BayState Bombers: AAU Girls Basketball: News & Updates

Cape Cod Summer Championship 6/17 & 6/18
A great first season ended for the 12U Bay State Bombers this past weekend.  The girls exceeded expectations and had a fantastic first season together.  The team finished with an overall record of 14 wins and 11 losses.  There were many great accomplishments in the season, the biggest one being taking the Mass Premier Memorial Day Blast tournament championship. The most important thing was the friendships that were developed from day 1 and that will continue for years to come. You all were a pleasure to coach and we wish you all the best in the future!

The Bombers played in a tough pool in the Cape Cod Summer Championship.  Due to limited participation in this tournament they were forced to face U13 teams and teams that were not in our bracket.  All the teams they played were fast, scrappy and much bigger than we are, I thought we were playing U20s! They played with their hearts and defensively they played well and had fun. They stayed positive through some tough match-ups, they battled the boards and did a great job running the floor all weekend with determined effort. They knew this was their last weekend together and you could see the disappointment in their eyes. We are so proud of them and very excited to have been a part of this team.

Mass Premier Jamboree 6/10 & 6/11
Another weekend in Foxboro, this time we spent the night in a hotel. Why? Because it's fun and the girls are having a blast together!  Off the court we had a pizza party, swam, watched a movie, had a birthday party and did tons of other fun things.  Happy birthday Ashley!  I really need to know where all those boys down by the pool came from?  I will always remember that game of charades with the girls from the Bat Mitzvah. It was hysterical, I can't imagine that anyone ever ended up winning?

On the court we were up against some tough competition.  The first team the Red Wholey Basketball lost their first two games and decided to pack it up and go home.  Do we win on the forfeit? Of course we do!  Next we played well against the Lady Predators and came out with a win 42-26 to secure our second win of the weekend. The third game the girls were on on fire against the NY Empire Nighthawks 44-25.

Sunday, we had a very tough loss to the host team Mass Premier 28-21 in a low scoring game. The last game of the weekend was a dogfight from beginning to end and we came out on the losing side 48-40 against a strong and big and I mean BIG team the RI Lady Cyclones.  This game was a rematch from our first weekend, let's not play them anymore!  The girls are coming together nicely but still have a ways to go on early morning games.
 
Mass Premier Memorial Day Blast CHAMPIONS 5/27 & 5/28
Yes, there is so much to write about, our championship win, our cook out, our wiffle ball game, and much more!  The parents were brave enough to challenge the girls to a game of wiffle ball.  I wonder what we were thinking!  After our game we let the girls gloat during our cook out. They did not know we let them win, yeah right! The highlight of the weekend was watching the Predators play the Belles. To get into the championship game we needed the Predators to loose by less than 13 points!  Which was an impossible task for the Predators because they had lost all their games by more than 25 points.  As a team we cheered them on and it seemed our loud cheers brought life into them! YEAH Predators!!!

The Bombers lost their first game to the undefeated 13U team, the Rhode Island Lady Hawks in a very close game 38-35. In game two, the Bombers squared off against the MassTornadoes. The game started off slowly, but in a trend that has occurred all season, the Bombers came out in the second half and totally dominated the Tornadoes 51-32. We needed to win this game by at least 15 points.  The Bombers returned on Sunday, having to win their final game and also needing some help on other game outcomes. The Bombers played a scrappy host Mass Premier team coming into the game with a 3-0 tourney record. The offensive sparked in the second half completely shutting down the host team 49-24.

The Championship game was a rematch with the Bombers facing the undefeated Lady Hawks. The game started slow, But the Bombers got the lift they needed when Torie O'Halloran came into the gym. O'Halloran was fighting a high temperature and strep throat but her presence on the bench was felt throughout the whole team! The Bombers picked up the pace in the second half and ran their game plan with a swarming man-to-man full court press and fast break basketball. The loss 32-28 was the first of the year for the 13U R.I Hawks.

With well deserved championship T-shirts in hand, the Bombers headed home for some rest and relaxation on Memorial Day.

Cape Cod Spring Classic III 5/20 & 5/21
For most of us it felt like playing at home! It was great to play on Cape courts and see some familiar faces. Early morning games do not seem so bad when you are so close to home! We are half way through the season and things are going well. The girls are getting to know each other and are starting to click. We are looking forward to the rest of the season as this is such a great group of girls. The chemistry is amazing and the sky is the limit for this group. I learned this weekend that it is okay to let the team go to the movies together if they promise to behave and not be asked to leave but a team sleep over might prove not to be wise before an early morning game. Really now girls, what time did you all go to sleep?

The Bombers competed vigorously in this past weekend's Cape Cod Classic III. They played their best against some strong competition. The first game was a victory over the the NY Albany Capitals. Next we played well against the RI Lady Cyclones and came out with a win to secure our second win of the weekend. Ending on a tough note in Sunday's loss in a heartbreaker to the Bay State Jaguars in a low scoring defensive struggle. They once again came out on the short end of a defensive struggle losing to the big and physical RI Breakers, one of the leading teams in Rhode Island. The girls walked away with some scratches and bruises but toughed it out. All the girls contributed to this tremendous team effort and they, once again, displayed Bomber pride and sportsmanship in all their games.

R.I. Supersonics Spring Classic 4/29 & 4/30
What a wonderful way to end our road trip despite battling injuries and illness with a 3-1 record. It was an eventful weekend in R.I and many strange things happened and we discovered a few things. I discovered we shouldn't question the refs. I learned the girls looked great in French braids, did we get a picture? Thank you to the parents who helped style all 11 girls' hair, what a big job! The girls had their picture taken with a bride and groom, but I did not understand why the groom could not find his last slice of pizza? I hope the newly wed couple enjoyed the hotel pool and hottub as much as we did.

The team is definitely coming together as you can see them explode in the second half of every game. Their only loss was to the undefeated R.I. State Champions the R.I. Breakers in which the Bombers tied the game by half time and maintained a 3 point lead until almost the end. Despite this heartbreaking loss, the Bombers regained their composure and put the big hurt the North Central Blaze 35-19.

I hope Elizabeth’s aka Liz’s ankle is feeling better, we missed her!  I hope Kelly is feeling better.