward to coaching everyone again this fall/winter. Unfortunately, we had to say good-bye to Sam and Ashley Adkins as they are moving to Florida this summer and will not be able to continue on with this group as it grows and develops as a team.

The PBA JV Boys faced a very tall K-Town Cavs team on Tuesday night, but that did not stop the undersized Falcons from taking flight and controlling the boards and, when needed, landing and scrapping on the floor for loose balls. Poolesville held up a 14-11 halftime lead to win 26-22. The Falcons led through out the game but K-Town kept it close all game  and never allowed the Falcons to relax. Kevin Simmons led all scores and rebounders in the game with 10 points in the paint and a ton of rebounds both on the offense and defense boards. Jackson Purdy shared the load on the boards also and scored 8 points. Ryan D'Amelio (five points) probably was the scrapiest player of the game by coming up with loose ball after loose ball. Tim MacIntyre and Jake Armstrong shared time running the point and breaking the press helping to keep the Falcons up all game long. Nathan Onderko finished strong with three points. Ryan Bannon had a strong night on the boards. Guest Coach Bill Cartwright was impressed with the way the team held their composure all game long. "Everytime K-Town crept up to try and take the lead this team would make a play and keep the lead," said Coach Cartwright. "What a nice job."

 

 Summer League 2010 Game Summaries Week 4 

JV Boys Go Four Deep, JV Girls Keep Rolling, Varsity Girls Go Down Shooting (and Missing!)

UPI - Gaithersburg High School, 2010

Amelia Earhart, D.B. Cooper, Jimmy Hoffa, the Lindberg baby. Missing. Never heard from again. That was not the case with the PBA JV Boys 4 man crew. They were heard from and played with determination even though they were a man down throughout the game,

"This summer has played a big of havoc on the team as we played our second four man contest in as many games. Basketball is a secondary sport in the summer and we've gotten hit with the perfect storm of other sports and summer vacations", said Micheals as he gazed into the stands looking for anyone that would fit into a 7th grade uniform. He continued, "I'm proud of the way the guys played. They represented Poolesville well in that they never gave up and almost had to be carried off the court in the end."

Particular effort was shown by the big man tandem of Kevin Simmons and Dylan Landis as they continually provided rebound after rebound to keep Damascus to just a few shots per possession. "If you are playing 4 on 5 and you keep the other team from getting more than one or two shots you are doing pretty well defensively. I thought Marty did a great job with the substitutions though out the game. We learned quite a bit about playing help defense as well."

Marty Micheals is in a contract year but he didn't provide the same spark as Andrew Bacas (8 points), Ryan Bannon (7), Kevin Simmons (6), or Dylan Landis (3). Next game is this Thursday and the young Falcons hope to avoid the missing man formation in this one.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Gym was Hot, Falcons were Hotter
TASS - Gaithersburg High School 7/7/10

The 20,543 (reported) fans at the Gaithersburg High School basketball plex were not denied a quality basketball game by the PBA JV Boys this evening. What started as a see saw match had the young Falcons up by 7 at the half and a thrilling 33-32 overtime win. The game started on Falcon bucket from the tip off and kept pace with the excitement from there. Coming out of halftime, Poolesville could not maintain their lead and at one point was down by five. A quick time out and the coaching genius of Marty Micheals (again, contract year), had the Falcons scrapping and their never say die attitude kept them in the game until the very end.

"We were up by at least seven in the middle of the second half and I wanted the boys to stop coming down the court and throwing up a quick shot. We talked about it in the huddle but we didn't execute exactly as planned", said Coach Micheals. This lapse in execution combined with an effective press from the Thunder provided what we call in the industry 'additional commercial opportunities'. With seven seconds left in the game and down by three, the Falcons executed a perfectly drawn up play (again, contract year) and Justin Souder went to the line after being fouled on a three point attempt. Calmly sinking all three foul shots (thank you Falcon camp), Poolesville settled down and prepared for overtime with the game tied at 32-32. The defense held the Thunder to zero points in overtime and time started to run out. With eleven seconds left, with the ball in the exact same sideline position, Poolesville executed a perfectly drawn up play (you get the picture) and Justin Souder again was fouled. Having to only make one of the two shots, he was instructed to miss the first shot in order to create drama and parent angst of having to play another overtime. (Did I mention the gym was hot?). He sank the second shot and sealed the game and the second victory of the summer season.

