FBC Defenders

The FBC Defenders(STONE) finished up the regular season on a tear (3rd Place) as their final standing are as follows; 4 wins 2 losses, played without their regular season head coach (John Stone) for all W 4th Street games. New head coach (Jasmine Lytle) guided the squad the allof the way and has been flawless in that effort. Big thanks the the adults (John Frederick) on the bench as the team could not possibly have done this without you (Jerod, Mrs. Stone, Andrea). The program is so lucky to have people like you! Reason, Season, Lifetime.

Next up for the Defenders @ W 4th Street are the playoffs where they will be the Lady XMEN in the semi-final game @ 9:15 a.m. Hope to see all Defenders family at the game!!!!

FBC Defenders (Stone) won 4 of 6 games at the Penn State Blue Chip Invitational Tournament to capture 10th place out of the 64 teams in the Southern Bracket.  This was a strong showing in this competitive tournament.  Congratulations to all the girls for this great outcome, and for surviving the brutal heat!

The team played their final game on Thursday against the PSPA Rams.  The game was slow going in the early minutes, and stayed close throughout the first half, which ended with Defenders down by 2, at 26-28.  The team seemed to run out of gas in the 2nd half, with what looked like a lot of tired legs.  We were also done in at the foul line, with a lot potential points left at the line.  The team gave it their all, and even hit a 3 at the buzzer.  But, unfortunately it was not enough, and we fell to the Rams 41-57.

Tia and Shalette shared high rebounds with 11 each.  Tia and Walker had high scorer with 10 points each.  Ashanti had the high for assists, with 5.

Hey coach, I hope you’re doing well just keeping you updated with the games. Today we had to play 4 on 4 against the PA Storm. We only scored 2 points in the first half to the storm’s 20 something, during the start of the second half the team was motivated by the parents to hustle and play hard. With the help of Parris… J. Branker and Janaysia James to get us scoring, we soon found out that we could actually play a game with only 4 people. I was the teams leading scorer with 8 points, but with 4 or 5 minuets left on the clock Parris J. Branker goes down with a minor knee injury. The game ended 16-33., just as I was geting into a scoring groove, I was upset and then realized that our team was fighting, not only to try to come back and make the game close but to also prove to our parents and coach that we four players have heart and really wanted to play. Today was a good day for FBC DefendersAAU Frederick team.

By Karalyne Brown

Another 100 degree scorcher for our third day at Penn State, and the Recreation Center couldn’t have been hotter for our fifth game, this time facing a fellow New Jersey team: Hunterdon United.  The first few minutes of the game were all Walker as she hit for three consecutive 3’s.  More offense rolled in with an assist from Shari to Shalette, who finished with some shake-n-bake in the lane for 2.  Ashanti snatched a steal, went down the floor for 2, and followed up with a 3.  We were off to a good start at 16-5.  The team was executing well on defense, with Shari up top, using her feet.  Walker had a great hustle play diving on the floor and coming up with the ball.  Shalette was playing strong in the post, pulling down rebounds.  Even Shari got in there, fighting for a rebound, then put back, got the foul, made 2 of 2.  Janissa got in on the trend, ripping a rebound away from a taller defender.  Jenean hit for 2 from outside, followed by another 3 from Walker.  The half ended with Defenders leading 30 t0 20.

The parade of 3’s continued into the 2nd half with Shari hitting a 3 from the top to extend our lead to 33-20.  Walker drove strong into the paint.  Ashanti hit another 3.  Shalette contributed strong defensive plays with a block and then a steal.  Erika got in there to rebound, went back up, and got the foul.  Ashanti put up another 3 to give us a more comfortable buffer at 41-26.  Shalette continued to go strong to the basket, got fouled, and made 2 of 2.  Janissa got a steal, put up a shot for 3, missed, but Tia was waiting to rebound and put it back for 2.  Shalette picked off another steal and went down the court for 2.  We closed the game out at 49-30, with a total of nine 3’s.  The team will play a final game on Thursday at 11:30 to determine a 9th or 10th place finish in the Southern Bracket.  Go Defenders.

High scorer was Ashanti with 13, closely followed by Walker with 12.  Ashanti had the high with 5 assists.  Shalette had a high of 8 rebounds.  Tia had 2 blocks.

