Pre-race, the competition was expected to be from 2006 Champ Kathy Kroeger and 2007 Champ Ashley Brasovan (Hasay was the 2005 champion herself).  But for all but the homestretch, Allie McLaughlin of Colorado Springs stole the show.  McLaughlin had taken the lead early and went through the 1st mile marker  seconds ahead of the next runner.  She had only finished 4th in her Regional and had only started running the previous year.

After 2 miles, McLaughlin’s lead had lengthened.  Hasay led the chase pack until finally Brasovan couldn’t stand it any longer and began to go after McLaughlin.  With 300 meters to go, Brasovan caught up to McLaughlin, who resisted but was futile in her attempts as Brasovan accelerated past her.

Meanwhile, Hasay was chasing from behind.  With 150m to go, she dug down for that extra power we all have seen her find before and blew by Brasovan to come home with the win in one of the greatest Footlocker showdowns ever.

Watch the video of the race courtesy of  Dyestat California 

Full Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School Basketball Champions of the World recounts how students at an off-reservation school for American Indians showed the world that much-discriminated-against tribal members - females - could be at the top of their game in many ways.

Award-winning writers and historians Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith team up for the book about the school, which was established in the former Fort Shaw military post.

Their research and interviews provide a look into the prejudices, sacrifice and personal tragedies that the young team members battled on their way to become basketball champs at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

The book reads like a novel, with emotional looks into the lives of the girls, but it puts the events into solid historical context.

Ultimately, it’s a book celebrating a sport, its players and heroism in turning disadvantage to triumph. And it’s a reminder of the importance of overcoming racial and gender prejudice while preserving diversity. (via Missoulian)

If you like these sorts of books, be sure to also check out Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn by Larry Colton who spent 15 months on the Crow reservation in Montana observing the Hardin High School girls’ basketball team. The book focuses on the players–especially talented Sharon LaForge–and their relationships with their teammates and coaches, as well as the social conditions that affect the players’ lives.

Either one (or both) of these books would make a great holiday gift for anyone on your list who’s a women’s hoops fan as well as an American history buff.

Know the rules before YOU sign.

Some early signings include:
Missoula Big Sky center Joslyn Tinkle has committed to play basketball at Stanford as has Beavercreek’s Mikaela Ruef.

Faith Dupree, Taber Spani and Kamiko Williams are heading to Tennessee to play hoops for Pat Summitt.

The Baylor Lady Bears have added #1 ranked high school basketball player Brittney Griner along with Mariah Chandler, Jordan Madden, Shanay Washington and Kimetria Hayden.

Guard Erica Wheeler and post player Christine Huber also signed letters of intent today. They will be at Rutgers for the 2009-10 school year.

OSU women sign six -  Cowgirls coach Kurt Budke says Keuna Flax, Heather Howard, Desiree Jeffries, Lindsey Keller, LaSharra Riley and Toni Young signed with the program.

For more on women’s basketball signings, the Girls Basketball Recuit blog has compiled all the latest info.

Hasay’s gap on the field at the mile was about 12 seconds, amazing considering the quality of the chase group – led by San Clemente CA sr Alex Dunne, Rancho Bernardo CA soph Molly Grabill, and Xavier Prep AZ jr Jessica Tonn. Coming down to the crossover, Dunne had separated herself from the others and cut that gap almost in half. The race was clearly not over and Hasay’s pursuers looked ready and eager to try and reel her in.

Hasay reached two miles in 11:05, with Dunne just four seconds back at 11:09. Downhill running has never been one of Hasay’s big strengths and Dunne was catching her on each one. Not only did a record look out of reach, but CA’s top-ranked D1 runner, who had clearly been California’s best all fall while Hasay kept a low profile, was a real threat to win the race.

Except … except the third mile showed that Hasay still had something left, or was able to get it back … and Dunne had gone too deep in the well trying to catch her. Hasay pulled away again and Dunne dug deep to hold on to second. As she got to the airstrip, it was clear that Trotter’s record was safe, but Hasay had a good shot to break 16:30 and get the #2 spot on the all-time Mt. SAC list – a spot held by Marie Lawrence from 2005, when she ran 16:29 in the Team Sweeps and Hasay 16:48 as a frosh in the Individuals. She did just that, crossing in 16:27, with Dunne holding on to a very good 16:48, followed by Grabill (at left) under 17:00 at 16:54 and Tonn settling for matching her time last year with 17:05.

Hasay now has three sub-17s in this meet, tied with “Mel” for the most of anyone, and four straight Individual Sweeps wins (though the 2007 version was called the SuperSweepstakes). Dunne’s time is =#7 all-time for the course (6th fastest girl ever), while Grabill is #7 with the 12th-best time. Never had two girls broken 17 in the same race here, let alone three.

Watch the video of the race here:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234116/76476

In addition to featuring athletes in sports such as soccer, volleyball and cross country, the magazine highlights girls who are particpating in less traditional pursuits.

Middle school wrestler Kiera Gabaldon was one of the athletes highlighted in a recent edition. Here is the magazine’s summary of Kiera’s accomplishments:

Kiera, a seventh-grader at Houck Middle School, won two national wrestling titles: the Women’s Body Bar Freestyle (novice 111 pounds) and last year’s U.S. Girls’ Wrestling Association tournament (elementary 91 pounds). At the Oregon state boys’ meet she was second in freestyle and third in Greco-Roman.