Leading the scoring in this thriller from, well, a hot gym, was Joe Soltis with 14. He was followed by Justin Souder (11), Kevin Simmons (2), Jake Armstrong (2), and Ryan Bannon (2).

"I was impressed with both Kevin and Dylan for getting on the boards. Dylan was Mr. Hustle and started to box out like we've worked on. Jake Armstrong played extremely tough D on their best shooter in overtime", said Coach Micheals. When asked for his opinion, Marty Micheals (everyone say it together) said, "Yep."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In their second match-up this season, the PBA JV Girls won 24-10 over DeChantal. With only six players and the gym temps over 90 degrees, the Lady Falcons maintained their cool to pull off yet another win. "Jessie Martinez must have had her Wheaties for dinner, she played out of her mind." said Coach Hall. Jessie posted her first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Morgan Mullett showed confidence in her game with five points, a couple steals and rebounds and an assist. Mollie Bodmer added 10 rebounds and four points to the victory. Jolee Rains provided two buckets and five rebounds. Breanne Hall provided the ball handling needed to set-up the scoring for her other teammates, she dished out four assists and pulled five boards.

The PBA JV Girls continue their winning ways with a 23-16 victory over the Maryland Stars. The Lady Falcons started off slow and after 5 minutes the game was tied 4-4. Their full court pressure finally kicked in and they ended the first half with a 14-4 lead. Their aggressive effort didn't last into the second half for the Stars out scored the Falcons 9-12. "I'm glad we provided enough cushion after the first half because in the second we fell asleep." said Coach Hall. "Our defensive effort let down and we watched the other team go coast to coast without putting a body in front of them. After a time out mid way through the second half, I told the girls they needed to step-up and told them the team who wanted it more was going to win. I challenged them to think which one were they going to chose." continued Coach Hall. That pep talk was enough. Of the 12 steals on the night, nine came late in the second half and helped to ensure a win. Breanne Hall, returning after missing several weeks, lead the Falcons in defense and offense with four steals, six points and an assist and a rebound. Lauren Lightcap also had a tremendous outing, added two steals, four points and four rebounds. Mollie Bodmer, in her first game of the season (recovering from a broken arm) controlled the paint with eight boards, added four points and a steal. Jessi Martinez provided another very solid performance with five boards and five points. Allie Nevius, playing well this summer, adding another four points to her resume along with a steal and a rebound. Morgan Mullett, Jolee Rains, Taylor Behrens and Lia Ghozati also played solid defensive game.

The PBA Varsity Girls game against the Classics on Thursday night was a tale of two halves. In the first half the Falcons played well defensively and hit some shots to take a 13-4 halftime lead. In the second half, a combination of the Falcons poor shooting and turnovers against pressure defense from the Classics allowed the Classics to get back into the game and take the lead at 20-18 with a couple of minutes left in the game. Rachel Neville, who continued with her strong performance over the last couple of weeks, hit a jumper to tie the game at 20-20. The Falcons had a couple of possessions in which to re-take the lead, but turned the ball over. The Classics had the last possession of the game and hit a falling away, desperation 3-pointer with two seconds on the clock to win the game 23-20. Rachel Neville finished with nine points, hitting four of her six shots. Denise Larson added seven points and five rebounds and Molly Bodmer added four points. Taylor Thomas played good defense getting three steals and five rebounds.

On a night when the PBA Varsity Girls couldn't buy a basket (or a foul) they played the Classics close in the first half trailing 16-10 at the break, but in the second half their shooting woes continued and the Classics hit their shots and pulled away to an easy victory. Anna Murgia and Denise Larson both were able to drive through the Classics defense, but the ball wouldn't fall. Anna led the team with nine points and Denise finished with seven. Rachel Neville scored one basket to round out the scoring. Mollie Bodmer hit the boards hard and led the team with eight rebounds.

 

 Summer League 2010 Game Summaries Week 3 

Rising Star Boys Put up Fight Against Dogs, Crush Terps

On Monday, the PBA Rising Star Boys fell behind from the tip, finished the first half with a 17-8 deficit and ended the game with a 31-23 loss to the Dawgs. "We had seven kids that made the game tonight and they fought really hard, in a really hot gym and just wore out under the circumstances," said Coach John Weber. "The key to this game was their press, we just didn’t handle it well. We tried to dribble through it and they swarmed the ball everywhere on the court, and we weren’t able to make the passes we needed to make. Tucker Ross did a really nice job on defense against their big man (probably 5’ 10” with some size) keeping the ball out of his hands and keeping him frustrated. I’ve also got to give Joe Brashear recognition for his effort on defense tonight, he was everywhere. Jake Drissel ended the game with a season high 13 points, followed by Tucker Ross with 4 and Joe Brashear, Michael McDonald and Michael Collins with 2 each."

