Friday, July 30, 2010

FILA Nationals, Day 3

Suwanee, GA - Cal Sparks Gold is representing their state well in this tournament. Earlier today they beat a tough Lady Fire team from Chicago, 76-70, to win their bracket and advance to the "final four." They'll play the Lady Rams of Jacksonville, FL, who beat Seattle-based Tree of Hope in the other quarterfinal match today to win their bracket.

On the other side of the "tree," Kentucky Premier bested KC Select White (the winner of an intense overtime game last night) to take Bracket A. They'll face Spiece Indy Gym, who defeated Memphis Elite Daniels for the last bracket.

Cal Sparks Gold Coach Elbert Kinnebrew said this is the farthest the team has gone in the tournament in the organization's history. He had called this year's squad his "deepest ever."

Today's victory over the Lady Fire was Gold's most cohesive game, as they used a zone defense to stymie a team that featured all players from top-ranked Whitney Young High School in Chicago. Besides the usual standouts - Reshanda Gray and Ariya Crook-Williams - newcomer Erica McCall and Kari Korver were clutch for Gold. McCall grabbed some crucial rebounds and Korver had unmatched hustle.

Semifinals begin at 4:40 PDT.

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