Fencor 1989s

By MATTHEW KOEWLER, 07/28/05 The Leaf-Chronicle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fencor (Pa.) defeated the Dayton Lady Hoopstars 59-35 Wednesday afternoon to advance to the finals of the AAU National Championship game. The Hoopstars started the game with a 10-0 run in the first two minutes that was capped off by a 3-pointer from Stephanie Bambeuger and then another 3-pointer by Carlee Roethlisberger. After Fencor head coach Veronica Algeo called a timeout, Fencor responded with a 13-0 run and they never looked back. Caroline Doty said the message during the timeout was simple, but it worked. "Pick our heads up. Play defense and just play our game," Doty said of the message during the timeout. "We came into the game happy that we won our first game this morning; we knew we had to wake up. It was like a wake-up call." Doty was able to go the length of the court with 8.6 seconds left before halftime to take a 29-20 lead into the break. The Hoopstars' Sarah Schulze helped cut the lead to four as she got five of her team-high 13 points on consecutive trips down the court. Fencor, though, wouldn't have a second-half letdown and was led by Elena Delle Donne's 26 points despite Roethlisberger's strong defense. "I was going to do what it took to win," Delle Donne said. Algeo knew Doty and Delle Donne would come up with big performances for their team. "The bigger the stakes, the bigger they play," Algeo said. "They are just tremendous basketball players and are terrific teammates as well. They are great to coach and are just wonderful kids." Hoopstars coach Jerry Rex knew his team was up against a tough team and wants his girls to remember playing a team of their talent. "It's nice that they got to play a team of that caliber, it's something they will remember for a lifetime," Rex said.