The Rising Star Boys started their game against the Terps with some good anticipation on defense which turned into points on offense and thus keyed a 38-16 win for Poolesville. "This win was pretty cool since it was the lowest amount of point we allowed this year and the most we’ve scored – good combination," said Coach John Weber. "The other difference in the game was our shooting, in the 1st half we shot just over 40% which I’ll take any night." Michael Collins led the charge, shooting 5 for 8 from the field and ended with 11 points, while Michael McDonald and Cole Carmack contributed six each, Michael Morgan and Joe Brashear with four each, Jake Drissel hit for three and Pete Barry and Tucker Ross scored two each. Poolesville ended the game with 39 rebounds, with Cole Carmack, Tucker Ross, Mike McDonald, Michael Morgan, Cole McKenny and Jack Drissel each having five or more. "To quote my scorekeeper tonight, 'we look a whole lot less spastic tonight' and I have to agree," said Weber. "When we got a rebound on defense, we looked for the outlet and turned them into a transition opportunity instead of a automatic turnover---well done boys! Joe Brashear was a key player for us in transition and did a really nice job tonight calling for the outlet."

The PBA JV Girls team continued their undefeated summer season with a 23-10 win over the Classics Ball Skills. Karyn Comfort in her last game of the summer led the Falcons with eight points, had four rebounds, five steals and an assist. Jami D'Amelio continues her great season with six points and five boards. Kristen Darragh filled the stat columns by recording four points, six rebounds, three steals and an assist. Also scoring for the Falcons were Taylor Behrens and Lauren Lightcap with a bucket each. Jessie Martinez and Erin Sparrow dominated the paint with eight and nine rebounds respectively. "I'm happy for a win but this team needs to focus on the small things - handling the ball, crisp passes, etc.... We had way too many turnovers and our energy level was down. I'm confident that with some practices we can step it up." said Coach Hall after the game.

Playing a Flames team that had beaten them by 20 points in the first game of the summer, the PBA Varsity Girls showed again how much they have improved this summer by playing close before falling 35-27. Too many turnovers and poor shooting allowed the Flames to jump out to a 24-13 halftime lead. In the second half, the Falcons steadily climbed back into the game, coming within a couple of baskets with a few minutes left, before the Flames pulled away and won 35-27. Everyone contributed during the game with all eight girls scoring and six of the eight scoring four points. Molly Bodmer played her first game of the summer and scored four points off of two offensive rebounds. Rachel Neville and Taylor Thomas each played well as they both hit two baskets in the middle of the Flames zone off of passes from Denise Larson (five assists).
Anna DeSoto, Denise Larson and Anna Murgia also scored four points. Allie Gruber scored a basket off an offensive rebound for the second game in a row. Kristen Darragh added a free throw and hauled down four rebounds.

The PBA Varsity Girls rebounded from their worst game of the summer last week to post their best game of the summer last night in a 30-20 victory over St. Mary's. After the game, Coach Carnahan commented on the improvement that the girls have made already this summer. "The team we beat tonight, beat the Flames team that beat us by 20, which shows that we are getting better" she said. The first half started slowly and St. Mary's led 13-12 at the break. In the second half the Falcons outscored St. Mary's 17-8 for a 30-20 victory. Anna Murgia played an overall outstanding game disrupting St. Mary's offense defensively and leading the team with twelve points offensively as she drove through the St. Mary's defense for easy lay-ups. Denise Larson settled down in the second half scoring all eight of her points after halftime and leading the team in rebounds with six. Anna Desoto and Taylor Thomas contributed on the boards getting five and four rebounds respectively. Kristen Darragh added four points and led the team in steals. Allie Gruber had a nice basket off an offensive rebound and Rachel Neville played her best game of the summer adding four points.

The PBA JV Boys held a slim 14-12 lead over Darnestown on Tuesday night at the half with a balanced scoring attack with all 5 starters getting on the board and tough man to man defense. Poolesville came out flat to start the 2nd half and got down by 15, then regrouped the last three minutes of the game and went on a 7-0 run to close out the contest with a 33-25 loss to Darnestown. All seven of the available Falcons got in the score book led by Louis Potts with 8 points and 4 rebounds and Kevin Simmons with 6 points and 5 rebounds. "We ran the back door cuts to perfection tonight we just couldn't hit the shots," said Coach Bill Bannon.

