PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wisc. — With seven available players, few would have been surprised had the Michigan Crossover played a couple of strong games and then bowed to fatigue at Saturday’s 11th annual Battle of the Programs.
But coach Nkwane Young wouldn’t let them, and the mercurial Crossover managed to take home its first BOP title with a 63-60 victory against Midwest Elite from Illinois in front of coaches from more than 160 colleges.
“With seven players, and (given) the kind of pressure we like to play with in our man to man defense, I thought we did a good job,” Young said.
Befitting the stage, the game was well-played and closely fought, with the Crossover holding on at the end. The Crossover got strong play from 5-foot-10 guard Deja Church (2017 with more than two dozen offers), lightning-quick guard Alicia Norman (2017) and 6-3 Alisia Smith (2017). They made things tough for MIdwest Elite, who might have had the best player on the floor.
The Elite’s Breanna Beal was a one-person wrecking crew in a sublime do-it-all performance. Beal, a 6-0 guard who is versatile enough to post up or shoot confidently from three-point range, is likely to be ranked among the nation’s top 20 in the class of 2019 by Blue Star. (Midwest Elite played without 2017 star Sidney Cooks.)
“It was two Nike EYBL teams and we knew it was going to be a dogfight. Every time we play them, we know whoever isn’t in the lead is going to come back,” Young said. “So I told the kids to keep fighting. I knew we were tired.”
Still, the rewards were worth it.
“This is the first time we’ve won it, so it’s real special,” Young said. “I thought it was really good for the kids.”
The day’s biggest surprise came in the first round, where two-time defending champ Indiana Lady Gym Rats were knocked off by the Nebraska Bison CSS 80-69. The Gym Rats’ roster included highly regarded guards Dana Evans (2017), Karissa McLaughlin (2017), Arieal Scott (2018) and center Breanna Boles (2018), an Indiana recruit.
WISCONSIN LAKERS MAKE THEMSELVES AT HOME
They didn’t have far to travel for the Battle of the Program, and the home state Wisconsin Lakers made themselves right at home in the Battle of the Programs No. 2 bracket.
The Lakers held off the Illinois Lady Lightning 39-34 in typical Lakers fashion, using gritty defense, heady decision-making and plenty of moxie in the face of a significant height deficit.
The Lightning carry three players who are 6-foot-3 or taller, headed by 6-5 Lindsey Jarosinski, one of the country’s top 2018 prospects.
“You have to play them a little different because they’ve got a lot of size and we knew they’d try to play halfcourt,” Lakers coach Mike Elles said. “We’ve got some guards who play bigger than they are, so we’re fortunate that we have some kids who are 5-10 or 5-11 but they play like they’re 6-2 and we’re able to do some different things with their athletic ability.”
Four of the Lakers played on the club’s top team this summer: juniors Myriama Smith Traore (6-2), Mackenzie Schmitz (5-10) and Calli Delsman (5-10).
“Myriama is tough, a rebounding machine,” Elles said. “Mackenzie is a great athlete who does some great things for us on defense and knocks down some big shots.”
WISCONSIN ELITE NABS A BATTLE OF THE PROGRAMS TITLE
Coach Robert Johnson’s Wisconsin Elite program has three simple rules: “If you’re open, shoot it,” he said. “If two people are on you, you pass it. And if you don’t play defense, you don’t play.
“I tell them, if any of those rules bother you, there’s the door.”
Guess what the Elite did well on Saturday?
Yep. They played as a team, and they played sound defense, taking down Texas TeamXpress 57-50 to capture the Battle of the Programs No. 4 bracket.
“We played better every game,” Johnson said. “During the day we consistently got better, and the best part is they used each other.
“We’ve got a couple kids that have several colleges after them but they don’t try to do it all themselves. We all work within the framework of the team.”
Forward Estella Moschkau (6-1, 2017), guard Cassidy Trotter (5-8, 2017) and guard Caitlin Link (5-7, 2018) are among those who have received the most attention from colleges.
WILD COMEBACK SPARKS KENTUCKY LEGACY ELITE
The day’s most entertaining championship tilt came in the No. 3 bracket, where the Kentucky Legacy Elite erased a 19-point halftime deficit to stun the Iowa Barnstormers 53-46.
The Legacy Elite trailed 30-11 after a dreadful first half.
Must have been some halftime speech by coach Jay Plitzuweit.
“It wasn’t me,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t make any baskets.”
Fair enough. The team, based in northern Kentucky, used a heavy dose of defensive pressure to squelch the Barnstormers’ offense, getting plenty of transition buckets to surge in front in the final five minutes.
“We’re young; our oldest kid is a sophomore in high school,” Plitzuweit said. “They’re hungry to keep getting better. Anytime you have kids who are willing to listen about the things they need to improve as well as being praised, you’ve got special kids.”
