MIAMI, Fla. - As All-Star games go, this was a Monet and those doing the brushing and stroking for the West squad were many.
Five players scored 10 or 11 points, including co-Most Valuable Player Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (Williams HS, Alexandria, Va.) as the West painted a win on the East for the fourth time in five years with a 69-68 victory in the eighth McDonald’s All-American Girls game Wednesday at BankUnited Center on the campus of the University of Miami.
The game was as intense as this battle for loose ball by West's Eliza Pierre (left) and Erica Wheeler
Photo courtesy of McDonald's (Henny Ray Abrams).
University of Connecticut-bound Kelly Faris (Heritage Christian, Plainfield, Ind.) made two free throws but missed a third with 1.0 seconds remaining that would have tied the game for the East, which got a game-high 18 points by Co-MVP Skylar Diggins (Washington, South Bend, Ind.) and 10 each by Kelsey Bone (Dulles, Sugarland, Texas) and TaShauna Rodgers (King’s Fork, Suffolk, Va.).
Ruffin-Pratt had 10 points and 10 rebounds, but according to West coach Dave Power DeNesha Stallworth (11 points), Taber Spani (11 points), Christina Marinacci (11 points, five rebounds) or Gennifer Brandon (10 points, five rebounds) could have just as easily won the award.
“For an All-Star team the girls were remarkably unselfish and really showed a lot of heart,” Power said. “Even though they say it really doesn’t matter who wins or loses, but since they keep score and have referees why not? This feels much better than a loss.”
The win was satisfying to Power also because he lost two post players weeks before the game – 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner (school district policy) and 6-4 Stephanie Holzer (broken foot during state finals).
That didn’t bode well going against the rugged inside presence of Bone (6-foot-5, 210 pounds), McDonald’s National Player of the Year who earlier in the day committed to South Carolina, Cokie Reed (6-4, 200) and Joslyn Tinkle (6-3, 190).
The much bigger East squad had a feast, swatting away the shots from the smallish West, recording a startling 17 blocks, five by Tinkle (Big Sky HS, Missoula, Mont.) and four by Reed (Midway HS, Hewitt, Texas)..
"We talked about head fakes during practice," Power said. "But we found a way any way."
Said Tinkle, who is headed to Stanford: "I would have traded a couple of those blocks for a win."
The West scrapped in waves and took four nine-point leads – the largest of the game – in the first half, the last being 27-18 with six minutes left in the half.
“But I never felt easy,” Power said. “They have some players over there (the East) who are extremely explosive – Diggins, Rodgers – and the rest.”
Indeed, the East rattled off a 12-2 run finished off with a pretty spin move and lay-up by Jasmine Hassell (Wilson Central, Lebanon, Tenn.) to go up 28-27. Marinacci responded with two free throws, Reed powered in a putback, but Monique Oliver (Long Beach Poly, Calif.) gave the West a 31-30 halftime lead with an uncontested layup after a nice feed from Tierra Rogers (Sacred Heart Cathedral, San Francisco).
The second-half was a see-saw affair but it looked like the West took control following a 3-pointer from Marinacci (Foothill HS, Santa Ana, Calif.), a 6-2 shooting guard, and three free throws by Spani (Metro Academy, Lee’s Summit, Mo.), to go up 67-60 with 1:19 to play.
"That 3-pointer by (Marinacci) gave us just enough cushion to pull this out," Power said. "That was a big shot."
Said Marinacci, a USC signee: "Games like this is why I play basketball. There's so many good players and you can only get better."
But Diggins, an impressive 5-9 guard headed to Notre Dame, carried the East with a 3-pointer, steal and a three-point play in a matter of seven seconds, to cut the lead to 67-66 with 55.9 seconds remaining.
There were four turnovers over the next 40 seconds, but a layup by Brandon (Chatsworth HS, Sylmar, Calif.) with 14.1 seconds left gave the West some breathing room.
But on the final sequence and scramble, Faris was well off on a 3-pointer but was fouled by Tayler Hill (Minneapolis South, Minn.) with 1.0 seconds left. The 77-percent foul shooter swished the first two and just before the referee was to give her the ball for her third shot, Bower made a couple substitutions.
