2009 PBA Summer League Game Summaries
Week of July 13th
Rising Star Girls Close Out With Win Over Hoopsters!
The PBA Rising Star Girls won Friday night to close out their debut season with a winning record 6-4. The Lady Falcons defeated the Maryland Hoopsters 28-25. Mollie Bodmer lead the Falcons to their victory with an outstanding performance by posting the teams first double-double. Mollie had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Also scoring for the Falcons were, Jami D'Amelio with 6, Lauren Lightcap with 3 and Delaney Cecco, Jessie Martinez, Morgan Mullett & Allie Nevius adding a bucket. The team posted a record setting 30 rebounds. In addition to Mollie's 10 boards were; Breanne Hall & Jessie Martinez(5), Lauren Lightcap(3), Jami D'Amelio & Jolee Raines(2) and Morgan, Hannah Wills and Kayla Zinsser with one. Continuing with their pesky defense, Lauren Lightcap lead the team with 8 steals followed by; Mollie(4), Jolee(3), Jami, Jessie & Allie(2) and Delaney, Breanne, Morgan and Brianna Roche each with a steal. "Tonight I really wanted a win and these girls put on a performance. In the second half I asked the girls to implement a trapping 2-3 defense - something we never practiced - and they did better than I expected. I'm excited about what the Winter holds in store for us. We will have over two months of practice before our first winter game and based on what we have seen this Summer, the future looks bright." commented coach Hall after the game.
Da JV Girls Defensively Dominate and De-Claw DeChantel
The PBA JV Girls defeated DeChantal with a dominating defensive performance for a 22-6 win on Monday night. Anna Murgia supplied the offense in the first half with nice drives to the basket resulting in several “and ones”. She finished the half with 10 points leading the team to a 12-4 halftime lead. In the second half, Anna DeSoto and Denise Larson led the defense creating steals and resulting in several fast break lay-ups. Coach Larson commented after the game on everyone’s aggressiveness on defense which kept DeChantal off balance the whole game. A couple of key starters got in foul trouble, but the others stepped up and maintained the defensive intensity. Kaye Peden contributed with defensive pressure and Mollie Bodmer had an impressive block. Offensively, most everyone had chances to score, but the shots didn‘t fall. “We still need work on our offense and rebounding, but everyone got good minutes tonight and really hustled on defense and everyone contributed to this overall team win” said Coach Larson. Murgia finished with 10 points, Larson had 8 and DeSoto had 4.
The PBA JV Girls lost their season finale to the Classics, 27-9, to finish the summer season with a record of 7 wins and 3 losses. Anna DeSoto got Poolesville off to a good start by nailing a long field goal in the opening minute, but the lead was short-lived, and it was Poolesville's only lead of the game. Poolesville managed to stay close early, as it was 10-6 with about 6 minutes left in the first half. It was 14-6 at halftime. According to Coach Steve Morgan, "If we are at full strength, we have a legitimate chance of beating the Classics, as evidenced by our 1 point loss to them earlier in the summer, but with the combination of injuries, illnesses and absences due to vacation, we didn't have the necessary firepower to hang with them. They finished the summer undefeated." Poolesville's other first half baskets came from Anna Murgia (off of a nice pass from Denise Larson) and Mollie Bodmer. In the second half, Murgia had a great pass to Taylor Thomas for a field goal, and Rachel Neville added a free throw. Poolesville did a good job blocking shots throughout the game, led by DeSoto with 3, and others from Murgia, Larson, Thomas, Allie Gruber and Breanne Hall, but Poolesville got dominated on the boards. Bodmer led the team in rebounding. Murgia led the team with 8 steals. "The girls should be proud of their second place finish," said Morgan. "First place should always be the goal, but we're trying to accomplish many things, and winning is only one of them. We want each player to develop their individual skills and to gain a greater understanding of the game. We also want them to increase their love of the game, so that they will work on their game on their own during the off-season. If the girls work hard in the off-season, we have a good chance of having a successful season this winter in the Mid-Maryland league."
Varsity Boys do the "Splits" in Last Week of Season
The PBA Varsity Boys got off to a slow start against Clarksburg on Monday night. So slow, in fact, that Coach John Weber thought his boys skipped warm-ups. Despite the tough beginning, Poolesville stayed close until the final minute before falling to their cross-town rival by a final score of 32-26. Trevor Stottlemyer led the Falcons with 13 points, Charlie Miller had nine and MItchell Poe rounded out the three-man scoring with four points. “We had too many turnovers, not enough steals and didn’t finish under the basket," said Coach John Weber. "We had as many turnovers as we had points with everyone contributing to that stat and you can’t win games playing that way. There was one point in the game I thought, have these guys ever seen a bounce pass and, yes, we do work on them in practice. On a positive note, I thought that Charlie played one of the best games I’ve seen him play. On top of the points, he led all rebounders with 7 and with his height, that’s what we need.” Miller, Stottlemyer and Matt Schramm combined for 15 rebounds.
The second half of the week brought much improvement as the Varsity Boys got it going early and often to avenge an earlier season loss to the Colesville Comets by a final score of 59-52. Andy Baker led all scorers with 25, followed by Stottlemyer with 17, Hunter Pearre with eight, Craig Morton with four, Poe with 3 and Connor Hall with two. Fifteen of the Falcon points came off 3-pointers. "I'm more than OK with the three-pointers," said Coach Weber, "but against these guys we could have had lay-ups all night if we’d have just run the offense and that would have been better than just OK. I’ve got to give the boys credit, we were down by four points with less than three minutes to go and we clawed our way out of the hole and eventually won the game by hitting free throws. The nice thing is we hit them when they really counted and when we were tired. Charlie fouled out in the middle of the 2nd half but played aggressively every minute he played which I like and is something I’d like to see from everyone." The Varsity Boys finished the summer league season with a 5-5 record.
Varsity Girls lose final
The PBA Varsity Girls lost their final game of the season, 38-28, to the taller and more experienced Classics. The Falcons played them even in the second half (16-all) but couldn't overcome a 22-12 first half deficit due to a substantial size difference. The Classics center (#33) was taller than Coach Chittenden. Poolesville came out in the 2nd half playing man-to-man, shut the Classics down, and were within five points with over three minutes left but could not close the gap further. Denise Larson had a great game of rebounding pulling in nine rebounds with scoring four points. While the Falcon inside attack was hampered by the big girls offensively, the Poolesville guards made up the difference in scoring with Whitney Carmack pulling in 14 points and grabbing 5 steals, Rosie Barry following with six points and seven rebounds, and Rebekah Chittenden and Ana Murgia fnished with two points each on great outside shots. Sarah Kenneweg helped out with 5 rebounds and 1 steal. "All in all, we had a good summer season with a record of 4-6. A couple of those losses were real close games," said Coach Laura Carmack. "What made this summer a good learning experience was that we really tried to get the ball to our girls down low and when they were covered, our guards would pick up offensively. We moved the ball better this summer and we improved defensively as well."
