DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. – MIdwest Elite Platinum guard Jewell Loyd, a Notre Dame recruit and rising senior at Niles West High School in Illinois, represented the United States team that won gold at the FIBA U17 World Championship last summer. In turn, she missed out on her AAU team becoming the surprise of the U.S. Junior Nationals by winning a loaded Gold Division.
A year later, Loyd would have liked to contended for spot in Colorado this past spring for a spot on the U19 squad that is currently rolling through that World Championship in Chile, but could not because the tryout dates conflicted with her finals schedule at Niles West.
The United States’ loss certainly turned out to be Midwest Elite’s gain as the 5-foot-9 Loyd was marvelous all weekend at USJN, helping her team to a 9-0 mark and a second consecutive USJN title on Monday afternoon in the Platinum Division, which was the best grouping at the event. Gold was the top classification in 2010.
“Playing with ‘G’ (MWE head coach Ralph Gesualdo) and this being my fifth year playing with Maggie (Lyon), I wanted to come out here and help us win it again,” Loyd said. “I would have loved to tryout and play for the USA team again, but it just didn’t work out that way. This definitely isn’t a bad place to be in right now though.”
With a target on Midwest Elite’s back after the win last year and no opponent taking them likely, the team was equal parts dominant and feisty. Certain games came down to who would make the plays lately, namely in Pool I play against the New Jersey Demons on Saturday and again in Monday’s championship game against an upstart Arizona Wildcats squad.
The Demons game saw Loyd make every critical play over the final 3:00 in a 52-46 win, while the 51-46 win over in the final was marked by Loyd doing anything and everything possible for MWE to scrape by. Her high mark was eight straight points in the early-going when MWE had fallen behind by as many as six against the Wildcats.
Her current teammates that were with Gesualdo last summer made it happen at USJN without Loyd. With Loyd this summer, they did it again, but she simply made the heavy lifting a little lighter.
“I go out every time to try and play my game and do my best no matter who the opponent is,” Loyd said. “It helps to have a coach and teammates that motivate you. When my team needs me, I’m trying to do everything possible and just give it my all.”