Battle of No. 4s, Diggsin (left) and Ruffin-Pratt share MVP.
Photo courtesy of McDonald's (Henny Ray Abrams).
Faris had to step away from the line and when she went back her last shot bounced off the back iron, Hill got the rebound and the West celebrated.
Actually both teams did.
“I think the fans got their money’s worth,” Diggins said. “The game had a good flow, it was tight all the way and it was decided by a point.
"I think at the end we showed so much heart because no one wanted to give in. We turned it into an amazing game the last four minutes.
"But overall, they were the better team tonight."
Diggins said Faris was dejected but fine after the game. The standout guard led Heritage Christian to four straight state titles and she played a superb all-around game with team highs in rebounds (seven), assists (three) and steals (three).
"She's fine," Diggins said. "There was a series of events before that that decided the game. It just happened to come down to one free throw at the end."
It was somewhat of déjà vu for Diggins, who brought Washington back for a double-digit deficit in the last two minutes to lose 71-69 to Ben Davis (Indianapolis) in the Indiana 4A state title game.
Both teams came in undefeated in that game ranked No. 1 and 2 nationally in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25.
“At least we didn’t get beat on a buzzer beater,” Diggins said with a grin. She referred to a last-second shot by Davis sophomore Bria Goss that beat Washington. “No, this was much different. None of felt any pressure and just came out, had fun and put on a good show.”
Neither team shot very well, the West was actually a paltry 29 percent (25 of 86) compared to 33 percent for the East (25 of 75). The West held an edge in rebounds (64-54) and steals (18-12) and forced 22 turnovers to 21 for the winners.
The teams shot almost identically on 3-pointers (7 of 21 for the West to 7 of 20 for the East). The free throw line might have been the deciding factor as the West shot 80 percent (12 of 15) and the East was 61 (11 of 18).
“It’s pretty amazing you put so many kids together and have such an even game,” Power said. “That’s one I’ll remember for a long time.”
It was memorable because of his team's unselfishness he said.
"It was a real credit to them," he said.. "They didn't know me or my coaches. It could have been all about show time and showcasing just their talents. Instead, they decided to showcase the team."
Marinacci said the West just jelled from the start.
"I'm just so thankful for this experience," she said. "It's just a great way to end a high school career. I had the time of my life."
West 69, East 68
West 31 38 - 69
East 30 38 - 68
WEST
Tayler Hill 1-6 0-0 3, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt 5-15 0-0 10, China Crosby 1-5 0-0 2, Taber Spani 3-12 3-4 11, Monique Oliver 2-13 0-0 4, Christina Marinacci 3-7 2-2 11, Eliza Pierre 1-2 1-2 3, Tierra Rogers 1-7 2-2 4, Gennifer Brandon 3-8 4-5 10, DeNesha Stallworth 5-11 0-0 11. Totals 25-86 12-15 69.
EAST
Dara Taylor 0-3 0-0 0, Skylar Diggins 6-13 4-5 18, Kelsey Bone 5-15 0-0 10, Markel Walker 1-3 2-2 4, Kelly Faris 1-4 2-3 4, Erica Wheeler 1-5 0-0 3, Jasmine Hassell 3-4 0-0 6, TaShauna Rodgers 3-9 1-2 10, Destiny Williams 0-2 1-2 1, Morgan Stroman 1-2 1-4 3, Joslyn Tinkle 3-7 0-0 7, Cokie Reed 1-8 0-0 2. Totals 25-75 11-18 68.
3-point goals: West 7-21 (Hill 1-3, Ruffin-Pratt 0-3, Crosby 0-3, Spani 2-5, Oliver 0-1, Marinacci 3-5, Stallworth 1-1), East 7-20 (Taylor 0-3, Diggins 2-5, Wheeler 1-4, Rodgers 3-6, Tinkle 1-2). Rebounds: West 64 (Ruffin-Pratt 10), East 54 (Faris 7). Assists: West 14 (Pierre 5), East 9 (Faris 3). Total fouls: West 16, East 15. Turnovers: West 21, East 22.
