ATLANTA CAGERS
www.CagerHoops.net
Forsyth County Georgia
AAU and YBOA Basketball Organization

Cagers on Display

UGA honors 2005 12U Final Four squad at home game

Dawgs and Cagers A Great Mix! Tesh Eyes Rebound Mattox Boxes Out

The University of Georgia invited our girls to Athens December 10 for their women's game between the Lady Dawgs and Savannah State. Our girls cheered as the home team powered their way to a record-setting 106-34 victory, and the Cagers were announced and invited to play an intrasquad game on court at the half. The crowd roared as the achievements of last year were described, and the girls put on a great show. Nine of eleven players scored in the eight-minute contest, with Cara Malone and Lindsey Smith leading the way with six points each. The one that brought the crowd to its feet was a running bank shot by future 11U star Courtney Hewatt, arched in high over the much larger post players. A great time was had by all.

The profile of our program continues to rise. Congratulations Cagers!

Stronger and Stronger

Cager girls become one of Georgia's marquee programs

Hard to believe its only been three years since we first donned the silver and blue! In what has to be considered a breakthrough year, the Cager girls turned in a phenomenally successful 2005 season. Among our more notable achievements:

• Four girls teams (10U, 11U, 12U, and 13U) were awarded invitations to play in the YBOA National Championships, and the 13U squad earned an AAU invitation as well.
• The 13U girls won the AAU state championship and if not for an administrative oversight would likely have won the YBOA championship as well.
• The 12U girls finished #4 in the nation at the YBOA National Championships and made the championship round in seven tournaments.
• The 11U girls won the Mid-Summer Classic and were within one basket of advancing to the state championships, despite having an injury-depleted roster.
• The 10U girls were competitive in every tournament and won enough to receive the Nationals invitation...despite the fact that roughly half of their roster was only nine years old (which means the sky is the limit for next year's 10U squad!).
• Our tournament in April attracted one of the largest fields of the YBOA season and was the only tournament of the season to be televised.
• The coach of the 11U champion Georgia Hotshots commented that ours is their favorite tournament and they look forward to coming back to try to defend their title. (We of course hope they finish 2nd!).

11U Girls win another Crown 12U Girls at Nationals 13U AAU State Champs

Just as important as the on-court success, however, has been the manner in which our players and fans conduct themselves. We have become an organization that many wish to emulate. In fact, two heads of other organizations have commented that they wish their daughters were playing for us. Our tryouts have attracted more and more players every year, and our name is spreading throughout the area. While our program is based in Forsyth, this year we also welcomed players from Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Dawson, and Lumpkin counties.

What is on tap for 2006? We already have coaches named and in place for all of the younger girls age groups, and each of the coaches has years of experience both internal and external to the Cagers organization. This continuity is so important to the ongoing development of the girls. Several of the teams will be participating the Fall Series of tournaments with YBOA, then taking the winter off while the girls play for their school / recreation league teams.

We will be holding tryouts for next year in the fall and winter; please check this site frequently for updates. In the meantime, if you would like to be part of our program next year email us at basketball@cagerhoops.net, and we will refer you to the appropriate contact.

The future's so bright, we've gotta wear shades!!!

Top Guns

11U Girls win Mid-Summer Classic championship

Champions Hewatt for Two Anderson looks for pass Baglien playing tough D Whitaker flies upcourt Hensley drives to the hoop

The 11U Cager girls dominated the competition this weekend at the Mid-Summer Classic in Marietta, turning in a perfect 4-0 record and taking home the tournament title. This was truly a team effort, as the girls were shorthanded due to summer vacations and an ankle injury to star guard Sam Smith.

Opening night brought a 25-17 victory over the Lady Shooters, followed by an impressive 46-4 rout of a Cherokee team Saturday morning. This brought the girls face-to-face with the always strong Cherokee Cagers on Saturday afternoon. An early scoring burst led by Jaclyn Anderson and Kristie Mason staked the girls to a 10-point lead, and a pair of clutch 3-pointers from Megan Whittaker down the stretch iced the 31-17 victory. Haley Baglien and Taylor Hensley contributed very strong inside-outside defense along the way, with Baglien controlling the boards and Hensley getting multiple steals on the perimeter.