Rising Star Girls Edge Cougars
The Rising Star Girls defeated the Cougars Monday night with a 20-18 victory raising their record to 5-4. This was their second match-up and this Cougar squad was much stronger then the group they faced back in June but prevailed none-the-less. The Falcons started off with a bang and by midway through the first half, the score quickly grow to 6-0 in favor of the Falcons. However, the latter part of the first half was just the opposite, the Falcons went on cruise control. At the half, the score was 8-8. The second half was not much better and with three minutes to go in the game, the Cougars led 18-16. Implementing a full court press the Falcons were able to cause havoc and tie the game with just 2 minutes left. With just over one minute to go, Jami D'Amelio hit a jumper from just inside the foul line to put the Falcons ahead 20-18. "Jami's offense was outstanding tonight. She added six points in the second half and was there when we needed someone to score." commented Coach Hall after the game. Jami led all scores for the Falcons with 9 followed by Jessie Martinez with 5. Delaney Cecco, Breanne Hall, and Jolee Raines each added a bucket. As the leader of the pesky defense squad, Breanne Hall took the ball from the Cougars four times with several at critical times. Delaney, Allie "Jinkies, Does someone have my glasses" Nevius, and Kayla Zinsser each had 3, Jessie and Jolee Raines(2) with Jami and Morgan Mullett added a steal each. The Falcons set a record with 28 rebounds. Jessie ripped down 10, Jami 5, Breanne & Delaney 3, Brianna Roche 2. Also rebounding for the Falcons were Maria Callear, Morgan, Allie, Jolee and Kayla with one each.
Week of July 6th
PBA JV Girls Sink Aqua Mystics
The PBA JV Girls improved their record to 6-2 with a 25-12 victory over the Aqua Mystics on Friday. "Overall, I was very happy with how we played tonight," said Coach Steve Morgan. "Except for sloppy play at the beginning of the game, we handled the ball well and we passed well. Our defense was very effective, and for most of the game, it was dominating." After falling behind early, 4-2, Poolesville went on a 13-0 run to take a 15-4 lead late in the first half. The lead was 17-8 at halftime. "Adele Spinder really picked up her game defensively," continued Morgan. "She had 4 rebounds and 3 steals, and is starting to show the aggressiveness we are wanting from her. Kaye Peden is starting to show that aggressiveness as well. For most of the game, our interior defense was outstanding. Mollie Bodmer, Rachel Neville and Anna DeSoto took turns blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and stealing passes near the lane. Kristen Darragh, Taylor Thomas, Breanne Hall, Anna Murgia and Denise Larson all did an excellent job handling their full-court press. Breanne had one memorable coast-to-coast lay-up through traffic which she converted, and Denise threaded the needle with a great pass through traffic to Breanne on another fast break opportunity, which she made. Anna Murgia and Denise both shot their free throws well, combining to make 7 of them." DeSoto led the team with 6 rebounds, followed closely by Bodmer, who had 5. Bodmer led the team with 3 blocks. Murgia led the team with 5 steals, and Darragh had 4. Larson scored 9, Murgia had 8, and Hall and Darragh each scored 4.
The PBA Rising Star Girls give it their all in the second half but came up short to a tough Flames team and lost 21-13. "After discussions between the coaches, our game plan was not necessarily a win defined by points but a win where all girls gained experience against a talented Flames team. Although we came up short, we accomplished our goal and these girls are better for it." said coach Hall after the game. After being down 17-4 at the half, the lady falcons took time to discuss how to break a full court press. Hall added, "Effectively breaking a full court press has been our achilleas heal. Many of these girls have never experienced this kind of pressure and this summer has been a great primer for the future." During the second half, Kristen Darragh came to life. Kristen had seven steals and five points on the night to gave the Lady Falcons a 9-4 run in the second but it was not enough to close the gap. Also scoring for the falcons were Jami D'Amelio (4) and Kayla Zinsser adding a bucket. Kayla Zinsser and Lauren Lightcap did a good job on the boards with five and four respectively, while Kristen pulled down three and Mollie Bodmer and Breanne Hall each grabbed two. "Their scrappy defense is definitely a strength and just about every player had a steal tonight," added Hall. Overall, the team took the ball away 23 times. In addition to Kristen's 7 were; Allie Nevius(3), Millie, Jami, Lauren, and Jolee Raines with (2) and Delaney Cecco, Breanne Hall, Jessie Martinez, Morgan Mullett and Kayla also contributed one on the night.
The PBA Varsity Boys held a 4 point halftime lead against the Vipers and let it turn into a 4 point loss, 44 to 40. Trevor Stottlemyer led all scorers with 16 while Hunter Pearre contributed 13, Mitchell Poe scored 6 and Kyle Brown had 4. "We really controlled the game up until the last 8 minutes when we just couldn’t hit like we did the 1st 20 minutes of the game," said Coach John Weber. "Mitchell controlled the point, Trevor and Hunter kept us in the game shooting, Chris Thompson, Connor Hall and Kyle played tough defense while Matt Schramm pulled down some big rebounds for us, but in the end we just ran out of gas. Even though it was a loss there were some good things that happened. Hunter shoot the ball better than I’ve ever seen him shoot. Trevor picked up his game on the offensive end of the court. Kyle and Chris played intense defense making the Vipers earn everything. Matt and Connor gave us some quality minutes off the bench."
Beat Us Once, Shame On Us. Beat Us Twice…NOT Going to Happen!
PBA Rising Star Boys Gain Revenge Win Against Rebs, Varsity Girls Take Down The ClassicsAnn and Nancy Wilson would be proud of the Rising Star Boys in their 24-22 victory this past Wednesday. The young Falcons moved the ball as a surgeon would move a scalpel against the Runnin’ Rebs, vindicating their earlier 19-15 loss this season. Poolesville bypassed their usual play, and worked together like a new valve helping to suture up their summer season and give their Winter season a strong beat. “This game showed that they are getting it”, said Coach Micheals as he took off his surgical gown and directed the head nurse to close. “The ball movement was the best I’ve seen all year, the passing was the best, the help side defense, everything was exceptional compared to where we were at the beginning of the season. I love the fact that we played this kind of game on the last game of the season. If we play like this next year, this team will be tough to beat.”
Indeed, Poolesville came to play as they took the lead 2-0 on a jumper from Ryan Bannon and the usual coronary’s saved for Coach Micheals were nowhere to be found. “Our defense really helped in this game. It was like the guys were stuck on the inside of the other teams breastplate. Where ever they went, we followed”, continued Micheals, “But don’t feel sorry for the Rebs, they are resting comfortably at home in their summer of chill and we’ll see them in the Winter.
