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8th Grade Girls: Skyhawk Classic Portland
Congratulations to the Hoop Dreams 8th grade girls who finished 3-1 and in 2nd Place at the Skyhawk Classic held at Southridge High School over President’s Day Weekend. The team faced Westview in their first game and after jumping out to a 22-8 halftime lead the team went on to win 44 to 21. In their second game the Hoop Dreams girls ran into Clutch Players a Club team out of the Beaverton area. Starting slow the team went into half time down 19-18, but stepped up the effort and defense in the second half to outscore Clutch Players 23 to 8 on their way to a 41 to 27 victory.
On Sunday the team faced Southridge, one of the premier High School girls programs in the Northwest, and Team Concept, one of the top Club teams in Oregon. Team Concept proved to be the most athletic team this class of girls has faced, but the girls really stepped up their team man to man defense and were able to really frustrate a Concept team that was able to score at will and average over 50 points a game in their 3 other games of the tournament. In a very intense battle the Hoop Dreams girls lead most of the first half before being down 19 to 18 at halftime. The defense effort continued throughout the second half but a Hoop Dreams scoring drought coupled with several contested jump shots and free throws down the stretch for Team Concept resulted in a 36 to 24 loss for our girls. This game showed how far the 8th grade girls have come over the past year and will be a good experience for the girls down the road. Coming off the emotional fatigue and let down of the tough loss to Team Concept the girls faced Southridge in their final game for 2nd place and were down 4 points at the end of the first half. Pulling themselves together at half time they picked up their level of play in the second half and cruised to a 36 to 24 victory, shutting down Southridge in the second half while outscoring them 24 to 8.
Leading the team on the weekend both offensively and defensively was Kayla Haley. Kayla not only lead the team in scoring, while shooting over 50% from the field for the weekend, she was also an active, vocal leader on the defensive end. Her intensity really sparked the team in their battle versus Team Concept.
This was a great experience for the girls and really opened their eyes as to how far they have come and the potential of where they can go as a Team. A potential rematch with Team Concept down the road should be a good motivator for the girls as we move forward into the heart of our season.
Coach Info
Patrick Stiffler
Player Bio:
- Cheney High School 1994 -1998
- All Border League Guard 1998
- Team Captain
- Point Guard on 1997 Washington 3A State Runner-up team
- Scholar Athlete
Coaching Bio:
- Coached Meridian AAU Girls for 3 years
- Won 2006 5th grade girls ADA County AAU Championship
- Won 2008 7th grade girls ADA County AAU Championship
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