National Highlight Reel: Elizabeth Williams is a shot blocking machine

Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) girls basketball coach Darnell Dozier still laughs when he recalls a video taken of Elizabeth Williams when she was in sixth grade.

"She looked just like a long giraffe," he told MaxPreps. "Her father gave it to me (when she was a freshman). I needed a laugh."

Early in her career, she was nicknamed "Spider."

Once she reached high school, however, she no longer was a laughing matter, because she has developed into one of the premier players in the country and one of the greatest ever produced in Virginia.



The 6-foot-3 senior solidified her legacy over the weekend when she led Princess Anne to the Group AAA state championship with a solid 65-39 victory over Stonewall Jackson (Manassas, Va.) by amassing 19 points, 19 rebounds and nine blocked shots.

Jami Frankenberry, who covered the game for the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, said Williams "was just dominating at both ends of the floor. She can really change a game. She's the best post player we've ever had (in the area)."

It was the second title in her brilliant four-year career, during which she scored 1,628 points and pulled down 1,205 rebounds. The Cavaliers finished with a 31-1 record and 24-game winning streak.

The Duke University recruit probably will be best remembered for her amazing shot blocking.

Boo Williams, who has been coaching youth basketball for 30 years, calls her "one of the best female players to come out of the state. She is a female version of Alonzo Mourning. She can dominate a game on defense like Alonzo."

Mourning, who starred at Indian River (Chesapeake, Va.), also was noted for his shot blocking (12 per game as a senior), which helped him earn National Player of the Year honors. Williams averaged between 5.3 and 6.9 blocks and between 10.7 and 11.8 rebounds during her career.



"That's why she came to play for us – because we are a defensive-minded team. That's all I think about," Dozier said. "She's the best player I've seen (in 18 years). I used to live in New Jersey and I've seen players from all over the country. I can't recall her ever fouling out of a game."

* St. Marys (W. Va.) senior Kelsea Fickiesen made a state-record 15 steals during a 76-29 rout of Greater Beckley Christian (Prosperity, W. Va.) in the Class A state quarterfinals.

* Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) senior Temi Fagbenle has been named Gatorade New Jersey Girls Basketball Player of the Year. The 6-4 native of London, England, who will attend Harvard University, averaged 18.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.9 blocks.

* North Marion (Farmington, W. Va.) defeated South Charleston (W. Va.), 71-62, to win its record-tying third consecutive Class AAA state title, finishing the year with a 25-0 record and 43-game winning streak.

* Junior forward Michelle Wright was poetry in motion on Saturday night. She poured in 40 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to lead the Poets of Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.) to an 80-62 victory over Northern (Accident, Md.) in the Class A state championship game.

* Holton (Kan.) won the battle of unbeatens with a 41-21 victory over Cheney (Kan.) in the Class 4A state title game. Cheney had won its previous 52 games.



* Superstar senior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis made a school record nine 3-point baskets as Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) routed Fairfax (Los Angeles), 79-25.

* Kendall Noble of Perry County Central (Hazard, Ky.) - one of the state's top juniors - suffered a torn ACL during the state tournament and soon will have surgery. The 5-10 standout averaged an impressive 20.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.3 steals and 5.6 assists.

* Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.) defeated Midwest City (Okla.) by a convincing 56-36 margin to win the Class 6A state title and end a 50-game winning streak. The winners drilled 28 free throws in 32 attempts.

Continue reading for boys basketball{PAGEBREAK}BOYS BASKETBALL: DAVE BLISS WINS STATE TITLE
In his first year at the high school level, former Division I college coach Dave Bliss guided Allen Academy (Bryan, Texas) to a 63-51 victory over Texas Institute For Men (Dallas) to win the Class 2A Texas Christian Athletic League state championship. Senior forward Trevar Mayon led the champs with 26 points and 13 rebounds while earning MVP honors. The Rams finished with a 20-12 record, winning 11 of their last 12 games.

Bliss told MaxPreps, "Coaching in college – because of the pressure to succeed – tends to be more about the coach. Coaching in high school is all about the kids and this is what it needs to be. If we lose track of this, we will miss out on one of our last opportunities to positively influence young people."