The Cherokee Cagers' club was able to earn a rematch with our girls in the tournament finals. After the defense and ball handling of Christy Hewatt and the interior defense of Teresa Zittrauer enable the girls to take a 12-2 lead by the end of the first quarter, the Cherokee club fought back hard and closed the gap to 5 with 3 minutes to go. But tough defense and rebounding from all the girls prevented further closing of the gap and enabled our squad to bring home a 29-22 victory to take the title.

The girls will continue to practice this summer and are gearing up for the fall series of tournaments with YBOA.

Congratulations Cagers!

The Big Dance

12U girls make National Final Four

Opening Ceremonies Williams for Two Byrd on the Fly Coffer Drives In Ramey Drives on Dolphins Shultz Drives to Hoop Tesh Rips Down Rebound Turchi Shoots the J Abrams with the Lay-up

The 12U girls spent the last week of June in Cocoa Beach participating in the 2005 National Championships. After a 10th place finish in 2004 the girls were eager to show they still belonged among the nation's elite. This year the usual slate of domestic competition was complemented by international entrants from as far away as Spain and the Virgin Islands, making it a truly exciting experience for the girls and the families. The parade of teams in the opening ceremonies was an event to remember.

Our girls opened with two victories on the first day of competition, beating the Hoops City Heat from North Carolina 35-30 and the Louisiana Bull Dawgs 46-16. Emily Coffer had a dominant game against the Heat, leading the team in scoring with 8, assists with 3, and rebounds with 13. Grace Ramey and Kelsey Turchi paved the way against the Bull Dawgs, combining for 22 points. Jordan Shultz chipped in 9 rebounds, and 4 steals by Brittany Byrd led the defensive charge that turned the game from a nail-biter into a blowout.

Game three brought a tough 32-25 loss against the hometown Georgia Metros, who finished #2 in the Georgia state championships. Shultz led the team in scoring and rebounding, but it wasn't enough. Game four was an international affair versus the St. Croix Dolphins from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Though our girls shot a miserable 20% from the field, tough defense and tenacious rebounding enabled our girls to move to 3-1 with a hard-fought 23-19 victory. Brittany Abrams hit two clutch baskets and Christy Hewatt made a key steal in the final minutes to secure the victory.

After an off day the girls returned to action against the state champion Lady Titans from Georgia. The girls spotted the Titans a 13-1 lead to start the game, but a ferocious full court press enabled our girls to surge back to a 37-37 tie with 15 seconds left. The outside shooting of Turchi and Hewatt and the rebounding of Shultz, Abrams, and Meagan Tesh spearheaded the comeback. Alas, two missed free throws and key turnovers in the final seconds put us on the short end of a 40-37 thriller. Shultz' 3-pointer at the buzzer was just short, ending our hopes for the day.

Our results in pool play propelled the girls into the quarterfinals against Team Louisiana. Lindsey Smith and Kinsey Williams dominated the inside in this game, combining for 20 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. The scoring of Coffer and Ramey paced the girls on a 20-0 run that blew the game open in the second half and produced a 37-12 victory. An exciting late-game moment was 11U Cager Sam Smith coming off the bench to tally her first point of the championships.

The Louisiana victory put the girls in the Final Four for the first time. The semifinal game was a rematch with the Georgia Metros. After a hard-fought and competitive first half that ended 18-15, excessive foul trouble and hot shooting by the Metros knocked us out of the championship. A final day 3rd-place game against North Carolina was small consolation and tough to prepare for after the disappointment the day before. But Shultz turned in another strong rebounding game and Coffer once again led in scoring, keeping the game close until the last few minutes of a 31-22 loss.

Turchi led the team in scoring for the week with 47 points, with Ramey close behind with 45. Ramey also led in assists with 17 and steals with 22. Shultz had an outstanding tournament, grabbing 67 rebounds and finishing fourth in scoring with 38 points. Coffer finished second in rebounding and third in scoring and joined Ramey on the All-Tournament Team. The championships were a great finish to another great season, but it is a sign of how far our program has come that the girls were not satisfied with their fourth place finish. Next year they will be aiming for the national title! In the meantime…

Congratulations, Cagers!!!