 

 Summer League 2010 Game Summaries Week 2 

PBA Varsity Girls Get First Win in OT!

The PBA Varsity Girls earned their first win of the new season under Coach Carnahan, but it took overtime to get it. The Falcons jumped out to a 13-9 halftime lead. The Falcons went ice cold to open the second half and the Classics scored the first nine points to take an 18-13 lead. The defense stepped up and held the Classics scoreless as the Falcons scored the next seven points to take a 20-18 lead. The Classics, though hit a basket in the last minute off an offensive rebound to tie the game and send it into overtime. In overtime, the Falcons scored the first five points and held on for a 25-23 victory. The Falcons were led by Denise Larson (ten points, eight rebounds) and Anna Murgia with eight points. Anna DeSoto played well getting six rebounds, four blocked shots and adding four points, including a breakaway layup in overtime. DeSoto's final bucket cames as a result of a steal from a Classics player who fouled (with no call) a driving Taylor Thomas on the previous play. Kristen Darragh hit the boards well, getting eight rebounds to go along with her three points.

A night after their first victory, the PBA Varsity Girls were undone by poor shooting and turnovers as they lost to the Tigers. "We has some good looks early; one off an inbounds play and one from our offense, but the ball did not go in" said assistant Coach Larson "The girls continue to hustle on defense, but offensively we struggled". Anna Murgia and Denise Larson each scored 5 points, and Kristen Darragh added 3.

The PBA Varsity Boys Wednesday night game against the Pistons saw the Falcons short on a couple things--players and height---but what the Falcons were not short on was scrappy, hardnosed, desired-filled, and hard-working players. In the first half the game was close with the Falcons actually leading 15-14 but in the second half the boys had what's called "Falcon Camp hangover"----a little too much basketball in one day. The Pistons hit a couple key three pointers early in the second half that the Falcons were never able to recover from. The boys worked hard all game. Corey Riggs continued his strong play with good ball handling and seeing the open man and getting the ball to him. Ryan Shorts came up big tonight playing strong defense and pulling down some big rebounds. Joey Cartwright kept the offense alive with strong drives to the basket and was big both on the offense and defensive boards. Cartwright led all scorers with 17 followed by Corey Riggs with 6, Brandon Bush and Matt Hepburn also contributed with 2 points each.

The PBA JV Girls won in decisive fashion over DeChantal by a score of 33-3. "Although we were clearly the better team on the court tonight, I was more interested on how the girls played their game and overall, they did very well." said Coach Hall after the game. Jami D'Amelio played another stellar game. She had eight points, lead the team in rebounds(5), had an assist and no turnovers. Karyn Comfort lead the team in scoring with nine points and pulled down four boards. Also scoring for the Lady Falcons were Morgan Mullett and Taylor Behrends with four points each, while Kristen Darragh, Lauren Lightcap, Jessie Martinez and Allie Nevius each added a bucket.

In their second game of the week, the PBA JV Girls had their pesky press going early and defeated the Damascus Cougars by a final score of 28-8. "Through a solid full court press and good man-to-man defense, we controlled the tempo of the game," said Coach Chris Hall. "We played very well on defense and only allowed 2 points in the 1st half." Allie Nevius lead the team with eight points, followed by Jami D'Amelio with six, Lauren Lightcap with four, Karyn Comfort and Kristen Darragh with three and Morgan Mullett and Jolee Raines with a bucket each. "Our defense is clicking, now we just need these girls shooting hundreds of jumpers in their driveways (and at the PBA Camp). A team shooting percentage of 24% is not quite good enough to expect wins every time." added Coach Hall. In the paint, Jessie Martinez responded to a request to dominate the middle and ripped eight solid boards for the Lady Falcons. The guards did not want to be left out. With their speed and slicing moves to the basket, they collectively grabbed 12 boards. Taylor Behrens pulled five rebounds while Lauren Lightcap and Jami D'Amelio each grabbed three.