Leading the surgical team was Joe Soltis with (7), providing extra anesthesia were Jackson Purdy (4), Ryan D’Amelio (4), Andrew Bacas (3), Ryan Bannon (2), Justin Souder (2), and Blake Hinkson (2).
This wraps up the 4-6 season for the Falcons, but a commemorative DVD is being released to all PBA authorized outlets
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The PBA Varsity Girls pulled out a big 31-28 win tonight against a Classics team that beat the Falcons by 10 the last time they played. Poolesville came out strong and led at half-time 13-10. The Varsity Girls made some adjustments in their offense in the 2nd half and went on a scoring spree----at one point forging a nine-point lead. Denise Larson had another double-double by scoring 12 of her 16 points in the second half along with 10 rebounds for the game. "When we adjusted our offense and got the ball down low to her and MacKenzie Fields (who also scored 4 points), the game turned in our direction," said Coach Laura Carmack. Rosie Barry had a big game all around scoring six points, grabbing six rebounds, adding three steals, four assists and one block. Whitney Carmack followed with three points, 1 blocked shot and a few rebounds. Sarah Kenneweg played a great game as well shooting 50% from the foul line to add two points and added four rebounds and one assist. Ana Murgia served as "sixth man" and played tough defense and got two steals.
Summer Vacation Cut Short as Rising Star Boys Lose to The Holy Cross Hawks
A summer season can be similar to a summer vacation. It starts with the anticipation of seeing America while riding in the back of the station wagon and eating a staple of hot dogs and sodas, but typically ends up with an indescribable smell from the back of the car. That smell for the PBA Rising Star Boys is the string of close losses after fighting their way back into the games. “The guys were down by 14 with 12 minutes left in the game”, said Coach Marshall Micheals while listening to the oldies and threatening to ‘turn the car around right now unless you two stop arguing, “and we tied late, but just couldn’t get over the hump to win it”. With 55 seconds left the Falcons tied the game at 33-33, but the second half of a free throw put the Hawks up by one and even though Poolesville had a long possession at the end of the game, they couldn’t get a shot off to win it. Final score--Poolesville loses 34-33. The Falcons trailed 17-13 at the half.
Leading the chants of ‘are we there yet’ was Joe Soltis with 14. Followed by Justin Souter (8), Ryan D’Amelio (6), Andrew Bacas (3), and Nathan Onderko (2).
“We were freelancing a little bit in the beginning of the game and not really doing much offensively. However, once we had a chat about our lack of direction, we performed much better. The guys are starting to see the plays that are available out of the offense. Defensively, we had some very nice stops from various guys. Ryan Bannon and Blake Hinson provided help defense when needed and Jackson Purdy did a good job on the boards”, Coach Micheals rambled on still eyeing the goings on in the back seat.
The Falcons continue down the holiday road with one more game remaining on Wednesday and hope to avenge and earlier season loss against the Runnin’ Rebels.
RS Girls Scrap, Lose
The battle hardened Rising Star Girls went toe-to-toe with a Classics team this past Wednesday night but ended up with a 12-7 loss. With all players getting a chance to rumble, the Lady Falcons fought hard and kept a seasoned Classics team to only 12 points. Thoughts from Coach Hall after the game, "I asked each girl before the game to fight for every loose ball, control the boards with all everyone boxing out and never let the other team shoot in the paint. They reacted...Mollie Bodmer and Breanne Hall had a tremendous defensive game. When there was a loose ball, Breanne and Mollie were usually the first on the floor from our team. In addition, Allie Nevius also stepped up and played with intensity for the Falcons. Although not a statistic we maintain, our team might have set a record for the number of tie-ups or jump balls tonight." Posting a team high of 26 rebounds, Mollie controlled the boards with 8 followed closely by Breanne with 6. Also rebounding were Jessie Martinez(3), Delaney Cecco, Kristen Darragh, Lauren Lightcap, and Kayla Zinsser each with 2, and Allie Nevius with one. "Our defensive effort was outstanding tonight, holding a Classic team to only 12 points is wonderful, however, we need to do a better job executing our offensive game. Someone forgot to take the lid off the bucket before the game started causing our team to shoot only 9% - something we'll keep working on for the Winter. " said Coach Hall about the team's seven points. Breanne Hall lead the Falcons offense with 3 points followed by Delaney and Kristen each adding a bucket.
JV Girls Improve to 5-2
The PBA JV Girls opened up a 12-3 lead at halftime and coasted to a 21-15 victory over DeChantal on Monday night, improving their summer league record to 5-2. "We had great effort, as always," said Coach Steve Morgan. "Our defense was very good for the most part. we had a few lapses as a result of me experimenting with having a few girls play different positions, but overall, the girls adjusted to their new roles well. Our scoring was down in part due to the different player rotation I used, but the main reason was that we had so many shots roll around the rim and fall off. The shot selection was pretty good. We just have to shoot better." Kristen Darragh led the team with 6 steals, followed closely by Anna Murgia with 5, Denise Larson with 4, and most everyone else with a few. "Kristen, Anna Murgia, Breanne (Hall) and Nancy (Morgan) all did a good job applying pressure on their guards, coming up with steals, forcing turnovers and creating havoc. Mollie (Bodmer), Rachel (Neville), Anna (DeSoto) and Denise all did a good job blocking shots and getting rebounds. Anna Murgia deserves special mention as she led the team in rebounds (with 7) from the guard position." Murgia and Larson led the team with 6 points each, followed by Neville with 4, Darragh with 3, and Hall added two free throws to complete the scoring.
On Tuesday night, the PBA Varsity Girls beat the Panthers by a final score of 32-17. Poolesville got out to a 19-4 lead in the first half. Rosie Barry and Denise Larson each went double-double on rebounds and points. Barry was high scorer with 13 points and 14 rebounds and Denise powered through with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Whitney Carmack added 5 points, 6 steals,
3 assists and Rebekah Dill added 2 points and 5 rebounds. Ana Murgia played tough defense adding another steal to the stats. "The Panthers played a tough defense on us and made us work hard," said Coach Laura Carmack. "We had trouble bringing the ball up the court". Rebekah Chittenden had a good game charging to the basket and rebounding as well.The PBA JV Boys gave Urbana, last year's Rising Star league champion, all they could handle before losing to the Hawks on Tuesday night. "Even though this has been a tough season," said Coach Bill Cartwright, "Coach Steve (Morningstar) and I both think our guys have improved each game. We will be ready for the winter Mid-Maryland League season."
Week of June 29th
PBA Varsity Boys Beat Damascus in 3 OT's!