13U GIRLS TAKE SECOND IN ASHEVILLE, NC

Memorial weekend the 13u girls celebrated the end of the school year in glorious fashion by going to Asheville, NC to play in The Great Smokies Shootout. This is one of the largest tournaments in the nation with over 200 boys and girls teams participating.

The girls were just coming off their first place win in the State AAU tournament, and they continued their excellent play right from the start against the South Carolina Flames. Although the Flames were a talented team, the Cager girls took control of the game right from the start with their tenacious half court trap. Creating turnover after turnover, the Cagers quickly jumped out to a 20 point lead, and finished the game with a score of 61-31.

The second and third games the Cagers played were against teams that were not nearly as skilled or developed as this 13u Cager team. The Rosman Tigers, which is a local team from the Asheville area, and the Palmetto Hoopettes, from South Carolina were no match for the Cagers as each game was a blowout with scores of 54-13 and 74-16.

In the quarter final game, the Cager girls actually played another team from the Atlanta area. The Lady Titans, a very tough team based out of Alpharetta, provided good competition for the girls. It was a close game as the Cagers were down by 4 points with 2:35 left to play. Once again, the girls defense, rebounding , and sheer desire to win proved to be their strength as they came back to win this game 55-47.

The semi-final game was against a team from Tennessee. The East Tennessee Pride is a very fundamentally sound basketball team that gave the Cagers girls some trouble. The Pride's slow down offense and patient defense were difficult for our Cagers to overcome. Some of our players got into foul trouble early in the game, and putting the Pride in the bonus early in both halves was a huge mistake as they made almost every foul shot to keep the game close. However, the Cagers post players pounded away on the inside boards to keep the our team in the lead. When the Pride team tried to their full court press, the Cagers broke it easily creating many fastbreak opportunities that put them in control of the game. The final score was 45-39.

The championship game was against the Lady Royals, another local Asheville team.

The Lady Royals are an excellent team that shot 80% for the game, which was just too great a percentage for our Cager team to overcome. Losing to this fine team was certainly not a disappointment as the Cager girls gave all they had throughout this tournament beating teams from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee to finish in 2nd place.

Combined with their previous tournament, this 13u Cager team won 10 games in a row on the road. They played 8 tournaments this spring going to the championship game in 4 of them, and finished with an overall record of 25-10.

Striking Midnight

12U girls topple LaGrange 13U to reach North Georgia Jam finals

Byrd and Mattox attack the ball Turchi on the break Kassie drives to the hoop Ramey hits the open jumper Williams fights for position Tesh eyes rebound

The 12U Cager girls turned in a strong showing in a return trip to the mountains this weekend, taking second place in the North Georgia Jam in Dalton. The age group was a combination of 12U and 13U, but our girls more than held their own.

After an opening night loss to the Chattanooga Hotshots, the girls faced the Warner Robins Express Saturday morning. A stifling full court press led by Grace Ramey, Kassie Smith, and Kelsey Turchi forced multiple turnovers as our girls raced to a 28-6 first quarter lead. New star Kelsie Mattox and Brittany Abrams each chipped in 6 first half points, and Meagan Tesh and Kinsey Williams dominated the glass. Our girls took a 46-14 lead into halftime and cruised to a 58-14 win.

The victory set up a quarterfinal confrontation with the Georgia Hotshots Black 13U Saturday evening. Lindsey Smith, Mattox, Tesh, and Williams each had at least 8 rebounds, holding the Hotshots to one shot on most possessions. Brittany Byrd and Jordan Shultz led the team in steals, creating numerous fast break opportunities in a comfortable 43-16 win.

The semifinal game Sunday was against the pool winner and undefeated LaGrange Midnight 13U. Our girls sprinted to a 13-4 lead before the strength and aggressiveness of the Midnight turned the game around and enabled them to take a 23-20 halftime lead. The second half was an epoch battle, with multiple lead changes throughout. The inside brilliance of Williams kept the Cagers within a few points of the lead, and a final basket by Ramey tied the game at 48 at the end of regulation. Williams was unstoppable in the first overtime, scoring 8 of the Cagers' 9 points. Then Shultz grabbed a key rebound and scored on a putback to forge a 59-59 tie. The second overtime was all Cagers, with Ramey putting the game away 68-63. Williams finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds on the night.

