Monday, August 8, 2011

Say No Classic Championship: PHB 50, LA Spirit 49

PHB took the Say No Classic Championship game Saturday, 50-49.

PHB played zone defense, and got it done with a lot of free throws and second-chance points. Amanda Frost (Northern Arizona) made four three-point shots for PHB. LA Spirit's Cassie Harberts' (USC) 10-foot jumper went in and out with two seconds left in the game.

This is from the championship program:

Second Time Around

Last Year’s Championship game featured these same two
teams in the WSNC finale. The LA Spirit led wire to wire in
earning Reginald Snell’s team it’s 3rd Say No Classic title.
PHB had an impressive summer in 2010, as it reached its first
ever title game. For Marla Clark-Valentine’s team, it proved
to be a stepping stone.

PHB and The Spirit came into their July 23rd match up both
undefeated. PHB started strong and led by as much as 14 in
the 1st half.

PHB led at the half 28-22. The Spirit turned up the heat in
2nd half with strong defensive pressure. The Spirit held on for
a 51-46 win. USC's Cassie Harberts led the way 16, 10 coming
in the 2nd half. Alexyz Vaioletama added 11 for the
defending champions. PHB was led by Danielle Peacon, who
finished with 11. Peacon, who was named to the Big West All
Freshman team last year at Pacific, will be taking her talents
to Mt. SAC (JC) in the fall.

How They Arrived

PHB defeated the Titans in the 1st round of the WSNC playoffs.
The up-tempo style proved to be too much for Raymond
Sheperd’s ball club. Next up for PHB was #Winning. Winning
advanced with the shocker of the playoffs, a 43-41 win versus
Onye Ibekwe’s T.E.A.M 2k11. #Winning was undersized
and coached by their teammate, USC Briana Gilbreath.
Ibekwe’s team was the talk of the league earlier with its size
and skill.

The LA Spirit was the #1 seed for the 2nd year in a row. Cal
State LA’s Gold team was 1st up for the defending champions.
The Spirit, playing with only 1 returnee (Dominique
Scott) used defense to advance. In the semi-finals LA Fastbreak
was in the way to getting to Championship Sunday.

The two teams had just faced each other the day before with
The Spirit coming out on top. The balanced scoring of Cassie
Harberts [USC] and Andrea Bills [Oregon] led Reginald
Snell’s team to its 6th Championship game in 11 years and
their 3rd in a row

#1 LA Spirit [10-1]

No Name Pos Ht Yr Last School

1 Stephanie DeFrance G 5’3 Jr. Talladega College (AL)
2 Jasmine Wooton G 5’7 Fr. University of Portland
4 Alexyz Vaioletama G/F 6’1 Fr. USC
6 Desiree Bradley G/F 6’1 So. City Honors
7 Monique Tillis G 5’10 So. Middle Georgia College
8 Cassie Harberts F 6’2 So. USC
9 Stephanie Lopez G 5’7 So. Blue Mountain (OR)
10 Dominique Scott F 6’2 Jr. University of Albany
12 Andrea Bills C 6’3 GRAD University of Oregon

Head Coach: Reginald Snell

#2 PHB [10-1]

No Name Pos Ht Yr Last School

2 Jianni Jackson F 6’1 Jr. Cal State Northridge
4 Kayla Valentine G 5’7 Jr. Dominican University
5 Liza Dy G 5’3 Grad University of Pacific
7 Elizabeth Day F 6’1 Jr. Sonoma State
8 Brandi Brown F 5’10 Jr. Youngstown State (OH)
10 Amanda Frost G 5’9 So. Northern Arizona University
11 Danielle Peacon C 6’2 So. MT. SAC
12 Trinidee Trice G 5’9 So. Northern Arizona University

Head Coaches: Marla Clark-Valentine, Gerald Valentine

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