FBC Defenders (Stone) tipped off at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, July 7th against the Buffalo Storm for their fourth game of the Penn State Blue Chip Tournament.  The Storm had a 5-0 run going until Walker drove into the lane, got fouled, and made 1 of her free throws.  Shari had a pass to Tia in the high post and she was fouled on her turnaround jumper, making 2 of 2, to bring the score to 3-5.  This was a sign of things to come, as the refs called an extremely tight game, calling every slight hand check and contact as a foul.  Defenders executed well on defense, forcing the Storm to step out on the baseline and causing a turnover.  Shari continued the foul festival, driving in for a layup and, you guessed it, fouled.  Shalette drove the lane next, and was also fouled.  Walker had a good block on a drive into the paint, followed by a steal by Shari, drive, made layup and 1 (not made).  Ashanti hit a 3 to bring us to 9-5.  The Storm also spent a lot time at the line, and the score was tied up at 9-9.  Shalette was active under the boards, getting her own rebound and putting it up for a basket for 11-9.  Erika had a good defensive play disrupting a pass into the paint.  Ashanti put up a 3, missed, but had Shalette there to rebound it, go up and get the foul, and shoot 2 of 2 from the foul line to put the score to 13-11.  Shari had a pass ahead to Walker who drove in for 2 to make it 15-11.  Janissa’s strong defense forced a travel call for another turnover.  Shari had a drive into the lane, got fouled, and made 2 of 3 to extend our lead to 17-13.  A midrange jumper by Janissa took us to 19-13.  The Storm battled back to get the score to 19-17.  Shari made a pass in to Shalette who put it up for 2 to bring us to 21-17.  Amazingly, we were already into 1 and 1 foul shots with several minutes to go in the half.  Shari had a drive, got fouled, and made 1 of 2 shots.  We ended the half at 21-18.

The second half got started with more foul calls, much to the chagrin of supporters from both teams.  Storm took the lead at 21-22.  We traded baskets, then Shari found Janissa for a 3 to bring the lead back to our side at 26-24.  Walker stole the ball, and went coast to coast for 2.  More seemingly endless foul shooting, until Janissa hit another 3 to make the score 32-28.  Walker had another drive, followed by 2 foul shots, then a steal on an inbound pass.  Ashanti also took a steal and went the length of the court for 2.  Ashanti hit a 3 to bring the score to 39-34.  The Storm kept hanging on, taking advantage of their free throws.  Shalette continued to make a lot of plays under the boards until she fouled out with 5:14 to go in the half.  We started to take advantage of the ref’s close calling by driving more to the basket.  Walker and Janissa both got fouled and made 2 of 2.  Shari was tussling under the boards with the big girls, while Tia got foulded and made 1 of 2.  We had more fouls to close out the final minute, but we came out ahead 47-38.  All the fans would have preferred to see less foul calls, and have the game flow more, but we’ll take the win.

High Scorer and Rebounder goes to Walker with 11 points and 7 rebounds.  Shari and Walker both had high assists with 3 each.  Shalette had 1 block.

FBC Defenders (Stone) played their third game at Penn State against Basketball to the Limit on Tuesday afternoon.  The other team got off to a 4 point lead, but an assist from Shari to Walker for 3, soon brought us to 3-4.  Shari hit Tia in the post, who then had a turnaround jumper to give us the lead at 5-4.  Defenders were fighting hard for rebounds, with Janissa putting one back up and taking the foul.  She hit 2 of 2 from the line.  Ashanti’s 3 attempt was rebounded by Shalette, put back up for 2 and 1.  Shalette also treated us to another spin move in the lane to keep us within 2, at 11-13 with 6:39 in the first half.  Defensive pressure by Walker forced a travel by the opponent.  Ashanti connected on a 3 to tie the game at 14-14.  Walker drove down the lane, made her shot, and got fouled to bring up ahead at 17-16.  Ashanti grabbed a steal and took off, with Janissa trailing. Janissa then took the pass and made a pull up jumper for 2.  We were tied again at 19-19.  Shalette drove through the lane, got fouled, and made 2 of 2 to give us the 21-19 lead with 2:10 to go in the half.  Shari hit for a 3, bringing the lead to 24-19.  Erika jumped into the passing lane to grab a steal.   We ended the half ahead 24-21.

The second half continued to be a nail-biter, with Shari getting a steal and Shalette driving all the way for 2, to tie us at 26-26.  Walker connected on a short jumper to push us ahead 28-26.  Shalette was aggressive, fighting under the boards, and muscling up shots.  Walker drove for 2, and 1.  Shari executed some excellent defense against the back door play, swatting the ball out and back to us.  Jenean displayed her usual defensive prowess.  We suffered a serious blow when Ashanti got tangled up with a player on the other team who was driving, and went down hard.  She left the game after this scary collision with the floor.  We were down 34-36 at 5:24 to go in the game.  We continued neck and neck for the remaining minutes, and were up 38-36 with 2:09 to go.  Legs were getting weary by this point in the contest.  There were also some very puzzling calls by the officials at the end of the game, including a very questionable traveling call.  The girls all fought hard, but lost 39-44.

High Scorer was Shalette with 10 points and 10 rebounds.  Ashanti and Walker had 2 steals each, and high assists goes to Ashanti with 4.

FBC Defenders (Frederick) lost a tough game to CBC, a Connecticut team, at Penn State.  The game got started with Karalyne tying up CBC’s center under the basket for a jump ball.  Nay Nay also showed some strong D with a block in the paint.  Janissa put up a 3, missed, but Karalyne rebounded and put it back up for 2.  Unfortunately, the team also had several errant passes which led to turnovers and found themselves down by 7 to 23 with just a few minutes to go in the half.  Karalyne hung in there with good post defense of CBC’s big girl. Jackie executed some tough defense, coming away with a steal.  Parris hit an outside shot, called a 2 by the refs, but a 3 from the parent’s view, to bring us to 22 to 35.  Parris also hit 2 of 2 from the line after being fouled on a drive to the basket.  Karalyne showed a spin move, turnaround jumper for 2.  Despite a good effort, and with a short-handed squad, the team lost with a final score of 34-46.