The PBA Varsity Boys went toe-to-toe against Damascus in a classic summer league match-up last Friday night. Both teams had inconsistent starts and the first half ended with Damascus holding a four-point lead. In the 2nd half, Poolesville didn’t really get fired up until the last couple of minutes when the VB's turned a 6-point deficit and forced overtime on a last second shot by Andy Baker. Baker also hit a 3 pointer to tie the game at the end of the 1st overtime period to keep the game alive for Poolesville. It finally took three overtimes but the Falcons ended up victorious by a final margin of 56-54. During the stretch runs of each overtime, Chris Thompson had a big lay-up and finish, Mitchell Poe hit 2 clutch free throws, the defense stepped up, the team rebounded strongly and Baker finished either from the outside and down the middle. The win was a true team effort. Baker led all scorers with 28, followed by Trevor Stottlemyer with 8, Hunter Pearre and Charlie Miller with 6 each, Poe with 4, and Thompson and Craig Morton with 2 each. "All I can say is that the boys kept this one interesting, never gave up and pulled a game out of the loss column and came away with a win," said Coach John Weber. "For summer league, Damascus is the new Brunswick, they’re really fun to beat. We had our traditional slow 1st half and really just didn’t take many shots, had too many turnovers, and we let them score in the paint. Our guys did a nice job of turning it around in the second half."
Rising Star Boys Fall to Damascus---A Haiku:
Damascus is good
Poolesville suffers bad defeat
Wailing in the streetsThirty seven to twenty
Was the final score total
Falcons do not waiverPatton leads with six
Cannot overcome Hornets
Need to make free throwsSouder chips in four
Bacas provides one layup
Ryan D. hits twoArmstrong adds to score
His foot seems to be better
Hits three twos, not moreFalcons play with guts
But cannot overtake lead
Too many lost balls"Team was difficult
I know we can play better
We will work harder",So said Coach Micheals
As he surveyed damage site
"We will get better"JV Girls Shoot Down Stars, Fall to Classics
The PBA JV Girls opened up an early 12-0 lead and coasted to a 24-6 victory over the Maryland Stars on Monday night, improving their record to 4-1. "Even though we ratcheted down our defense, we still overwhelmed them defensively," said Coach Steve Morgan. "We dominated every aspect of the game." Allie Gruber led the team with 7 rebounds, Denise Larson had 5, Samantha Adkins and Anna Murgia had 4 each, with additional rebounds from Anna DeSoto, Kristen Darragh, Mollie Bodmer and Adele Spinder. The leaders in steals were Murgia with 6, Darragh with 4, and Gruber and DeSoto with 3 each. Murgia led the team with 6 points, DeSoto, Larson and Darragh scored 4 each, and Spinder, Adkins and Taylor Thomas scored 2 each.
The JV Girls fell to the Classics, 28-20, on Wednesday night. After taking a very early 2-1 lead, the Poolesville girls fell behind, 9-2, and spent the rest of the evening trying to recover. "They took advantage of our defensive mistakes," said Coach Steve Morgan. "They also took advantage of their height advantage. We have to do a better job boxing out." After closing the gap to 9-5, the halftime score was 14-6. "We aren't going to beat good teams if we score only 6 points in a half," continued Morgan. "Our offense got a little bit better in the second half, but except for a few brief moments, it never really clicked. The Classics had a lot to do with that." Poolesville closed the gap to 16-11 early in the second half, but couldn't get any closer. After the Classics stretched the lead to 10 at 26-16, the group of Anna Murgia, Kristen Darragh, Taylor Thomas, Nancy Jamison and Adele Spinder cut the lead to 26-20 with a minute left. "That group played with a lot of heart," said Morgan. Poolesville tried a couple of desperation 3's in the last 30 seconds, but one hit the front of the rim and the other rolled around and fell out. A basket by the Classics made the final score 28-20. "Allie Gruber did another good job defensively, leading our team with 6 steals." Mollie Bodmer led the team with 6 points, followed by Darragh and Anna DeSoto with 4 each, and Denise Larson and Murgia scored 3 each.
The PBA Rising Stars Girls beat the Maryland Hoopsters 20-16 on Monday night. Kristen Darragh had 8 points & 5 steals. Lauren Lightcap had 4 points & 4 rebounds. Jami D'Amelio & Molly Bodmer had 3 points each and Morgan Mullett had a bucket.
The Phoenix is RisingWith Coach Micheals on sabbatical in Arizona, President Bannon stepped in to coach the 6th Grade Rising Stars Boys team against the always tough Darnestown squad. Doing his best Phil Jackson impression and smudging the locker room with sage to rid the evil spirits of the three-game losing streak, the Falcons came out victorious 32-27. The Fabulous Forum Falcon's were led by the "Kobe"-like performances of Jake Armstrong and Reid Patton with 6 points each and the "Paul Gasol" inside game of Joe Soltis with 12 points. Andrew Bacus controlled the pace of the game with a solid "Derek Fischer" like performance---two points and a number of assists. "We have a lot of talented individuals on this team, and this group has a lot of potential, but there is much work to be done before we can compete for championships," said Jackson/Bannon.
After trailing 15 to 21 at half time and falling behind by as many as 12 points in the second half the PBA RS Boys made a spirited comeback and cut a deficit to three with 30 seconds left in the game. The comeback came up short though, as the Falcons ran out of gas and fell to a surprisingly tough DeChantal Panthers team on Friday night by a score of 35-29. Poolesville was led by the defensive efforts of Nathan Onderko, who also contributed five points, and the strong rebounding of Dylan Landis (10 boards). "The effort was definitely there, but when you turn the ball over as many times as we did and you shoot 4 for 12 at the free throw line it hard to come away with a victory," said Coach Bill Bannon. The boys made it close at the end, though. Andrew Bacus, six points, Joe Soltis, eight points, Jake Armstrong, three points and Reid Patton, three points all contributed to the efforts. "This is a tough week on the younger boys---PBA Camp all day and then playing in the hot county gyms at night," said Bannon. "They just didn't have enough in reserve to complete the comeback."
The PBA Varsity Girls lost 38-28 to the Lady Panthers but it was a well fought game. Mackenzie Fields, Rosie Barry and Denise Larson had their work cut out for them when the Lady Panthers showed up with their ringer---a girl who was taller than Coach Chittenden. The Falcons held her to just three points. Fields and Barry played tough defense and pulled down nine rebounds. Larson contributed an extra four rebounds as well. Rebekah Dill hung in against her in the first half as well. The Falcons' Olivia McAleer was pulled up to the top on offense and she did a good job and the Varsity Girls led 14-13 at halftime. In the second half, we had a lot of fast breaks and Whitney Carmack had 3 assists down low to help Denise Larsen score 10 points. Larson did a great job finishing against the Lady Panthers. She was taken down hard by the big girl as well but got right up. The rest of the team contributed four points each from Carmack, Sarah Kenneweg, Barry and Fields. Ana Murgia played a great game of defense and had a great drive against their man to man to score a bucket.