* Patterson (Baltimore) sophomore guard Aquille Carr is quickly becoming a local legend. According to Josh Barr of the Washington Post, the diminutive Carr already has been given such nicknames as The Computer, Aquille The Deal and The Crime Stopper. The latter name is quite meaningful, because Barr claims that when Carr is on the court, everyone comes to his game and, therefore, crime is greatly diminished on those occasions. Eight times this year, Patterson games were moved to Morgan State University to accommodate his fans.



* Cameron Biedscheid scored 41 points, but it wasn't enough as defending champion Cardinal Ritter (St. Louis, Mo.) was upset by Elsberry (Mo.), 80-79, in overtime during the Class 3 state quarterfinals.

* Mentor (Ohio) defeated Brush (Lyndhurst, Ohio), 76-67, behind senior guard Cole Krizancic's 41 points.

* Pendleton Heights (Ind.) junior Kellen Dunham scored a career-high 41 points during a 58-53 victory over Northrop (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

* Junior Andre Drummond had 19 points and 10 rebounds to earn Most Outstanding Player honors as he sparked St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Conn.) to a 90-74 victory over Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.) in the National Prep Championship finale.

* Bob Farrell, one of New Jersey's premier basketball coaches, has retired after 34 years at Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.). He won 777 games and a pair of Tournament of Champions titles. He will be succeeded by longtime assistant Kevin Williams.

* Indiana lost its No. 1 high school basketball historian when Herb Schwomeyer died at age 93. Schwomeyer, who played basketball under legendary Butler University coach Tony Hinkle, attended every state final from 1932-2004. He was a teacher, coach, college professor, author, referee and color commentator during his career.



Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}BASEBALL: LAKE HIGHLANDS WINS 57-0
Lake Highlands (Dallas), which had lost its first four games, crushed Samuell (Dallas), 57-0, in five innings. The Wildcats' run total is No. 4 in high school history. The record of 109 has stood since 1928. Lake Highlands batters connected safely 44 times in 68 at-bats. Michael Ketchmark led the onslaught with 8-for-9 and he drove in 11 runs. Surprisingly, there were no home runs. Samuell was held without a hit.

* Alhambra (Martinez, Calif.) right-hander Robert Stephenson already has pitched a pair of no-hitters, with 32 strikeouts and just two walks in 14 innings.

* Henry Owens struck out 16 while pitching Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to a 3-2 victory over Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.) in the finals of the Loara Tournament.

* With a fastball averaging around 95 mph, Owasso (Okla.) star Dylan Bundy fired a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts during a 7-0 victory over Winter Haven (Fla.).

SOFTBALL: BRANDT FIRES NO-HITTER
Pasco (Dade City, Fla.) pitcher Courtney Brandt hurled a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts during a 9-0 victory over Mitchell (New Port Richey, Fla.).

* Fort Worth Christian (Texas) senior pitcher Kayla English already has 248 strikeouts this spring. She has 1,368 career strikeouts, giving her a good shot at finishing second in Texas history.



HOCKEY: MINNESOTA HAS A CLASSIC
Eden Prairie (Minn.) outlasted Duluth East (Minn.), 3-2, in the first three-overtime Class 2A state title game. It was witnessed by a crowd of 15,078 and thousands more on television.

* Goalie Chase Schmittou stopped 47 shots to spark Roosevelt (Wyandotte, Mich.) to a 4-1 victory over Birmingham Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) in the Division 2 state championship game. The champs won despite being outshot, 48-27.

POTPOURRI
* Unheralded Ghierry Vanderkuyp, an athletic 6-1, 190-pound junior from Hialeah (Fla.), sparked South Florida Football Fire to a 28-21 victory over defending national champion South Florida Express to win the Badger Sports Elite 7-on-7 Tournament at the University of South Florida. The top four finishers qualified for the nationals in July.

* Grissom (Huntsville, Ala.) has two girls and one boy on its golf teams whose fathers are local golf pros. The players are senior Tyler McLelland and sophomores Sarah Robertson and Emma Clark.