FBC Defenders (Stone) played their second game at Penn State against NY Pride Gray, a Westchester County NY team, as the stifling heat continued to test even the most well hydrated athletes.  Pride scored first on 2 foul shots, but Defenders got moving with a 3 from Ashanti.  The team came out playing good defense, with a steal by Shalette, and in short order an assist from Shari to Shalette for 2, to tie the game at 5-5.   Ashanti got a block, and fast break, dished off to Shari, who dished back to Ashanti, who completed the layup for 2.  What a nice looking play!  Walker grabbed a steal, then Ashanti put up a long miss, but Tia was there to clean-up with a rebound and up for 2.  The defense was now firing on all cylinders, as Shari got a steal, and continued to execute pressure defense at the top of the key.  Ashanti forced a backcourt call on the Pride to add to the forced turnovers.  Jas added on by getting a steal, but unfortunately got hurt with 7 minutes left in the first half, and had to leave the game.  (All the team’s thoughts are with you Jas).  The offense continued to be spread around with baskets from Janissa and Jenean.  Jenean contributed with a steal, then shot from outside, and Tia was there to grab the rebound, put it back up for 2 and a foul.  Jenean and Shari teamed up for a trap, then grabbed the ball for a steal.  The half closed with Defenders ahead 15 to 10.

In the second half, Shari stole the ball, drove into the lane, missed, but had Tia there for the rebound and put back.  Shalette hit a turnaround jumper to make the score 19 to 13.  Shari’s stifling defense on the opposing guard resulted in a 5 second call/turnover.  Then we started trading 3’s with Pride scoring, then Ashanti hitting for 3, then Pride hitting for 3.  It was 22-18 with 10:53 to go.  Shari and Shalette teamed up again with Shari passing in to Shalette in the lane who put it up for 2.  More 3’s raining down with Ashanti and Janissa both hitting them.  Ashanti got a steal, then went full court for 2.  Shari hit a pull up jumper and we were now at 34-27.  In a continuing theme, Tia rebounded a teammate’s miss and put it back up for 2.  Shalette rebounded a missed foul shot, and powered it back up for 2 and a foul.  We closed out the game strong with a 40-27 final score.

Ashanti had high score with 13, with Tia neck and neck with 12.  Tia had the game high 9 rebounds, Shari had game high 3 assists.  Shalette had 4 steals.

Everyone arrived relatively intact to State College for the big tournament, though we almost lost a few parents waiting in an extremely long line, in 100+ degree heat, at high noon, waiting for admissions wristbands — and these were the pre-paid ones, no less.  But we all made it, and the team viewed the NCAA video in the Bryce Jordan Center with throngs of AAU teams doing the wave inside the arena.

Our first game tipped off at 6:00 PM, in the Southern Division Bracket IV, against the Chesco Lightning, a Pennsylvania team. Tia got the scoring started, shooting 1 of 2 from the foul line.  The Lighting came through with a 3, which Walker quickly answered with a 3 of her own.  Tia grabbed a rebound and had a put-back to put us ahead at 6-4 in the early going.   With some foul calls against us, we were soon down 6 to 8 with 9:21 to go.  Ashanti had a drive to the basket, miss, which Jas quickly put back up for 2, tying the game up at 8-8.  Good defense led to a ball being tipped out, picked up by Janissa who drove the length of the court and was fouled.  Jas contributed another good defensive play as she prevented a pass into the paint, swatting the ball out.  Defense led to offense once again, with Jas going up for 2.  With good defense on the perimeter, and lots of defensive rebounds, we kept things close at 11 to 12 with 5 minutes to go in the half.  On an inbound X play under our basket, Shari passed to Jas who completed the basket to put us ahead at 13-12.  We continued to have good defensive pressure, particularly in the last few minutes of the half.  We put together some offense with Shalette to Ashanti for 2, Jas for 2 in the paint, and Tia battling for rebounds and a putback for 2 more.  We closed out the half leading 20 to 13.

The second half got started with Ashanti and Walker hitting back to back 3’s to increase our lead to 26 to 13.  A few sloppy passes which led to turnovers, and before you know it we were at 28-22.  A good hustle play by Janean on defense led to a jump ball.  Tia made her presence known in the post with a beautiful rebound and putback, and then another, to bring us to 35 to 26.  Janissa grabbed a steal, and then tripped up while driving to the basket, on her way out of bounds, threw the ball backwards where Jas was waiting to clean up with a 2.  Shalette contributed with a drive down the lane, spin move, up and fouled.  She was also on the receiving end of a give and go from Jas which she put up for 2.  We had another good execution of an inbound play from Walker to Jas for 2 bringing our lead to 42 to 31.  Ashanti hit from way downtown for a long 3, and then Shalette helped close out the game with a monstrous block on the defensive end.   Final Score: 49 to 39.

Jas was high scorer with 15 points, and high rebounder with 10.  Ashanti had 4 assists.  Jas had 2 blocked shots.