Late in the first quarter Nova seemed unstoppable.
But after senior captain Orianna Ellis suffered a broken nose injury and was taken to the hospital, the Titans saw a 23-8 first quarter lead turn into a two-point deficit at halftime. At the half Coach Hively told the players "let's win the battle on the boards. EVERYONE Needs to rebound!"
The Lady Titans responded. Jassany Williams stepped up with 13 rebounds and 8 blocks, Jr. guard April Carson snatched 10 rebounds as she took the post defense position in place of Ellis. It was a total team rebounding effort. The team rallied with chants of Oriana in the huddle. The Lady Titans stepped up big time for the fallen soldier.
Ellis did not play in the previous game in which the Titans lost in OT due to a calf strain and was questionnable for the game last night. She begged us to let her give it a go
to at least help the team to a decent lead. She is notorious for her relentless pressure at the top of the press.
I witnessed something on the court last night. Something I had never seen before. Ellis is standing there with bright red blood squirting all over the court and the floor and her clothes. Her nose bent into the shape of an "Z" and clearly broken. The trainer and staff are all around trying to access the situation. Her mother runs down from the stands to the court. Ellis is crying and stomping her feet. Coach Hively says "Try to calm down it's going to be ok." Ellis replies "Please coach, I just want to play."
I must admit, I was choked up. The absolute heart that Ellis posseses is embedded in her DNA and can't be taught.
This young woman is a TRUE Warrior. West Point Academy does not know what they are getting! Ellis goes all out for everything. She came to practice with the flu for 2 weeks and went full speed on every drill.
Jassany Williams realized the situation her team was in and she went into the phone booth and put on her cape! This was a win the the Lady Titans needed going into the New Year and Williams knew it. A Chance to be the 2nd Bracket Champions and end the 2009 year on a win was key.
Jassany Williams' led the Titans with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks to a 65-58 victory over Gainesville Buchholz in the Aspire Elite Classic on Wednesday.
Clarissa Coddington added 13 points and four assists and Zachara Bailey scored 10
Williams was named to the All-Tournament team.
Articles / Blogs & Stories from ASPIRE ELITE CLASSIC 2009
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Photo Credit: Courtesy Villa Maria AcademySpecial to Full Court Press
Two Pennsylvania teams traveled more than 1,200 miles to square off in one title game and the nation’s eighth-ranked girls’ high school team rolled up the other star-studded match-up.Those were the headlines from the 48-team, six-division Dunbar Lady Tiger Invitational/Aspire Elite Classic that ran Monday through Wednesday in Fort Myers, Fla., with Erie, Pennsylvania’s Villa Maria Academy and Hollywood, Florida’s South Broward grabbing the top prizes.Each division had a separate eight-team bracket, and the top two divisions were loaded with the most talented teams.
Villa Maria Claims Division I Championship
The Villa Maria Victors claimed the Division I championship, beating state rival Warminster, Pennsylvania’s Archbishop Wood, 39-37, in the final. Notre Dame recruit Kayla McBride scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and was named division MVP in leading the Victors (6-0), Pennsylvania’s defending AA champions. Senior Kaylyn Maruca added nine points, including several free throws down the stretch to help secure the win.“It was a tough, physical game,” Villa Maria coach Scott Dibble said of the showdown with Archbishop Wood, a Pennsylvania AAA team and a favorite in the Philadelphia Catholic League. “They mirror us in a lot of ways, so it was fortunate for us that we were able to come out on top.”As for the long-distance in-state matchup, Dibble said he and Vikings coach Jim Ricci joked about it before the game.“We said we could’ve played this one back in Pennsylvania, but it’s a lot warmer here,” Dibble said. “His kids and our kids both got some time at the beach, so we’ve enjoyed ourselves here. It’s been a very good tournament. And to be honest, our region is fairly weak, so to get the games we had here was great.”Villa Maria reached the D-I title game by beating both Orlando University, 68-35, and Davie, Florida’s Nova, 51-49 in overtime. The 5-11 McBride had double-doubles in each of those games, scoring 21 points and collecting 12 rebounds in the first and going for 21 and 14 in the second. Freshman Karlee McBride, Kayla’s sister, hit a jumper and Kayla followed with a three-pointer to put Villa Maria ahead for good in the OT win over Nova, last year’s Florida Class 5A state runner-up, led this season by Auburn-signee Jassany Willams.Archbishop Wood (5-1) advanced to the title game with respective 76-52 and 72-42 wins over Memphis Lausanne and Gainesville, Florida’s Buchholz. Junior Steph Keyes scored 20 points to pace the Vikings in its opener, while junior Cait McCartney netted 17 to lead the way in the semifinal.Lausanne features Tennessee recruit Lauren Avant on its roster, but she did not play in the tournament because of a shoulder injury suffered last March in an auto accident. Houston recruit Breana Williams scored 22 for Lausanne against Archbishop Wood.South Broward Claims Division II TitleIn the Division II championship, University of Miami recruit Krystal Saunders scored 24 points, junior Danielle Robinson added 16 and junior Kiara Shoats chipped in 10 to propel the South Broward Bulldogs—No. 8 in USA Today’sSuper 25—to a 58-41 victory over Tampa Sickles. The 5-8 Saunders, who nailed five treys in the final despite sitting out about six-and-a-half minutes after a loose-ball collision resulted in a bloody lip, was named division MVP.Amber Henson, a standout 6-4 junior, topped Sickles (14-2) with 19 points and eight rebounds.Shoats and Robinson helped the Bulldogs (12-0), a Florida Class 6A program, to a quick 18-4 lead. Then when Sickles rallied to within six early in the second quarter, Saunders sank three long-balls in a four-minute span to spark an 11-4 surge. The outcome never was in doubt again.“Krystal came in focused,” South Broward coach Richard Walker said. “Usually in a big game, she’ll step up to the play and she did tonight. When she went out injured for awhile I had a little concern, but she is the leader of this team and she’s been doing a great job at it. And for us to come here and win, it’s going to help us as we go into the second half of our season.”As a nationally ranked team, the Bulldogs wear a target every time they play. They were challenged in their first two games, beating Orlando Boone, 59-49, and edging Jupiter (Fla.), 37-33. Saunders netted a game-high 16 points in the latter contest, where South Broward survived despite leading by just one in the final minute.Sickles, which saw Henson produce games of 28-20 and 28-18 in points and rebounds in wins over Fort Pierce Central (52-31) and Miami’s Dr. Krop (54-45), entered the title match-up seeking to determine how good it really is. The Gryphons, a Florida 5A program, left knowing they have some work to do.“We’re just 30 days away from the beginning of districts and then regionals, so this experience will help get us ready as we think we have a chance to make a run at it,” Sickles coach Mark Key said. “But this definitely was a situation where our kids have to realize what they have to do to play at [South Broward’s] level. The big thing is we didn’t quit when we got way behind. That’s something we’ll take as a positive from here.”The other brackets all saw Florida teams prevail: Pompano Beach’a Ely, led by Maryland recruit Alicia DeVaughn, won Division III; Stuart’s Martin County, paced by junior Kaila Callender, captured Division IV; Fort Lauderdale’s Cardinal Gibbons, led by senior Aimee Osceola, took Division V; and Fort Myers’s Bishop Verot, featuring FGCU signee Katlyn Payne, claimed Division VI.Here is a list of all the tournament results.