The exciting victory earned the girls a rematch in the finals with the Chattanooga Hotshots… and the game started an hour later! Unfortunately our luck, legs, and shooting touch gave out in the finals. But finishing second while playing up an age group is certainly an accomplishment the girls can be proud of. Williams led the team in scoring for the weekend with 53 and tied with Tesh for the rebounding lead with 25. Tesh also chipped in a team-high seven blocked shots. Turchi led in assists and tied with Byrd for second in steals behind Ramey.

The girls will be taking next week off before beginning preparations for Nationals. Way to go Cagers!

13u GIRLS WIN AAU STATE TOURNAMENT

The weekend of May 13-15 the 13u Cager girls went down to Columbus, GA to compete in the AAU State Tournament. It was an amazing weekend for a group of girls that had a record of 15-9, and were playing some very good basketball.

The team was to face the Lady Patriots in the first game of the tournament late on Friday night. After making the trip down, and getting ready to play that night at 9:00, it was a huge disappointment when the opponent was a no-show. The Cager team took their bottled up excitement into their first game on Saturday against the Roswell Lady Hornets coming away with a win by a margin of 30+.

Moving out of pool play and into the quarter finals, this team had yet to be tested, but the test was coming in the form of the GA Metros, a very big, physical team. The game was probably one of the most physical games that the girls have played all year. In the first half there were enough missed shots from our Cagers to have been up by a double figure margin, instead at that time the team was down 26-23. At the break, the girls resolved themselves to what they needed to do to win the game, and that was handle the pressure, make the easy shots, and control the boards. They did that and more in the second half to come away with a 10 point victory.

The win over the GA Metros put the Cagers into the semifinals, and earned them an opportunity that they have not had all year. That was the chance to play a team (the GA Pearls) that they had lost to by two points in a previous tournament. Other than the fact that this game was a semifinal, this opportunity was a huge motivation for the girls.

The game started out very sloppy from both teams. After 4 minutes of play the score was only 1-0 in favor of the Pearls. But, as each team settled down the first half became a real dog fight with many lead changes. At the half, the Cagers were up by a thin margin 20-15. The second half proved to be glorious. Somehow a light bulb went off and the team put together one amazing half of basketball. Because of the defensive play of the Cager guards, the Pearls could barely get a shot off. If they were able to get close enough to the basket to shoot, they only got one chance because the rebounding of the post players was phenomenal. A game vs the Pearls that had once been close was a complete runaway in the end as the Cagers won 53-26.

After such an emotional win, a coach never knows what his or her team will bring to the next game, but this was a final, and the Cager girls brought everything they had. Their opponents, the Dalton Fire, are a very big team with two 6 foot post players, and guards that are very quick. From the tip-off of the game the Cagers were in control. They continued what they had started in the 2nd half against the Pearls, and never relinquished that desire to win until the game was over. The 13u Cager girls won the final game of the tournament against a very good Dalton Fire team, 62-46.

This team of Michelle Godwin, Ashley Bureau, Chanee Carson, Kirsten Ebert, Jasmine Little, Jocelyn Danley, Stephanie Fincher, Lauren Cable, Chelsea Smith,and Madison Strickland improved their record to 20-9 in seven tournaments this spring. The girls had been playing some terrific basketball up to this particular tournament. The coaches and parents knew that they were on the brink of something great. This was the weekend that these girls went out and proved they are truly a special team.

Sunday Sweep!

12U girls finish off the regular season with 5th consecutive championship appearance

Byrd and Harton deny entry drive Abrams and Tesh fight for the rebound Turchi drives on the Hurricanes Ramey with the layup Lindsey Smith brings the pain

The 12U girls finished the regular season this weekend with another strong performance in the Suwanee Slam-n-Jam. This tournament was the final tune-up before state championships / National Qualifiers next week, and our girls played extremely well despite the absence of frontcourt players Nikki Erdely, Jordan Shultz, and Kinsey Williams.

