SparksBasketballClub: Present
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Sparks Girls Basketball Club Announces National Qualifiers
The Chester County based club’s 15, 13 and 11 year old teams advance. cThird Year in a Row Club has three teams represent Chester County at AAU National 15’s Place 2ndh in the Country!
Upcoming Ches-Mont League Stars Shine at AAU Nationals Orlando, FL and West Chester, PA July 18, 2007: The Sparks Girls AAU Basketball Club 15U (born 1991) team captured the second place trophy in the Amature Athletic Union Division II National Championships held at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida July 10-16 with the championship game being played this Monday, July, 16. Thirty five teams from across the country participated in the week-long event. The teams started with four days of pool play to determine the bracket placing; after pool play the Sparks came out on top of their bracket with three wins, one loss and the highest accumulated points. Because of the Spark’s bracket position, they received a number one seed and a bye and the single-elimination championship games began Saturday evening against Team Ohio with a handy win for the West Chester team with a score of 61 – 52. Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Storm started as a back and forth battle but the Sparks pulled ahead in the second half with a win at 59-42. Their third round game came on Sunday evening against the Virginia Diamonds as the Sparks advanced with a score of 48-38. Monday morning the Sparks found themselves in the final four round facing the tough and aggressive Maryland Shooting Stars. After a nail-biting victory of 59-52 the Sparks faced the Georgia Peaches in the national championship game on Monday afternoon. During the first half of play the two teams handed the lead back and forth but in the second half, the Peaches hit a number of three point shots and a stiffling defense kept the Sparks at bay. Final score was 60-42. Each player received a silver metal and the team brought home the national runner-up trophy for the Sparks AAU organization. Coaches, Colleen Carney (Girls Assistant coach at Bishop Shanahan High School) and Marissa Baum (Girls Assistant coach at Bayard Rustin High School) were thrilled with the outcome, noting that this was the “highest ranking in at the AAU Nationals ever accomplished by a Sparks team.” Last season, the Sparks 1990 squad finished 5th at Nationals, the Club’s previous high finish at an AAU National Championship. According to Carney the team stayed “strong and solid throughout tournament play.” Each player contributed by “remaining offensively and defensively strong, never loosing style, patience, and finesse.” To qualify for the national competition, the Sparks 15U team placed 2nd overall in the Mid Atlantic Regional Tournament held this past May in Philadelphia. The Mid Atlantic AAU Region covers Pennsylvania east of Harrisburg, New Jersey and Delaware. The silver metal champion team consists of top players throughout the Ches-Mont league with six high schools represented. Three players have been with this Sparks team for four years, Katie Armstrong, Henderson High School, Amber Yacenda, Downingtown East; and Keli Anderson, Unionville. Alyssa Sterling, Coatesville, has been with the team for three years and Julie Fox, Downingtown East; and Mary Kate Worrell, Bishop Shanahan have represented Sparks for two years. New to the team this year were three players from the Octorara School, Kacie Hershey, Kaela Chermak, and Erin Donnelly. Also new for the year were Lizzy Carney, Unionville and Emily Carlin, Bishop Shanahan. The Sparks Girls Basketball Club, based in Chester County, PA, was formed in 2001, in order to develop a non-school based AAU Girls Basketball Club in Chester County. Our initial season fielded one mixed basketball team comprised of 12 and 13 year olds and played at the 13U age level. Since that time, we have steadily grown each year and now comprise teams at the 10U through 16/17U age groups. We field one team per age level. The Sparks has attracted high caliber basketball players from throughout Chester County and Western Delaware County and 42 different schools were represented in the 2007 squads. The 2007 season marked the 3rd straight year that at least 3 teams qualified for participation at AAU National Championships ( in 2007 Sparks 15U, 13U and 11U teams qualified at Mid Atlantic Regional events). For more information on the Sparks, you can visit their website at www.sparksgirlsports.com.