In their second game of the week, the Varsity Girls fell hard to a Holy Redeemer squad they lost by only four to early in the season. A heavy week of Falcon Camp was a probably contributor. Carmack and Larson contributed six points each. Murgia, Barry, and Kenneweg also scored for the Falcons.
Also feeling the affects of the Falcon Camp, the PBA JV Boys lost to the Maryland Flames on Thursday night. The Falcons hung tough for the first 10 minutes but Flames size, speed, and non-wearly legs proved to be the difference.
Week of June 22nd
Magic 8 Balls, Tarot Cards, and Clairvoyance
As predictable as the sun rising in the east or Marion Barry getting re-elected, the Rising Star Boys lost ‘the game’ of the summer. “In every summer season there is always a game like this one”, said Coach Marshall Micheals, wearing his Johnny Carson “Carnac the Magnificent” hat and holding an envelope in front of his head. “The guys came out slow, lethargic, didn’t know who they had on defense, didn’t know how to run the offense, and generally put up the one bad performance of the summer. This happens every year, usually the day that school gets out.”
Dogs were barking in the streets outside the gym predicting the loss to the Thunder 39-26. Poolesville got off to a reasonable start bringing the halftime score to 20-12 on the last second shot of Justin Souder. However, fate was too hard to fight off as the defensive performance could not keep the young Falcons in the game. “This is one of the games that you use as a learning experience. The guys now know that they have to bring their best games to the gym, even during the summer. They are learning that a select league is becoming more about mental preparation than just running around trying to score baskets,” said Micheals. “We’ll be just fine, I still like what I see out of this team.” Leading the fortune telling was Jake Armstrong with 12, followed by his fellow mystics Justin Souder (8), Nathan Onderko (4), Louis Potts (2) and Ryan D’Amelio (2).
The PBA Varsity Boys fell to the Colesville Comets on Monday night. "We were missing 9 of 13 boys and enlisted the services of Steven Morningstar and Nic Fisher as backup," said Coach Weber. "In honesty, Steven was the spark plug for the night and led all scorers with 6. Zach Khalil contributed 4 while Matt Schramm and Justin Lee each tallied 2 and Nic Fisher had 1." In their second game of the week, the Varsity Boys lost to the Saints. Chris Thompson lead all scores with 6, followed by Matt Schramm with 4, with Zach Khalil, Diesom Gorham and Justin Lee each contributing 2.
RS Girls Shoot Down Stars (Part 2)
The PBA Rising Star Girls continue their winning ways. They won their second and final match-up against the Stars with a 24-9 victory. According to Coach Chris Hall, "Defense has been a strength for these ladies. I hope they continue this effort as we head into tougher match-ups next week." With defense in mind, the Lady Falcons controlled the boards with a team high 24 rebounds. Mollie Bodmer ripped down seven (averaging 6.7 per game), followed by Jessie Martinez and Morgan Mullett with three, Marina Callear, Allie Nevius and Kayla Zinsser with two and Delaney Cecco, Lauren Lightcap with Brianna Roche each contributing one. Continuing their pesky defense, the team racked up 24 steals on the night. Leading the effort was Bodmer with five (averaging 5.3 per game), Kristen Darragh and Breanne Hall with four each, Jamie D'Amelio with three steals and Lightcap, Martinez, and Nevius with two each. With this much defense, their offensive game has not really suffered but could improve. Shooting only 30% for the season and averaging 25 points a game is, however, not bad. Darragh led Poolesville with a season high of eight, B. Roche and Zinsser had four each and Bodmer (averaging 6.0 per game), Callear, D'Amelia and Lightcap each chipped in a bucket. "These girls will be tested over the next five games, we face two Classic teams and a Flames team. Let the fun begin!" said Coach Hall.
The RS Girls facing a scrappy, talented and sharp shooting Classics team in their second game of the week and lost 40-23. Like deer in head lights, the Lady Falcons only scored 9 in the first half then managed the pressure a little better in the second scoring 14. According to Coach Hall, "Our ball handlers struggled with the unrelenting pressure and the #2 & #3 guards were not moving into the open passing lanes to provide relief. Once we broke their front line defense we were able to utilize our size advantage." Leading all scores was Breanne Hall(9), followed by Mollie Bodmer(6), Kristen Darragh(4) and Allie Nevius and Kayla Zinsser each adding a bucket. Bodmer continues to dominate the boards and ripped down 8 for the Falcons. Also working the boards were D'Amelio(5), Nevius(4), Hall(3), Darragh(2) and Lauren Lightcap(1). "This was an excellent learning opportunity and experience for these girls. They had it too easy so far this summer and I was happy to see several girls step up and not shy away from the pressure. I was proud to see them fight all the way to the final buzzer." said Coach Hall after the game.
The PBA Rising Star Girls were not ready for what the Power had to offer and lost 37-11 on Friday night . Scoring 9 in the first half and 2 in the second was not enough against a seasoned travel team. Kristen Darragh (7) and Mollie Bodmer(4) lead all scores for the Lady Falcons. "Playing a team like this was a great experience and will help us as we grow." Rebounding for the Falcons were: Kristen(7), Mollie(6), Jami D'Amelio(2) and Morgan Mullett, Allie Nevius, Brianna Roche & Kayla Zinsser each with one board. Although not as dominant with steals as in prior games, the Ladies did produce 10 steals on the night. Leading the team in steals were Mollie(5) and Kristen(3). Also contributing were Breanne Hall and Jolee Raines each with one. "I'm proud of these girls and with each game the young Falcons are learning it's a team effort that produces good outcomes," said Coach Hall
PBA JV Girls Swim Past Aqua Mystics, Move to 3-1
The PBA JV Girls improved their summer league record to 3-1 with a 26-12 victory over the Aqua Mystics on Monday night. "We beat a good team tonight," said Coach Steve Morgan of the Aqua Mystics, who were in the same division as the PBA girls last winter. "Both teams play good defense, which is part of the reason why both teams struggled when shooting the ball. They were also in foul trouble, which limited their point production." Poolesville had a 12-2 lead at halftime. "Rachel Neville did a really good job rebounding, but my favorite play from her tonight was when she broke their full-court press by dribbling the length of the court under pressure and converting the lay-up. Anna Murgia did a great job handling defensive pressure and running our offense. Kristen Darragh shot the ball really well in the second half. Denise Larson had another great all-around game." Poolesville was missing several players due to illness and vacations, but those who were there were filling the stat sheet. Neville led the team with 9 rebounds, Murgia added 7, Mollie Bodmer had 5, and there were others from Larson, Allie Gruber, Darragh, Taylor Thomas and Adele Spinder. Darragh led the team with 6 steals, Murgia added 5, Larson added 4, and there were others from Breanne Hall, Neville, Bodmer and Kaye Peden. Larson led the team with 4 blocks, and there were others by Neville, Murgia and Hall. Larson led the team in scoring with 10, Darragh scored 8, and Murgia and Neville each scored 4.