The PBA Rising Star Boys started the game against the Spartans in the hole and ended the half down 20-9. The full court press wasn't really working well in the 1st half and the boys really seemed tired from Falcon Camp. The Falcons worked hard the 2nd half and eventually went ahead 24-22 on two free throws from Brady Pearre with about 1 minute left. Poolesville just couldn't finish and ended the game with a loss, 28 to 25. "You've gotta give the boys credit, they didn't quit but we shot less than 23% from the field and missed 10 (5 of 15) free throws tonight and that was the difference in the game," said Coach John Weber. Ryan Haddaway lead all scorers with 5, followed by Cole Carmack, Tim McIntyre and Brady Pearre with 4 each, while Joe Brashear, Tucker Ross, Michael Collins and Jake Drissel each contributed 2. "Only 4 assists tonight so that's something we need to work on," said Weber.

in their second game of the week, the PBA RS Boys opened up the game with a 19-7 halftime lead over Damscus after shooting 9 for 27 from the field and 1 for 2 from the free throw line. With only 7 players present, the Falcons lost a little ground in the 2nd half and ended the game with a 35-31 win. "They worked really hard tonight but playing with only seven players on camp week was really hard on these guys," said Coach Weber. "We were down by two late in the 2nd half and had to rally for the four point victory. Of course, it's always nice to beat Damascus." Tim McIntyre lead all scorers with 12, followed by Michael McDonald with seven, Michael Collins and Jake Drissel with six each, and Pete Barry and Tucker Ross with a bucket a piece. "It was nice to get the assist total back to six this game with Pete Barry contribution 3 of them," said Weber. "We tallied almost 50 rebounds tonight with Michael McDonald, Michael Collins and Cole McKenny combining for 26 total!"

 

 Summer League 2010 Game Summaries Week 1 

PBA JV Boys Drive Past Kings to 1st Win
RS Girls 2nd Half Charge Melts Fireballs
RS Boys Fast Start Makes Jelly out of Jammers

UPI (Churchill HS, 6/17/10)

There is basketball season and there is baseball season. When playing basketball in baseball season it is sometimes hard to make the switch. The sound that the switch makes is somewhere between starting your car when it is already started and shifting gears without using a clutch. The PBA JV Boys team made a lot of the aforementioned noise on their way to a 41-28 victory over the Kings. The first half started in a very herky jerky way as the middling Falcons tried to remember what to do with the basketball when it was passed, shot, or dribbled. The games first two points were scored within a minute. The games second two points took four minutes longer. However, the Falcons had a half time lead of 16-13 and never looked back.

“Our team started very slow, but they played defense very well”, stated Assistant Coach Marty Micheals, “I think that by about the 11th game of the summer, we will have everything hitting on all cylinders”. Strewn car parts aside, the Falcon pit crew was led by Joe Soltis with 10 points. Changing tires and wiping windshields were newcomer Kevin Simmons (6), helped out by Ryan Bannon (5), Dylan Landis (5), Tim McIntyre (5), Jake Armstrong (2), Andrew Bacas (2), and Jackson Purdy (1). Next game is Monday the 21st, in between double headers. Anyone that brings a glove to the game gets free admission.

The PBA JV Girls opened their summer season with a 29-18 win by shooting down the Maryland Stars. "I was very pleased seeing seven of the ten girls score tonight. That's a good balanced attack." said Coach Hall in the parking lot after the game. Jessie Martinez lead the team with eight points and five rebounds. Lauren Lightcap provided an emotional spark by draining a three with seconds to go before the half. Lauren ended the game with five points, a couple steals and a rebound. Jamie D'Amelio played another solid game with six points and a couple steals. Also playing well for the Falcons were Karyn Comfort (4 points and 3 boards), Jolee Raines (3 points and a steal), Morgan Mullett (2 points, and a steal and rebound) and Breanne Hall (1 point, 2 steals, 2 boards and an assist). Erin Sparrow walked away tonight with three boards and a steal.

In their second game of the season, the PBA Varsity Girls had another learning opportunity against a more experienced team last night. Pressure defense by the Classics again led to too many turnovers by the Falcons as they lost 41-19. "We continue to rush too much against pressure defense which leads to turnovers" said Coach Larson. "However, the coaches were all very happy with the energy and
hustle that everyone put forth during the game". Denise Larson led the team in scoring with eight. Allie Gruber (two points) played well and was more aggressive on both offense and defense. Anna Murgia played hurt and scored three points. Taylor Thomas and Rachel Neville also scored a basket and Ashley Adkins and Anna DeSoto each hit a free throw. With only a few practices under their belt, the PBA Varsity Girls played their first game under Coach Carnahan against an experienced Maryland Flames team. The Flames quickly jumped out to a 19-0 lead with a pressing defense before Denise Larson hit a baseline jumper for the Falcons' first score. The rest of the game was played fairly close with a final score of 36-19. Coach Carnahan commented after the game that she saw some good things and some not so good things. She encouraged everyone to practice in their driveways, work hard and dedicate themselves to basketball. If they do that, each game will help the team improve. Kristen Darragh hit a couple of 3 pointers to lead the Falcons in scoring with 6 points and added 5 rebounds. Denise Larson had 4 points and 5 rebounds, Anna Desoto had 4 points and 7 rebounds and Anna Murgia had 2 points and 5 rebounds. Taylor Thomas added a basket and Nancy Jamison added a free throw to round out the scoring.

