Gators move to 2-0 in TRC

The Lady Gators returned to conference play Friday night with a home game against Red Springs. After struggling in their last several games, the girls hit the floor looking like the Gators we are used to seeing. After a quick start that put 35 points on the board at halftime, the girls only managed five points in the 3rd quarter but finished strong to come away with a 53-21 victory. B played what may have been her best game of the year finishing with 10 points, 5 steals and several nice passes for assists. A few quick clips of B (#14) can be found here . A local news clip from WECT TV can be seen by clicking on the title of this article and scrolling to the bottom. The win put the Gators at 6-3 on the year and 2-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. The girls will have to wait a bit to hit the hardwood again as the next game in not until Friday, at St. Paul’s.

Gators Bounce Back

After suffering their first loss of the season to start the week, the Lady Gators finished the week with a solid conference win on Friday at West Columbus to move their record to 3-1. In a game that saw considerable playing time for the reserves, the Gators cruised to a 59-33 win. B was a bit off on her jump shot and finished with 8 points and 4 assists. She did have a very good night on defense with 6 steals and 1 blocked shot to go along with 3 rebounds. A couple of clips of her (#14) play is included below. The Gators do not play again until next Friday when they host in-county rival Whiteville in a non-conference game.

Lady Gators Fall to Eagles

Monday night the Lady Gators faced off against the defending East Regional Champion and State Runner-Up, East Bladen. The Eagles and their all-star center led from start to finish and pulled away to an impressive 70-48 win. B played a solid game despite having an off shooting night. B finished the night with 10 points, going 5 of 13 from the floor. She also had 4 steals, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 turnover. A few clips of her play (#14) can be found below. The Gators will be back in action on Friday night at West Columbus in their first conference game of the young season.

Gators Move to 2-0

Friday night The East Columbus Lady Gators moved their record to 2-0 with a non-conference win over South Columbus. The Gators played stifling defense from start to finish and held their turnover count to a minimum in route to a 44-18 victory. B had a very good game going 5 of 10 from the floor including 4 of 5 from the 3 point line. Along with her 14 points, she had 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 rebounds. The best stat she had on the night was ZERO turnovers. A couple of clips of her (#14) play can be found below. What looks to be the toughest task of the season will come Monday night when the Lady Gators travel to last years state runner-up, East Bladen.

Off to a Quick Start

The East Columbus Lady Gators got the new season off to a quick start Tuesday night with an impressive win at North Brunswick. After losing a starting guard and their spotlight post player to graduation, the Lady Gators came into the game as a concensus underdog with a young starting lineup that included two freshmen and a sophomore. Early on, the Gators looked to be filling that role as the Lady Scorpions jumped to a quick 7-0 lead. After shaking the early game jitters however, the Gators steadily fought back and pushed to a 25-23 lead at the half. The second half belonged to the Gators as they quickly pulled away to rack up a 55-38 win and put a solid "W" on the board to kick the season off. B played a solid floor game and despite a slow shooting start finished with 8 points as well as numerous assists and rebounds. A couple of quick clips of B's play (#14) can be found by clicking here . A TV news clip of the game is below. The next game is Friday night at home against in-county rival South Columbus. We can't wait to see these young ladies hit the floor again.

It's Hardwood Time Again

It's basketball season again and the East Columbus Lady Gators kicked it off by going 3-0 in the East Bladen High School Preseason Jamboree with wins over Clinton, Lakewood and West Bladen. As was to be expected, play was overall ragged and all teams envolved have much fine tuning to do before their season openers. My early assessment is that the Gators will have the edge on most anyone they play this year when it comes to raw speed. The general rule that speed kills is a basic staple of basketball, but it is only lethal when it is coordinated and controlled. Therein lies the biggest improvement opportunity for these ladies this year. B played well at times and showed the early season rust as others. Here is a couple of quick clips of some of her play (#21).With about two weeks till the opener, it will be interesting to see how much these girls can jell.

