Fencor 1989s

Matera makes the most of summer AAU chance Tuesday, September 6, 2005 By KEVIN CALLAHAN Courier-Post Staff ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHRISTINE MATERA Position: Guard High School: Camden Catholic Grade: Junior AAU summer basketball team: Fencor Accomplishments: Helped Fencor win its second straight AAU national title Family tradition: Her father Mark and late uncle Brian each played college football; brother Anthony was a two-year starting guard at Camden Catholic. Quote: "She makes herself develop, not from year to year, but from month to month," said Fencor AAU coach Veronica Algeo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christine Matera spent the summer continuing to make a name for herself on the national girls' basketball circuit. Matera, who will be a junior at Camden Catholic High School, played a major role in helping Fencor become the first girls' team from the Mid-Atlantic Region to repeat as AAU National Champion. "She is so completely driven, so goal-oriented, so competitive, so intelligent -- and she's a leader," Fencor coach Veronica Algeo said. "I am fortunate that I get to coach someone who possesses the basketball skills, possesses the mental fortitude, and possesses all of the intangibles which true champions possess." Matera comes from strong athletic bloodlines, which couldn't have hurt with the developments of these impressive intangibles. Her father, Mark, was a quarterback at Pennsauken High School and Widener University and her late uncle, Brian, was a linebacker at Pennsauken and Maryland. Her brother, Anthony, was a two-year starting guard for Camden Catholic, graduating this past season. "I am fortunate for the opportunity to coach Christine," Algeo said. "She's just a great kid from a great family." Fencor, the top seed, won the 15-and-under championship in late July in Clarksville, Tenn., beating the third-seeded Fairfax (Va.) Stars 78-67 in the title game. Matera scored 13 points -- 11 in the second half -- in a 78-41 win over the Western Lakers (Mich.) in the second round of the championship bracket played at Austin Peay University's Dunn Center. "Christine played a significant role in the team's success this summer," Algeo said. "Consequently, she has received attention from Division I college coaching staffs, ranging from Princeton University to Duquesne University. And this is only the beginning." College coaches were able to start contacting Matera through written letters, e-mail and text messages on Sept. 1. Algeo also said Matera played well at the Oregon and the Chicago Nike Tournaments earlier in July. "She works so hard at developing her ballhandling skills, her shooting skills, her shooting range, and her athleticism all year round," Algeo said. "She makes herself develop, not from year to year, but from month to month." Matera helped Fencor win not only its second consecutive national championship, but also its third in the last four years. Fencor won the 12U title in 2002 in Amarillo, Texas. The Fairfax (Va.) Stars defeated Fencor two years ago in the 13-and-under final held in Dayton, Ohio. Last year, Fencor won back the title in Monroe, La. "Seven of the nine of us have won all three," Matera said proudly, "and another girl has won two." Matera played on Fencor's local rival AAU team as a 10- and 11-year-old before being asked to play for Fencor. Most of the same group won the AAU 14U title last year. "They already had a good tradition," Matera said. In this latest championship run, Fencor won a total of 11 games by an average margin of 22 points with only one win coming by fewer than double digits. Matera played in front of some of the best-known coaches in the country, as many came to see Fencor's Elena Delle Donne, who is listed as the top freshman guard in the country by USA Today. The 6-foot-5 Delle Donne, who will be a sophomore at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Del., scored 40 points in the championship game, which is believed to be an AAU record for a title game. Matera plans to play for Fencor next year. Fencor has won the Middle Atlantic championship (which includes Eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware) six straight years. "It has been unbelievable, we go all over the country to play basketball," Matera said. "We are all so close." Before that, however, Matera has a sizable goal this winter at Camden Catholic. "What I really want now is a state championship," Matera said. Reach Kevin Callahan at kcallahan@courierpostonline.com