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Girls Go Hard In The Paint

By Marcus Helton, 04/05/11, 12:00AM EDT

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BOWIE – The inaugural DMV Elite Girls Go Hard in the Paint Tournament took place at Bowie City Gym last weekend, bringing in 36 teams from 23 Amatuer Athletic Union organizations throughout D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Delaware.

“We definitely liked going here,” said Antwan Fisher, coach of the Maryland Lady Knights. “Our first year we traveled to Baltimore so much, and it’s good to have something local so we can get more of our fans to come as well. The weekend was good. Good tournament, set up nicely. We got some very, very good teams here, so it gave my girls a lot of work, which is exactly what they needed.”

The event proved especially successful for the Alana Beard’s Future organization, which captured both the 13- and 15/16-and-under titles.

“I’m proud of the girls,” AB Future President Keith Chestnut said. “We normally get in tournaments and play real well and get to the championship and lose, but they’re showing a difference right now as far as the work ethic we’ve been putting in. It’s paying off right now.”

Sunday’s other champions were Team Sol Hazel (10U), Maryland Sure Shots (11U) and Maryland Sparks (12U).

Another organization hat had a strong showing was Richmond-based Cross-Over Hoops, a first-year program that finished second in both the 12U and 13U brackets.

“We’re very impressed [with the event],” Cross-Over Hoops President Torrance Archie said. “The teams were able to get some run in against some different teams, which is just what we needed. I wish we could have won it all with the seventh grade, but we came in second so we’ll take it. It’s still pretty good. We want to start doing more in this area and getting around, because there’s a little better competition than being down in the Richmond area.”

The weekend featured several exciting contests, and Sunday’s final game provided a fitting end to the event, as AB Future’s 15/16U squad rallied back from 10 points down in the second half to defeat Shooting Stars Elite.

Sophomore guard Keena Samuels (Largo High School) scored the tying lay-in with 1:42 remaining and nailed the go-ahead basket on a baseline jumper with 1:08 to go.

“In warm-ups, my shot was bricking everywhere – I was just missing all these shots,” Samuels said. “That was the only one I made the whole game – the only jump shot. It just felt good.”

Champions

10U: Team Sol Hazel

11U: Maryland Sure Shots

12U: Maryland Sparks

13U: Alana Beard’s Future

15/16U: Alana Beard’s Future

Participants

Alana Beard’s Future
Baltimore Starz
Beltway Lady Cougars
CBSA Hoyas
Cross-Over Hoops
DFS
Lady Divas
Lady Liberty
Lady Mavericks
Lady Pearls
Marissa Coleman’s Dream
Maryland Bulls
Maryland Hoopsters
Maryland Lady Knights
Maryland Panthers
Maryland Shooting Stars
Sharpshooters Elite
Shooting Stars Elite
South River
Team Excel
Team Sol
Virginia Matrix