Spring Fling

The Wilmington Hurricanes had their first "big" tournament of the spring last weekend in Greensboro. The was an AAU "showcase" tournament where college coaches/scouts have access to look for potential talent. We did see a number of them around, but there didn't seem to be an over abundance of them. Anyway, the tournament was held at the Greensboro Sports Complex which is an amazingly HUGE and BUSY place. There are eight bball courts which are only separated by curtains, literally. That and a minuscule walkway. All of the courts are surrounded by numerous indoor volleyball, hockey and soccer courts. All of the whistles and players/parents moving from court to court, etc., made it very taxing on the brain. At least from a parent's standpoint. As one would expect at such an event, the competition was very stiff. On Saturday we had our first game against a team from West Virginia that jumped to a early 12 point lead on us. The girls settled down, however, and came back to take it to the wire. Trailing by two points with about 15 seconds left, B got the ball on the inbounds and drove full court for a short jumper to send the game into the first overtime. Yeah, the first. We finally prevailed after three overtimes! A great game and a great win. The problem with three OT's is that tournaments are played on a tight schedule and we had just played our way into the start time for our next game. A three overtime game and playing back to back? What a way to kickoff the weekend. Needless to say, the girls eventually ran out of gas in the second game and wound up dropping a close contest to the Lady Phoenix. We all did have enough energy left for an enjoyable team dinner at Texas Roadhouse before hitting the hay at the motel. Sunday was an afternoon game against Phoenix South. It seemed that half of the teams there were some sort of Phoenix. The girls played hard, but were well over matched. Instead of discussing the final score, I would prefer to leave it with "that which does not kill you will make you strong". In the end, it was a good trip and B played well overall with her best effort being 16 points or so in the first game. It was good experience for her both from the court time as well as seeing what a showcase level tournament is like.

Varsity Debut

B had her first varsity bball game tonight. As a freshman playing on the varsity team, I think she understands well that she is in a rare position and that playing time will be minimal as she develops and adjusts to the many challenges of a step this big. ECHS opened the season tonight at home against North Brunswick. One thing that surprised B (and us) was the size of the crowd. By the second half of the game, the gym was around 3/4 full, and getting hot. The ECHS Gators took a strong run at the Scorpions late in the game, after falling well behind early. In the end, the Gators came up on the short end of a 62-54 decision.

'08 Lady Pats Start Hot

B's middle school bball team opened up their season this past Monday with a 49-14 win over Waccamaw Academy. B is the starting PG this season. Despite only getting to play for the first quarter due to the coach not wanting to run things up, B scored 11 points had 4 assists and 5 steals. The 2008 WCA team is loaded as we all knew they would be. They only lost one regular season game last year and then lost the championship game of their tournament. And the thing about it is, they are even stronger this year. It should be a load of fun. Two of our toughest games are next week on Monday and Thursday. Can't wait!!

Hurricanes take 2nd in Myrtle Beach

This summer is the first year of travel basketball for B (and us). As if she (we) don't already have a bountiful plate what with horse lessons/shows, travel and school softball, etc., now we have entered the world of travel basketball. In this part of the state, travel basketball teams, especially for girls, are few and far between. Since WCA softball has ended, we agreed to join the Hurrianes which play ot of Wilmington, NC and do the majority of their practicing at Cape Fear Academy. This weekend was our first tournament of the season, in Myrtle Beach, SC. A bracket reacord of 2-1 was good enough to get us into the championship game at The Sports Zone which is a pretty nice multi sport facility. In a matchup with the Forest Heat from somewhere in central North Crolina, we kept it close for the entire contest but came up a bit short in the end. For the first time out, being a runner-up in Myrtle Beach was not bad at all in my book. Way to go Hurricanes.

2007-08 Lady Pats Finish 2nd

After finishing in 2nd place in the conference regular season, the Wilmington Christian Academy (middle school) Lady Patriots hoped to pull out a championship in the post season tournament. After wading through the first two rounds it came down to a championship matchup with Harrells Christian Academy, the regular season champions. The Pats had split their two regular season matches with each team winning on their home court. In the end, Harrells simply had the edge with more physical play and a deeper bench to take the championship in at ##-## decision. The Lad Pats finished the season with a respectable 14-3 record and the 2nd place trophie. Looking ahead, there will be great expectations for this group as the team will consist of the most talented collection of young athletes that anyone can remember at WCA. Only time will tell....

Solid Season Opener

The Wilmington Christian Academy middle school basketball team had a successful season opener as the Lady Patriots defeated Myrtle Grove 32-15. After jumping to a big lead early, the subs played the biggest part of the game. In fact, we only tallied 2 points in the fourth quarter. B had a great outing defensively but struggled with her shooting. She did have three steals and broke up several passes and blocked out very well despite her being the smallest player on the team. She played point guard for about one quarter over all and ran the floor pretty well. Not bad for her first ever school basketball game if I do say so myself. Their next game is Thursday night.