The PBA Rising Star Girls kicked off their inaugural PBA game with an ominous beginning. In her game, rising 5th grader Erin Green suffered a cleanly broken arm on one of her first trips down the court---not good. The news didn't get better as it became clear the 6th Grade Rising Star Girls  "rock star" recreation league reputation didn't mean anything to the Fireballs, who battled the Falcons evenly throughout the first half. When the Fireballs opened up a six-point lead to start the second half on a roll, things looked even worse.

At that point the Rising Star Girls picked it up a notch and decided they would press hard to get back into the game. That they did, and the pressure paid off. With ten minutes left Delaney Cecco (eight points total) hit a short jumper to bring Poolesville to within four. After a Siann Riggs steal off the press, Hailey Khalil (six points) drove to the bucket to close the gap to two. Bella Garner grabbed a nice rebound on the following possession, and after three strong passes it was back to Cecco for the score and the tie game. The Falcons weren't done yet as Khalil scored again and Riggs nailed a short jumper to push the junior Falcons to a four-point lead. The Fireballs fought back to tie, but Kristen Hepburn hit a huge shot to give Poolesville the lead and Julia Fisher hit the insurance bucket to give the Falcons a 20-17 win.

"We turned up the defense in the second half after their run and it made the difference," Coach Margaret Heimbach. "We showed a lot of energy on the press and that created some opportunities for us." Sammi Mullikin blocked five shots for Poolesville, Kaley Fisher had two blocks and a steal, Kate Heimbach ripped down five rebounds and Beckah Trainor finished with two rebounds and two steals.

The PBA Rising Star Boys are doing their best imitation of Coach John Weber's other teams by emphasizing hard-nosed defense and strong passing. Coach Weber could not have been too disappointed as the young Falcons raced out to 14-0 and 20-4 leads as they dismantled the Jammers by a final score of 32-23. Eight players out of ten ended up scoring for Poolesville with six out of 15 buckets coming off of assists. "We did a really nice job moving the ball against the Jammers man-to-man and finished well in the half with all but 2 of our buckets coming from inside the paint," said Weber. "We really didn't get into our other offense but we'll get into that later. I also expect us to shoot better. We only shot 27%---these guys are not afraid to shoot!"

Cole Carmack, Colin Fisher, Michael McDonald and Ryan Haddaway each scored six points for the Falcons, while Tim McIntyre and Michael Morgan each hit for a bucket and Brady Pearre and Michael Collins chipped in one point each. Joe Brashear and Pete Barry didn't make it into the scoring column, but each had an assist which to Coach Weber is just like putting points in the book. "This was a great team win," said Weber. "These guys are fun to watch!"

In their second game of the week, the RS Boys opened up a 16-4 half time lead with the last wo points coming from Jake Drissels buzzer-beater to end the 1st half. The Falcons ended the game with a 35-17 win over the Terrapins. Cole Carmack and Ryan Haddaway lead all scorers with 8 each, followed by Colin Fischer with 5, Pete Barry and Jake Drissel with 4 each, and Joe Brashear, Michael McDonald and Michael Collins each with 2. Tim McIntrye lead the team in steals with 5, while Cole McKenney and Carmack combined for 9 of our 21 rebounds. And once again for the 2nd straight game, 12 of the Falcon points came off assists with contributions from Brady Pearre, Michael Morgan, Tim McIntyre, Pete Barry and Ryan Haddaway. "We played man to man the entire and overall the boys did a really nice shutting the Terrapins down the entire game," said Weber. "I like how we started the game, Tucker Ross won the tip and we had the opportunity for 'tip to layup' play but the ball came off the backboard just a little too strong. Regardless of the outcome of the play, it was nice to see the boys execute like that and I'm sure we'll get it next time."