Fencor 1989s

Fencor sweeps Texas squad, grabs AAU title By Steve Brannan sbrannan@amarillonet.com Note: Click on headline for pictures. From 15 feet away, Elena Delle Donne had to feel like she was stuck in the middle of the loneliest spot in the world. Hopes of a championship rested in her hands, and for a brief moment, time stood still. Even later, Delle Donne still was not sure if it all was real. "This feels like a dream," Delle Donne said. Her dream began to show life when a pair of free throws found their mark, keeping the dream of her Fencor teammates alive, as well. The two shots were only a preview of things to come, as Delle Donne poured in 37 points later to give the Pennsylvania team the AAU 12-and-under girls' basketball national title with a pair of wins over TSS Texas Express. Fencor rallied behind Delle Donne's free throws with one-tenth of a second left in regulation during the opener, taking a 62-55 win in overtime. But her heroics only continued in Fencor's 71-64 victory in the second game, completing the team's improbable run to the championship. "We had a big-time player step up and play big," Fencor coach Keith Webster said. "I had the best player in the country for her age group on the court." Everybody at Cal Farley Coliseum just had the privilege to watch. Delle Donne put shot after shot over the top of the Texas defense, seemingly willing each one into the basket. She scored 22 points in the first 16 minutes of the second game to help set the tempo for Fencor's title run. "I just wanted to win so bad," Delle Donne said. "I had been here the last two years when we hadn't won. We just wanted it this time." Just getting to that point, though, was not without controversy. Despite leading for much of the second half, Fencor found itself down 50-48 with 16 seconds remaining after Ashlee Mells made the second of two free throws for Texas. Fencor worked the ball inside to Delle Donne, who was fouled going up for a final attempt by Jori Davis of the Express. With the championship on the line, both teams looked to a clock that seemed to be frozen - 0.1 seconds remaining. Delle Donne, though, was unfazed. She rattled in the first of two shots, then waited through a pair of Texas timeouts before draining the second to tie. "I was so nervous," Delle Donne said. "I did this last year against the Wichita Spooks. I think it really helped give us a boost." Fencor would score the first 10 points of overtime, and what the Express viewed as a questionable call to finish regulation came back to hurt them. "It took everything out of us," Texas coach Joey Simmons said. "I could tell by the way we played in overtime. But I have to give Fencor credit, they played exceptionally well." Delle Donne again proved to be the difference-maker later, as Fencor repeatedly went to her on the outside for open shots or drives through the lane. For the game, Delle Donne was 5-of-9 from 3-point range. She had help, too. Both Caroline Doty and Shannon O'Hanlon remained vital parts of the Fencor offense, scoring 10 and 12 points, respectively. Fencor even got 12 points off the bench from Christine Matera, who also drained a pair of 3s to give the team a much-needed outside presence. "I thought we worked well together and played as a team," Matera said. More so, Fencor found a defensive game plan that worked against the Express. Although Texas' outside trio of Ebony Alexander, Davis and Mells combined for 49 points in the second game, the Express often was unable to find open shots in the paint. The result was much different from Fencor's 67-63 loss to Texas on Thursday. "The difference today was our intensity," Webster said. "Halfway through the tournament, we were scoring so many points that we were letting up on defense." But the day largely belonged to Delle Donne, who had the fans in attendance on their feet to watch Fencor's comeback from near-elimination. After Thursday's loss, Fencor needed five wins in less than two days if it hoped to win the national title after finishing fifth last year. Winning all five games against some of the best teams in the nation isn't just improbable. It's the stuff of dreams. (story courtesy Amarillo Globe-Times)