Perhaps the brightest spot of the weekend was the spectacular play of Meagan Tesh. Hampered in the last month by knee problems, Meagan stepped back into the lineup in style, with 17 points, 23 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots. Grace Ramey led the Cagers in scoring, and Emily Coffer finished second in scoring and tied with Tesh for the rebounding lead. Kassie Smith led the team in assists, and Lindsey Smith and Brittany Abrams contributed quality work under the boards. The team also welcomed back Kelsey Turchi after a 3 week absence, and her scoring and ball handling was strong throughout the weekend. Abriana Harton and Brittany Byrd played outstanding defense and showed great aggressiveness on repeated drives to the basket.

The highlight of the weekend was a 44-24 win over the Oconee Hurricanes, which put the girls into the semifinals against the superb Georgia Peaches. The score was 31-27 in the Peaches favor entering the fourth quarter, but the lack of reserves finally caught up to our girls and we fell by a score of 42-31.

The tournament was an excellent tune-up for National Qualifiers next week. Go get 'em girls!

The Beasts of the East

12U girls storm into the finals of the Oconee Classic

Awards ceremony Byrd drives against the Saints Williams gets position Ramey looks for entry pass Coffer drives to the hoop

The 12U girls turned in a stellar performance this weekend in the Oconee County Classic. Facing the toughest tournament field of the season to date, the girls knocked off two very strong teams to reach the finals and take home a second place medal. The showing was even more impressive considering the injuries / absences of stars Nikki Erdely and Kelsey Turchi.

The tournament began with a spirited 41-37 loss to the Running Saints, who won our Cager-sponsored tournament in April. Grace Ramey led the team in scoring and assists, and Jordan Shultz led the team in rebounds. Emily Coffer turned in an all-around brilliant performance, finishing second in points, rebounds, and assists, and leading the team in steals.

Saturday brought an elimination game against the always-tough Oconee County Hurricanes. Strong rebounding by Brittany Abrams and physical inside play by Meagan Tesh and Lindsey Smith resulted in three Oconee players fouling out by the middle of the fourth quarter. The girls were up by six with fourteen seconds to play, but a few quick baskets by the Hurricanes narrowed the final margin to a thrilling and scary 25-23 win for the Cagers.

Our semifinal opponent was the Skeegee Tigerettes, against whom we have been 0-3 over the last two years. After spotting them a 10-2 lead, our girls absolutely closed the door defensively, completely shutting the Tigerettes out in the second quarter. Strong defense from Abriana Harton, Kassie Smith, and Brittany Byrd in the backcourt and Kinsey Williams under the basket were instrumental in the comeback. The girls took a 32-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter and never looked back, coasting to a 34-28 win.

The championship game brought a rematch with the Running Saints. The game was a classic, with lead changes throughout. Shultz, Coffer, Tesh, Byrd and Williams each chipped in at least five rebounds for the Cagers. Ramey handled the ball magnificently against the Saints' press, and Shultz' and Coffer's shooting and full court ball-handling abilities were instrumental in keeping the game close. The score was tied 36-36 with .8 seconds to play when the Saints hit two free throws for a 38-36 lead. Even then our girls refused to give up, as Ramey"s half-court 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired. Tournament director Mike Palmer remarked that "this was the best youth basketball game I've ever seen".

Shultz and Ramey were named to the All-Tournament team, but this was truly a team effort. Coffer led in scoring with 42 points, Williams led with 7 blocked shots. And all the girls played superbly against the top-flight competition. The competition was excellent preparation for National Qualifiers in two weeks.

Congratulations Cagers!

13U Cagers Take Second in 14U Pistols Invitational Tournament

Our 13u girls Cagers played an age up this past weekend (April 22-24) in the Pistols Invitational tournament, and won 4 out of 6 games. We started the tournament against a very good Alpharetta Eagles team. Despite leading by 3 at halftime, the girls could not hold on to win, and lost 49-41 in the end. Usually losing the first game of a tournament is the kiss of death to making the championship rounds, but these girls were not discouraged and resolved themselves to winning.

Our team went on a winning streak over the next two days winning 4 games in a row. Behind solid defensive play, the Cagers beat the Pistols Teal by a score of 70-33. Our next opponent was a feeder team from Brookwood High School, and once again defense was the force behind the win of 48-25.