The PBA JV Boys played a spirited game against Olney on Monday night. They kept the score close all night but fell just short in the end. Defensively the JV boys hounded Olney all night and never gave up an easy basket. Offensively the offense is starting to run smoother as the JV Boys started getting better looks at the basket. After losing a close one two nights, before the JV Boys faced the same opponent in Olney. Once again the JV boys fought hard keeping the score under a 15 point margin all game long until the final seconds. With 3:23 left in the game and down by 12, Poolesville went into a full court man pressure, causing turnover over turnover and resulting in points for the Falcons. With seconds left in the game, the JV Boys were down by one point when they were fouled attempting a three-pointer for the win. The Falcons hit the hardest of all free throws (the first one) to tie the game but did not convert the last two. With the game in overtime, Olney proved to be a little stronger holding on to win. Without a doubt the most exciting game for the JV Boys of this season.
Week of June 15th
Up, Down, and Lay Off That Cotton Candy!
The Ohio Players said it, “You give me that funny feeling in my tummy”, and the PBA Rising Star Boys acted it out in their 19-15 loss to the Running Rebels, continuing their roller coaster win-one/lose-one cycle. “The score doesn’t show it, but we had one of our better offensive outings this year”, said Coach Marshall Micheals as he made sure that lap belts were low and tight around the waist. “We didn’t finish a lot of our shots, the Poolesville lay-up curse is alive and well with this group, but all of our shots were in the very high percentage category which is what you like to see”. Another patented defensive halftime score of 8-6 (Rebels) acted as a precursor to the Falcon loss.
Only three players were tall enough to ride the ride as Dylan Landis had 7, Joe Soltis had 6, and Jake Armstrong finished with 2. However, keeping any team to 19 points means that the defense was working. The aggressive nature of Poolesville was evident from the tip off as the press kept the Running Rebels in check most of the game. Jackson Purdy and Joe Soltis were big on the boards all game, keeping the Rebels to one offensive shot most of the game. Louis Potts provided his usual spark but fouled out at the end of the game.
“I still like what I see with this team, they are scrappy and will do the little things that need to be done to win. The shots weren’t falling, but that will take care of itself with all the practice that these guys are going to do over the summer," finished Micheals.
Varsity Boys Split Week
Like the first two games of this summer, The PBA Varsity Boys came out flat (like the boys were at their class picnic or something) and spotted the opposition eight points at the beginning of the game. The Falcons couldn’t buy a basket and finally Chris Thompson got one to fall about midway through the half. As a result, Poolesville shot about 23% in the 1st half and ended the half down 21 to 14. The good news is that the Falcons came out on an 8-0 run to start the 2nd half. It was like night and day---the Varsity Boys played a little defense, converted turnovers, hit shots and just looked alive. Andy Baker led all scorers with 16 points, followed closely by Trevor Stottlemyer with 12 and Mitchell Poe with eight. Craig Morton scored five points, and Kyle Brown and Chris Thompson finished with two each. "I like the fact that Justin Lee, Trevor and Andy had assists for us tonight, most in the 2nd half which resulted in us taking charge of the game," said Coach John Weber. "One thing that I’m seeing is a little more intensity on defense, particularly with the guards, I really like that, and hope everyone picks up their level of effort on that side of the court." The Varsity Boys came away with a 45-38 win.
In their second game of the week---this time against Clarksburg---the Varsity Boys were out-hustled and just simply outplayed. "For all the good things that I've seen this summer, this looked a lot like the winter effort on defense," said Coach Weber. "From a coaching perspective if we had gone to a zone we may have won the game or at least closed the gap, but we didn't change and here's where I may have to reconsider my approach." The Varsity Boys actually started on a good note by going up 6-0, but the game ended on a sour note---a 47-36 loss to the Coyotes. Baker and Stottlemyer led all scores with 15 and 10 points respectively, while Poe and Morton each contributed four, Matt Schramm had three and Charlie Miller finished with two. As a team, the Varsity Boys ended the game with 26 rebounds (with 15 of them coming from Stottlemyer and Baker) but Clarksburg probably had 10-15 more rebounds as a team---Poolesville didn't box out and it showed in the stats.
Falcons Down DeChantal
The PBA JV Girls coasted to a 30-14 victory over DeChantal on Wednesday. After starting slowly, the Poolesville girls turned a 4-4 game into a 16-6 halftime lead and stretched it to 26-10 midway through the second half. "We're playing really well right now, especially with our passing," said Coach Steve Morgan. "Anna Murgia played a great game, shooting well, running the offense and playing tenacious defense. Rachel Neville did a great job with interior defense, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and forcing turnovers. Anna DeSoto continues to play really good defense and handle the ball well," according to Morgan. Murgia led the team with 11 points and had 3 steals. Denise Larson scored 8 points, blocked 3 shots, had 5 rebounds and had 2 steals. Kristen Darragh had 6 points and 3 steals. Neville scored 3 points, blocked 2 shots, had 5 rebounds and had 2 steals. Breanne Hall had 3 steals. Mollie Bodmer had 2 blocks, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Breanne Hall had 3 steals, and DeSoto added 2 points and 2 steals.
The PBA JV Boys dropped the second game of the season to last year's Rising Star Christmas Tournament Champion Urbana Hawks by a final score of 35-32 on Tuesday night. While a loss still stings, the Falcons lost to the Hawks last season by 25 points, so marked improvement were the words of the night for Poolesville. "The offense ran more smooth and the defense is getting stronger," said Coach Bill Cartwright. "Playing in this higher division is doing us a lot of good." The JV Boys faced another tough opponent in Damascus in their 3rd game of the season. The Falcons played a spirited game against a larger, faster stronger team. With each of their losses this season, the JV Boys have played hard and improved in all aspects of the game.