Another recent entry highlights Elizabeth Mitchum and Kaci Poole, junior kickers at Pelion High in South Carolina, who are believed to be the first two girls to score points for the same team in a varsity football game; on Sept. 12 each kicked an extra point in a 42-13 victory over Wagener-Salley.

And from the coaching ranks comes Kim Terrell-Kearney, 43, the head bowling coach at Delaware State. Terrell-Kearney defeated Trisha Reid 216-189 to win the U.S. Women’s Open for the second time. (She also won in 2001.) She was a two-time college All-America at San Jose State and the 1989 pro tour rookie of the year.

It’s so great to honor these female athletes in a national forum. If you know someone you think should be featured, it’s easy to nominate them. Just go to sportsillustrated.com to fill out a form and tell about the athlete’s accomplishments.

September 16, 2008

When it comes to being academically eligible to participate in college sports, there are three things to consider:

Just like adults have to be truthful about themselves when applying for a job or a loan, student-athletes have to be honest about their academic standing.

Thankfully, the NCAA Clearinghouse does a good job of helping athletes negotiate this path. The NCAA Clearinghouse basically verifies you meet the requirements in the three variables mentioned above: core courses, GPA and test scores.

The process matches your GPA from the core courses with your best scores from the SAT (math and critical reading) or ACT tests. It’s called gaining “initial eligibility”.

For Division I there is a sliding scale which matches your test score and GPA. For example, with a core GPA of 2.85 you are qualified if you make a minimum total score of 56 on the ACT. If your GPA is lower, you have to make a better score on the test. If your GPA is high, then the test score can be lower.

For Division II eligibility, a minimum score of 820 on the SAT or 68 on the ACT is required.

It is important to know where an athlete stands in terms of the clearinghouse. Athletes obviously want to know if they meet initial eligibility requirements, but it is just as important to know in which facets a high school student needs to improve.

Some of the best high school athletes fall short of these eligibility standards not because they are bad students, but because they did not take their education seriously enough early in their high school careers. Don’t let this happen to you.

The NCAA Clearinghouse also provides a lot of other helpful information for college-bound athletes including timelines and advice for homeschoolers.

And now you know!

The project is early in development and does not yet have a name.  If it’s a success, can we also get a DS game to help us understand the theory of relativity or the geometry of space time?

When it comes time to prep for the SATs, and your parents suddenly decide to buy you a Nintendo DS, they may well have an ulterior motive. Would you be more likely to prep for the SATs on your DS than through a book or browser?

March 15, 2008

Nneka Ogwumike (pronounced neck-ah oh-GWOOM-ih-kay) thought she was on her way to head coach Ann Roubique’s office to finalize the design for her commemorative state championship ring. But the Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas) senior soon discovered that the subject at hand was more than jewelry as a throng of assembled teammates cheered the news that she was named Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Ogwumike, who will turn 18 on July 2. “At first, I thought that’s what they were talking about. Gatorade is such a big deal. It’s the nation’s biggest award.”Ogwumike was officially named 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year on Thursday during a ceremony in Cypress, Texas. The 6-foot-2 standout led her team to a 112-2 record during her three-year varsity career, carrying the squad to the state championship as a senior in one of the country’s toughest classifications - Texas Class 5A.

Full story at Rise Magazine

Number one Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) is classified as a Division III school (roughly 1,000 to 1,500 students), while number two Long Beach Poly is a Division I school (more than 2,000, though in this case closer to 4,000). CIF rules force teams to stay in their enrollment-based divisions, presumably to prevent small private schools from recruiting by denying them the opportunity to play against the bigger schools in postseason.

The Irish, the top-ranked team in the country and winners of 55 straight games, will play Magnolia, which has lost six games and is a huge underdog.  The undefeated team is still reeling, however, from the loss of Terrell Rogers — father of star forward Tierra Rogers — who was shot and killed across the street from the gym during halftime earlier this year.

Long Beach Poly will play Berkeley, a very good team that hasn’t been close to the national rankings all season. The Yellowjackets have lost to Long Beach Poly in the last two state finals, including last year’s 58-52 defeat.

A Long Beach Poly and Sacred Heart final would have drawn a better crowd and Long Beach probably would have preferred a rematch. For that matter, Magnolia and Berkerly would probably have been a better game for each school.

And it would cap off a wonderful season of California girls’ basketball if the state championship not only decided the national championship – but rules are rules, and the two teams will only be able to watch each other rather than play each other.

Name:

Fave Sport: Softball
Other Sports: Basketball and Soccer
Nickname: Allie
Hometown: Wildwood Crest, NJ
Age: 16
Position: Pitcher
Highest Clocked Speed: 65 mph
ASA Team: Newtown Rock Gold – Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Career Highlights: In 2007, Allie’s 16U ASA team, the Delaware Cobras, won the 18U ASA Delaware State Championship. Last season, as a high school sophomore, she struck out 219 batters and walked only 23 in 118 innings pitched. Allie also averaged .578 with 37 hits at the plate. This fall while playing for the Newton Rock Gold, she was 14-2 with 85 strikeouts and 13 walks. (more…)