Graceketball

Here comes AAU! Bronx Lady Hawks AAU tournament this weekend. Should be fun.

Great article on Lorin Dixon in today's NY Times . "Lorin Dixon arrived at Connecticut four years ago out of Christ the King High School in Queens with high hopes as a point guard and admittedly low self-assurance. Her career has slapped back and forth like windshield wipers between confidence and self-doubt. Then, a month ago, the imminent ending of her career brought clarity and resolve. “You either do it now or you ain’t going to get a chance,” Dixon said the other day. “So why not? You have nothing to lose.” She is only 5 feet 4 inches, the smallest player on UConn’s roster, but on Sunday, Dixon had the biggest impact on a 68-63 victory over Georgetown in the semifinals of the Philadelphia Region. It was a wild come-from-behind win, foiling what would have been one of the biggest upsets in women’s N.C.A.A. tournament history and demonstrating the Huskies’ fierce determination to prevail." Fantastic to see her play so well and be recognized for it!

So, anyone who thinks basketball isn't a contact sport has probably never played the game. GraceAnne had her nose broken during a game a while back. It wasn't on a "dirty" play or done purposefully, just something that happened. Didn't look too bad and wasn't displaced but in a win on Saturday it got hit again and this time she looks a bit like an extra on the Sopranos. No foul was called on the play. Yesterday she got fouled hard from behind on a driving layup and went down awkwardly, hit her head on the floor and got a concussion.... the ref was in good position but again the foul, which is as clear as day in a video of the game, was never called! Referees make mistakes. You're probably not going to see the highest level of officiating competence in a 12u girl's basketball game. That said, you see mistakes at every level of play. Mistakes are something that might not be easy to take given a particular situation, especially when it's your kid an...

So, a bunch of the teams that GraceAnne has followed and feels invested in are in post season tournaments this year. The UConn Huskies, St John's Red Storm, Princeton Tigers, Marist Red Foxes all made the NCAA tournament. We will be watching the games that we can and rooting for all of them to do well! Grace watched the selection show and is filling out her brackets for the very first time so we are having a lot of fun anticipating and talking about the upcoming games. Another team that Grace follows, the Creighton Blue Jay's didn't make the NCAAs this year but extended their season by being invited to participate in the NIT! Congratulations Jays! Congratulations to first year Assistant Coach Carrie Moore! It would be great to see them go deep into the tournament!   OMAHA, Neb. -  The Creighton women's basketball team will play at Northwestern on Thursday in the first round of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament it was announced late Monday nig...

Congratulations Coach Arico and Coach Megan Duffy! GraceAnne saw a bunch of games at Carnesecca Arena this year and is looking forward to the Red Storm making a run in the tournament! See you at camp again this August! QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's community celebrated the Red Storm women's basketball team's second-straight NCAA Tournament berth and third under head coach Kim Barnes Arico with a pep rally and festivities in front of Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday. "We appreciate you all being out here to day. I know it's cold and you're out here to support us. This is the first time in a long time, since probably before all of you were born, that the men's basketball team and the women's basketball team are going to the `Big Dance,'" Barnes Arico said to the crowd of Red Storm fans. "The women are going back-to-back years, so we're showing some consistency in the program. We really appreciate having the students on board and it make...

Emma worked very hard with GraceAnne on her post-up moves at the Game7 Rockville Center camp over the summer. Marist won the MAAC Tournament and is ranked 17th in the nation! Lots to look forward to when they announce NCAA seeds and selections on Monday! The Red Foxes received more reason to be enthusiastic on Tuesday, when the newest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll ranked them 17th in the country; Monday's latest Associated Press Top 25 poll had them 19th. Both rankings are Marist's highest in program history in the respective polls. Marist also boasts the top defense in the county, allowing 48.6 points a game. The Red Foxes' program-best 26 straight victories is also the country's longest active winning streak.

GraceAnne was very fortunate to meet and work with some of this and past year's UConn Huskies in the Pursuit Beyond Basketball camp and clinics thanks to Brittany Hunter! Great examples of how hard work brings success! Great people too! UConn Women Win 17th Big East Tournament Title With 73-64 Victory Over Notre Dame "Led by   Stefanie Dolson 's 24 points and   Maya Moore 's 22, the Huskies won their 17th   Big East   tournament title Tuesday night with a stirring 73-64 victory over   Notre Dame   before 10,202 at the XL Center . Moore was voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "But I told Stefanie she was my most valuable player and I must have hugged her eight times," Moore said." It's a great thing for kids to be able to be around role models and to feel invested in their success. It's also wonderful that people who have achieved so much give back and don't forget that there are kids looking up to them. Being around the...

Addie coached GraceAnne's team last June and has worked with Grace the last two years at Princeton Camp! PRINCETON, N.J. -- In a year when the Princeton women’s basketball program was focused on repeats and streaks – back-to-back Ivy League titles, back-to-back NCAA appearances, a 14-0 home record, and a season-best 10 straight wins to end the regular season – one Tiger achieved a first for the Princeton program. Senior guard Addie Micir (Newton, Pa.) was unanimously named the 201011 Ivy League Player of the Year, as voted on by the League’s eight head coaches. She is the first Tiger to ever receive the honor and the first unanimous Player of the Year since Harvard’s Hana Peljto in 2003. PLAYER OF THE YEAR Micir was key to the Tigers’ success this season, leading the squad with 12.1 points and 3.29 assists per game. The sharpshooter led all Ivy players with 74 three-pointers (2.64 per game) and tied for the League-best three-point field goal percentage (46.8). One of three ...

Congratulations Coach Banghart, Coach Moore and Coach Flores! Congratulations to all the players and especially to Megan Griffith , thanks for all you do for GraceAnne! PRINCETON, N.J. (3/5/11) - The Princeton women's basketball team is the 2011 Ivy League Champion and is the first team to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament after a 68-59 win over Harvard on Saturday, March 5 at Jadwin Gym in front of a crowd of more than 2,000. This is the Tigers' ninth Ivy League championship and second straight. Princeton is 23-4 overall and 12-1 in the league “Winning an Ivy title is a culmination of so much effort,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “And to get to enjoy it in front of that many people on Senior Night it’s a memory we won’t quickly forget. We knew the target was on our back this year given our success last year but we really focused on ourselves and it takes a true team effort to win a title and that’s what we had all season long. Krystal and Addie came in with the...