What coach Travis Wallace dubbed his “three-headed monster” came through in a big way Sunday at USJN’s seventh annual Great America Showcase. Wallace, coach of the St. Louis-based Team adidas 12, employed his standout backcourt en route to a 59-56 victory against Minnesota North Tartan 12 in the finals of the 14-11u pools.
Team adidas finished the weekend unbeaten despite not being at full strength. In fact, Wallace’s “three-headed monster” in the backcourt was actually missing one-third of the equation. Guard Kalen Rodriguez, typically a starter, was sidelined by injury. Starter Makayla Wallace missed Saturday’s games with a head injury and played Sunday with a minor knee problem. But that still left shifty backcourter Mallory Meeks, who more than made up for what Team adidas might have been missing.
Meeks’ repeated penetration was the spark that the offense required against a North Tartan team that boasted a significant size advantage.
“I use my quickness against people who are slower than me,” Meeks said. “I try to beat them to the spot.”
More often than not, she did. Meeks and her teammates pestered North Tartan with 1-3-1 pressure, which helped swing the momentum in Team adidas’ favor.
North Tartan maintained a slim lead throughout, including a 50-49 margin in the final minutes. But Team adidas finished the game on a 10-6 run, including two buckets by Makayla Wallace.
“Mallory made some big shots. Her and Makayla made a lot of plays on the offensive end,” Travis Wallace said. “And the 1-3-1 really rattled them up, and they couldn’t do a lot against it. That’s our bread and butter.”
The teams seemed to be on a collision course throughout the weekend. Team adidas was rarely tested in pool play while North Tartan was upended earlier Sunday in its final pool game by YNBA Avengers of Canada 53-50. North Tartan advanced out of its pool and defeated NC Heat 11 of Minnesota 61-28 in the bracket semifinals, setting up the finals showdown against Team adidas.
The two teams have a bit of a history together. They met in a third-place game at AAU nationals last summer with Team adidas coming out on top.
“Our biggest challenge was that team,” Meeks said.
Team adidas has a return trip to AAU nationals on tap in July.
Allen powers Bedford North Lawrence to victory
On a team of stars, the brightest Star on Sunday was Jenna Allen.
Allen, the 6-foot-3 post for Indiana’s Bedford North Lawrence 17 Blue, scored 27 points to lead the Stars to a 71-54 victory against the Illinois Neuqua Valley Wildcats 17 to capture the 17/16/15 pools bracket.
Allen, a 2015 grad, hasn’t received the same acclaim as heralded teammates Alexa Bailey (2015, headed to Butler) and Dominique McBryde (2015, Purdue-bound), but she is an intriguing prospect. A true post with a solid frame, Allen averaged 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bedford North Lawrence team that captured the Class 4A state title last winter. She shot 67 percent from the field.
Allen said Sunday she has narrowed her college choice to Butler and Indiana. Butler assistant coach Kurt Godlevske was the head coach at Bedford North Lawrence last season.
Allen said she’ll make a final decision by the end of July.
“I’m ready to be done,” she said.
The Stars dominated their weekend competition at the Great America Showcase. The entire starting lineup from the state championship team participated in the event, and their continuity was evident.
“This whole team is my sisters. That’s how I think of them,” Allen said. “Some teams are not like that. But I’m going to look out for them and they’re going to look out for me.”