On Sunday morning we met our most formidable opponent yet, the Mustangs. Many of our players knew girls on the other team and were ready for a tough game, but once again our solid defensive game created 12 stops and pushed the team to a 14 point lead at the half. The Mustangs made a run in the second half getting as close as 5 points, but the Cagers maintained their focus, and pulled out a very satisfying win, 64-55.

In the semi-finals the Cagers met the second of three Pistols teams they would play in the tournament. The Pistols Blue made up of girls primarily from Northview High was no match for the 13u Cagers, as we won 63-49.

The final game was to be a challenge both physically and mentally. This was our 3rd game of the day, and we were really tired. Playing against our 3rd Pistols opponent, we managed to hang in with them most of the first half. They had a run at the end of the half, and lead by 11 at the break. However, the Cagers would be heard from in the 2nd half , and managed a rally to pull within six points. We could not push any closer, and lost in the final 64-56.

It was a GREAT effort by our 13u team, especially in the challenge of playing an age group up.

CONGRATULATIONS GIRLS!!

Defending the Home Turf

12U girls make third consecutive championship round

Coffer and Harton go for the steal Abrams nails the jumper Tesh in denial Ramey and Turchi shut down the middle

The 12U girls turned in another strong performance last weekend in the Dawson Smith Memorial Jam, our Cager-sponsored tournament held in various sites throughout the Cumming area. The tournament attracted a record 44 teams in age groups 9U through 12U, and the finals were televised throughout the metro area by Adelphia channel 53.

Our girls kicked off the tournament with a 30-17 victory over a strong Jamerica team on Friday night. Nikki Erdely and Grace Ramey led the scoring with 8 points each, and Meagan Tesh chipped in 8 rebounds.

Saturday morning brought an impressive 50-17 win over the Pistols Blue. Jordan Shultz, Lindsey Smith, Kelsey Turchi, Tesh and Ramey all scored 6+ points, and Brittany Byrd, Abriana Harton, and Brittany Abrams led a ferocious full court press that caused multiple turnovers and easy baskets. The win was extremely costly, however, and Erdely suffered an ankle injury that sidelined her for the remainder of the tournament.

Saturday night the girls defeated the Gwinnet Storm Blue in a physical 33-19 match to win their pool with an impressive 3-0 record. Emily Coffer led the team in scoring and was second in rebounding, and contributed outstanding full-court defense.

The championship round pitted our girls against the War Eagles Black. Kassie Smith proved to be an invaluable asset on Sunday, shuttling back and forth between multiple positions to compensate for our missing players. Our girls played perhaps their best basketball of the season in jumping out to a 10-0 lead, but cold shooting and strong play by the War Eagles sent us to a 22-20 defeat.

While it was extremely disappointing to lose in the hometown event, the girls can be proud of their third consecutive championship round appearance. When they get healthy they will be a dangerous team!

Congratulations Cagers!

This Easter WAS a Classic!

Cager girls of all ages ROCK in Suwanee Easter tournament

Shultz beats the double team Coffer jockeys for position Tough Cager D! Abrams looks inside

All of the Cager girls teams from 10U-15U participated in last weekend's Easter Classic in Suwanee, and our strong play really made it an event to remember. With four age groups out of six finishing in the top three in their bracket, the Cagers definitely served notice that our program is on the rise.

The 10U girls got things started in fine fashion with a 2-1 finish, good for third place. Victories over the Lions and Team Athens were sandwiched around a heartbreaking loss to the Lady Shooters. The girls really played well under pressure, especially considering it was their first tournament… ever! A made free throw with 2.9 seconds to go provided the victory margin against the Athens girls and ended the tournament on a high note.

The 11U Cagers won their pool with a strong 3-0 start, with easy wins coming over the Lady Broncos, East Hall Bad Girls, and the Lady Shooters South. This put the girls in the semifinals against the fast and athletic Lady Fury. Hot shooting by the Fury sent us to a tough semifinal loss.