PBA Varsity Girls Double-up Classics, Lose to Flames
The PBA Varsity Girls beat the Classics on Monday night by a final score of 29-15. Rosie Barry was the high scorer with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Julia Potts finished with 6 points. 6 rebounds; Whitney Carmack chipped in 5 points, 7 rebounds 2 steals; Sarah Kenneweg did her share with 3 pts, 4 rebounds; Rebekah Chittenden hit a 3-pointer off an inbounds play and finished with 4 rebounds. Denise Larson grabbed 5 rebounds and scored 2 points. MacKenzie Fields finished with 8 rebounds and 2 points. "We played a great game with lots of rebounds, lots of great passes and plenty of fast breaks," said Coach Laura Carmack. In their second game of the week, the Varsity Girls lost to the Flames. "Our guards had a hard time breaking through the press tonight and getting to the open man and then it just got worse from there," said Coach Carmack. "On a positive note, we had one of our best rebounding games by Denise Larson with 9 rebounds and 2 points. MacKenzie and Rebekah Chittenden combined for 10 rebounds and Olivia McAleer and Whitney followed with 4 each. We lost 18-9. Potts was the high scorer with 4, Carmack with 3 and Larson with 2. We actually finally got some good passes down low and fast breaks but we didn't make our key shots when we needed to and the other team did. We also had at least 30 jump balls and our team was only called for 1 foul (ed. note---pretty amazing). Murgia contributed tough, scrappy defense."
Poolesville Graduates With Victory Over T-Wolves!
With grandparents in the stands fresh off the Poolesville Elementary and Monocacy 5th grade graduation ceremonies, the now officially 6th graders played cross-town rivals…Poolesville. Pomp and circumstance was laced with scoring and defense to provide the PBA Rising Star Boys a 43-13 win over the Timberwolves. Leading 23-6 at the half, the Falcons never looked back as their pressure defense and timely rebounding provided the win.
“Of course you like to win the games against your friends, but there are a lot of things that we still need to work on”, said Coach Marshall Micheals as he was getting fitted for his cap and gown. “I did see some bright spots out there. Our offense is starting to take a bit of structure rather than the one pass one shot system that we had been running in previous games. Defensively, we were in better position for the help defense coming from the weak side. Louis (Potts) always gives us a spark on defense and I liked the way that Justin (Souder) and Andrew (Bacas) were trying to take control of the offense. This is a smart team, as evidenced by all of the straight A recipients at the ceremony today, so they should pick things up just fine.”
Jackson Purdy gave the commencement speech with 12 points. Getting special honor roll recognition were Reid Patton (9), Kirk Williams (5), Joe Soltis (5), Ryan D’Amelio (2), Louis Potts (2), Ryan Bannon (2), Jake Armstrong (2), Blake Hinkson (3), and Justin Souder (2).
Hats were thrown into the air and photos with uncooperative siblings were taken as the final buzzer sounded casting the young Falcons into the uncertain future of Middle School with a 2-1 record.
PBA JV Girls Shoot Down Stars!
The PBA JV Girls opened up an 18-2 lead and cruised to a 35-15 victory over the Maryland Stars on Monday night. "It was a total team effort," according to Coach Steve Morgan. "We overwhelmed them with defensive pressure. We dominated the boards. We blocked shots. We passed well. We shot well. It was good to see." Seven PBA girls scored, led by Kristen Darragh with 10. Anna DeSoto and Denise Larson scored 6 each. Rachel Neville and Anna Murgia scored 4 each, Breanne Hall added 3, and Mollie Bodmer added 2. "Everyone contributed," said Morgan. "Kaye Peden came up with several steals. Adele Spinder blocked a few shots. Allie Gruber played aggressively on offense, complementing her usual suffocating defense. Taylor Thomas demonstrated good ball handling skills, including a great spin dribble. Nancy Jamison showed great court vision with several of her passes. Rachel and Anna (DeSoto) dominated inside. Kristen, Breanne and Anna (Murgia) stole the ball with ease. It was a great job all-around, but the part I was happiest about was our passing. We were unselfish. We were finding open teammates. Let's hope the improvement continues."
The PBA Rising Star 6th Grade Girls continued their winning ways in their initial PBA season with a decisive 22-4 win over the Cougars. Coach Chris Hall attributed their performance to a well balanced attack. Hall said "These girls were tenacious on defense and very unselfish on offense." The Lady Falcons started the game with a full court press and after two very quick baskets, the dogs were called off. Although no press was implemented for the rest of the game, the Lady Falcons matched their first game performance with an incredible 35 steals. Every player contributed with a steal. Leading the way was; Mollie Bodmer(7), Breanne Hall(5) and Lauren Lightcap(5). The Lady Falcon guards tallied 12 assists and scoring was nicely distributed. Although they could have scored, Jamie D'Amelio dished off 3, Breanne Hall and Morgan Mullett each had 2 and Delaney Cecco, Lauren Lightcap and Hannah Wills each had one assist. As for scoring, Mollie Bodmer, Kristen Darragh and Jessi Martinez contributed 4 points, Delaney Cecco, Jami D'Amelio, Breanne Hall, Allie Nevius and Kayla Zinsser added a bucket. With only two games under their belts, the young Falcons are averaging: 35 steals, 25 points, 21 rebounds and 9 assists per game - oh, they are only 10 years old.
Week of June 8th
Rising Star Girls Open up PBA Campaign with Win!
The PBA Rising Star 6th Grade Girls opened their initial PBA season with a 29-14 win over the Maryland Stars. Leading the way for the Falcons was Mollie Bodmer (12), followed by Jami D'Amelio (4) and Kayla Zinsser(4). Chipping in a bucket was Marina Callear, Lauren Lightcap, Morgan Mullett and Jolee Raines. Breanne Hall hit 1 for 2 from the charity line. Coach Chris Hall commented on the aggressiveness of the youngest group of Lady Falcons, "The team accounted for an incredible 35 steals, D'Amelio, Darragh, Hall and Raines each had five steals, Bodmer had 4 and Delaney Cecco took away 3. That is how you control a game." Every player had at least one steal on the night. Adding to the list; Allie Nevius and Zinsser had 2, while Callear, Lightcap, Jessie Martinez, and Mullett each had one. After the first half the score was 13 -10, a little too close for Coach Hall. He commented, "At halftime we talked about backside help defense and better use of our transition game and I think it worked." Did it work? Yes, the Stars fell in the second half after only scoring 4 points.
PBA Varsity Boys Take Down St. E's and Damascus!
The PBA Varsity Boys opened their season on Monday night with a 41-38 victory over St. Elizabeth. Andy Baker hit for 28 to start the season strong while Craig Morton (4), Hunter Pearre (3), Trevor Stottlemyer (2), Mitchell Poe (2), and Kyle Brown (2) also contribute points for the Falcons. "We started out slow this evening but finished strong for a well deserved victory," said Coach John Weber. "We ended the game with more steals than turnovers which is always a good thing and was probably the difference in the game. Defensively, I’ll give the boys a C+. We played man to man the entire game and gave them too may points in the paint but even with that said, I liked what I saw tonight on defense. I thought we did a better job of moving our feet on defense as a team with Chris Thompson, Pearre, Poe and Baker leading the way."