The 12U girls followed up on their championship round performance in their last tournament with another strong showing. Impressive victories over the North Gwinnett Storm (37-14) and Georgia Comets (35-4) paved the way into the semifinals against Team Athens. The girls cut a 15-point deficit to 6 early in the fourth quarter, but couldn't quite get over the hump. The resulting 3rd place finish was the girls' second straight.

Our 13U girls turned in a dominating performance. In just their second tournament of the season, the team won four games in a row by an average of 30+ points to get to the championship game. In the final game they could not pull out the victory, falling just 7 points short (47-40). This team continues to get better with each tournament they play, and with strong post play and top notch guards they are definitely headed to more championship games.

The 14U and 15U girls also turned in strong performances. As these age groups need to wait until the high school seasons conclude before beginning play, their season is still in its infancy. The 14U girls shook off a tough 3-point loss to the Pistols Blue in their first game to bounce back with a tournament–capping 44-31 victory over the Junior Raiders. And the 15U girls, behind strong play from Natalie Edgeworth, Taylor Mulryan, and Leanne Cassandra, bounced back from a tough loss to one of the toughest teams in the state (Lions) to finish strong with a dominating win over the East Metro Stars.

What a great weekend to be part of our program! Congratulations, girls!

Back in Business

12U girls place 3rd in St. Patrick's Day Challenge

Turchi leads tough Cager defense Erdele and Kassie seal off the middle Ramey with the steal AB blazes past the Smokies Tesh and the Smith girls deny entry pass

The Cager 12U girls kicked off their season this weekend by placing third in the YBOA-sponsored St. Patrick's Day Challenge in Alpharetta. Expectations are high for this years' squad based on last years' national ranking in 11U, and the girls didn't disappoint their first time out.

Opening night brought a 26-22 victory over the always-tough Cherokee Cagers. Our girls fell behind early, but knotted the score by the end of the third quarter and clinched the game with an 8-0 burst to begin the final period. The girls then won their pool with a 34-29 win over the speedy NEA Hawks Black. Kelsey Turchi and Nikki Erdele led our girls in scoring during pool play, and Erdele, Meagan Tesh, and Jordan Shultz led in rebounding and shut down the middle on defense. Emily Coffer provided a little bit of everything throughout… scoring, rebounding, steals, defense... whatever the team needed.

Our semifinal opponent was the WNC Smokies from Murphy, North Carolina. The Sunday morning game was a true defensive battle, with both team moving the ball well but unable to score for much of the first half. Our defensive pressure, led by Grace Ramey, AB Harton, and Lindsey Smith, was instrumental in slowing down the Smoky attack. Our girls led 9-8 at the halftime break. The second half was a slugfest; key jump shots by Brittany Abrams, Kassie Smith, and Christy Hewatt kept the score close, but clutch shooting by the Smokies dealt us a hard-fought 25-22 loss.

The girls were disappointed about not bringing home the trophy, but it was a great showing to kick off what will hopefully be another great season. We will be taking next weekend off before hitting the courts again in the Easter Classic in two weeks. Congratulations Cagers!

UGA Honors the Cagers

Shultz Playing Tough D Ramey and Coffer Square Off Godwin on the Fly

Congratulations to the Cager girls, who were invited to participate in the halftime show for the Georgia-Arizona women's basketball game last weekend in Athens. Last year's 11U team was introduced as the #10 team in the land, and selected players from the 10U and 12U teams were also on hand. The girls were asked to play an intrasquad exhibition game at halftime, and they dazzled the crowd with their ballhandling skills and tenacious defense.

The profile of the Cagers continues to rise!

Fall Evaluation Sessions a Rousing Success

Many thanks to all who participated in our fall tryout sessions at Dobbs Creek on November 21. We are pleased to say that for the third consecutive year we set a new record for participation, reflecting that the interest in the Cagers is still on the rise!

Each individual coach will be responsible for keeping in contact with the participants and making the determination of if and when further evaluation will be necessary. If you have general questions or need to know how to contact the relevant coach please email us at basketball@cagerhoops.net and we'll steer you in the right direction.

There are no further group tryouts scheduled at this time. We may schedule another after the first of the year should the need arise. In the meantime, if you missed out on the November 21 session but would still be interested in joining our program, just contact us at basketball@cagerhoops.net to discuss alternative evaluation possibilities.