After a slow start (down 6 to 0), the PBA Varsity Boys picked up their second win of the young season with a 45-39 victory over Damascus. Stottlemyer lead the way in scoring with 19, followed by Charlie Miller with 11, Poe with 5, Pearre with 4 while Connor Hall, Zach Khallil and Justin Lee each contributed a bucket. Stottlemyer and Dieson Gorham combined for 10 rebounds while the defense was ignited by the intense play of Matt Schramm, Thompson, Pearre and Poe. "Everybody contributed to this victory, either in the book, on the boards or on defense, it was a really fun game to coach and watch," said Weber. Charlie Miller played probably the most confident game on the offensive side of the court I've ever seen him play, which was great!"
PBA Rising Star Boys Host Launch Party!
The latest and (hopefully) greatest rendition of the PBA Rising Star Boys had their first game of the summer and got off to a good start on Monday night by beating the Nachos 40-35. Seven players ended up in the scoring column providing Poolesville the offense that they needed to cover a shaky defensive effort. “This was our first game together and we are beginning the process of learning who we are and what we can do”, said Coach Marshall Micheals after the game. “Keep one hand on your wallet at all times when you enter the gym with this team on the floor”, he continued, “this is a very aggressive team and I was surprised that some of the opposition wasn’t undressed while our guys were going after the ball”.
Joe Soltis led the charge with 11, his running mate Reid Patton had 10, with Andrew Bacas (6), Nathan Onderko (5), Justin Souder (2), Jackson Purdy (4) and Blake Hinkson (2) rounded out the scoring. Louis Potts teamed with Ryan D’Amelio and Ryan Bannon to provide pressure in the press to cause turnovers and general chaos for the Nachos.
“These guys are raw talent and I like the fact that we can go deep into the bench in order to keep the energy level high. We didn’t run our offense well, our defense was porous, and we didn’t get a single inbound play off, but we definitely will get it together over the next few games and the winter. This team won tonight on hustle alone and you can’t coach that”, said Micheals as he Twittered about the launch. The next game is this Wednesday and tickets are still available at all Ticketron outlets.
RS Boys Lose, But Still Have Their Pride
In game two of the summer concert season, The PBA Rising Star Boys dropped potentially the lowest scoring basketball game in summer rec history to the Bethesda Pride. Starting out as a defensive struggle, the first half score was 7-5. In the second half Poolesville tied the game once but the Pride held on to a 27-24 victory.
“After they scored that first touchdown on us, we got the field goal and the safety”, said Coach Micheals as he worked with the road crew to perform the sound check. “I don’t think that we scored our second point until one minute left in the first half. After that, we picked it up pretty well on defense, but our offense struggled. We are trying to play a little more structured offensively and the boys are still adapting to that style.” Even though no bottles, cans, or recording devices were allowed, Poolesville used everything else to play pretty decent defense.
“I saw a lot more activity on defense, especially the help side. One of the hardest things for the guys to learn is that they are covering the ball first, then their man. I saw improvement from our first game and that is always good”, said Micheals.
The lawn was full and the beach balls were bouncing in the stands as Poolesville was led by Andrew Bacas’ 8 points. Setting the lighting and stage was Joe Soltis with 5, Jackson Purdy (4), Justin Souder (3), Blake Hinkson (2), and Ryan Bannon (2). Poolesville, like Jackson Browne once said, will ‘stay a little bit longer’.
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Picking up where they left off last season, the PBA Varsity Girls got hung up in another nail-biter in their opener on Tuesday night against Holy Redeemer. With the score was tied 11-11 at halftime, the Varsity Girls then pulled ahead in the 2nd half only to have a few turnovers and allow the Redeemers back in. The Falcons ended up losing by a final score of 33-29. It was 29-29 with 1:43 left on the clock. Holy Redeemer scored to make it 31-29. Poolesville had 13 seconds to bring the ball up. Whitney Carmack sent the ball down the court to Julia Potts, who passed it back to Carmack which ended up resulting in a turnover, a breakaway, and a score. "We need to have our big girls scoring," said Asst. Coach Laura Carmack. "We had several opportunities on put-backs and on several fast breaks where the guards got the ball down low off their press and we just couldn't score. We've told our forward and centers---especially MacKenzie Fields and Rebekah Dill----to shoot, shoot, shoot at home....once we get that part of the game in better shape - we can win any game. Both girls fought hard on the boards as did Denise Larson. I thought Sarah Kenneweg and Anna Murgia played great, scrappy defense. Rebekah Chittenden had a great full court run only to get fouled--with no call--at the end." Carmack led all scorers with 15 points, Rosie Barry came up strong with nine points. Potts hit for four points (including a jumper from the corner to start the game) and Fields also scored.
In their second game of the week, the Varsity Girls won big, 38-10, with 75% of the team scoring. Julia Potts led the win with 9 rebounds, six points and Denise Larson led with 2 blocked shots as well as 8 points and 5 rebounds. Sarah Kenneweg had some key fast breaks where she finished with "2," and she had also had some nice passes on the inside. Whitney Carmack led the scoring with 11, Larson with 8 points, Kenneweg with 7, Potts with 6, Mackenzie with 4 and Rebekkah Dill with 2pts. Chittenden and Murgia played scrappy defense, as always. "The team was able to work their man to man defense and had several key passes to the inside to help our big girls score," said Coach Laura Carmack.
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The PBA JV Girls lost a heartbreaker against the Classics, 18-17, on Wednesday to start their summer season. Poolesville started slowly, falling behind 14-6 with about two minutes left in the first half. "It looked like we had opening night jitters throughout the game, but especially in the first half," according to Coach Steve Morgan. Poolesville closed the gap to 14-10 at halftime, and took a brief lead, 16-15, early in the second half, before the Classics regained the lead, 18-16. Poolesville managed only one free throw the rest of the way. "We did a lot of things well for our first game of the season," said Morgan. "For most of the game, we played good defense. Denise Larson, Rachel Neville (with eight) and Mollie Bodmer (with five) did a good job rebounding. Anna DeSoto did a good job applying defensive pressure, disrupting their offense and also blocking several shots. Taylor Thomas and Samantha Adkins did a good job handling the ball under defensive pressure. The thing we didn't do well was shoot the ball. For the most part, we had good shot selection. We just couldn't put the ball in the basket." Larson had an impressive double-double, with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Anna Murgia scored three points and also had four steals.
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The PBA JV Boys opened their summer season with a loss. The loss though was not any indication of how the team played. The teamed played with real intensity and with enthusiasm never giving up to a much taller opponent. The team looks to rebound in their next game.
PBA 2008-2009 Winter League Game Results
