The Utica Lady Knicks Travel Basketball program is hosting it's 11th annual AAU Tournament this weekend at eight sites around Central New York. Forty five girls travel basketball teams from all over New York State will be vying for championships in five age divisions from 11u thru 16u.
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This morning at New York Mills High School's famed Beekman Gym, the Utica Lady Knicks and the Rome Spangle hooked for a 9:00 a.m. contest in the opening round of 15u division play.
The Lady Knicks are coached by Barb Alvanos of New Hartford and Andrea Dziekan of New York Mills and feature players from New Hartford, Herkimer, New York Mills and Whitesboro, with most of the roster having played summer basketball together since fifth grade. The Spangle, coached by Tom Nelson, features players from Rome, Holland Patent and Clinton.
(Utica's "T" Alvanos (left) and Rome's Fallon Reinold (right) battle for a loose ball during first half action.)
The Lady Knicks used a relentless fast break and some nifty passing down low to build a 20-7 lead with 8:22 remaining in the first half.
At that point, Coach Nelson called a timeout and switched his defense to a man to man press, which created some confusion for the Knicks and some resultant turnovers. The Spangle cut into the Lady Knicks lead and pulled within 28-19 at the half.
As the AAU Basketball season begins to unfold in gyms around the state and beyond, these female athletes have to juggle a whole bunch of things, from high school spring sports like lacrosse, softball and golf, as well as SAT tests and final exams in order to find time to shine on the hardwood.
(Lady Knicks Point Guard "T" Alvanos sets up the offense.)
"The kids look forward to AAU for the social side as well as the basketball," Barb Alvanos told MHTS. "I give them a lot of credit, juggling different sports and school as well as basketball," she added.
The two Lady Knicks coaches keep pretty busy schedules themselves, as Barb Alvanos is an assistant basketball coach for New Hartford High School and Andrea Dziekan is the head coach of the New York Mills Marauders girls basketball team.
A great example of juggling today was demonstrated by Rome's Fallon Reinold and Aubrey Kotary who left the gym part way through the second half in order to get to The Tom Maurer Memorial Softball Tournament with their Holland Patent teammates. Talk about dedication!
(Rome's Maya Nelson (45) goes up strong as Utica's Cassie Brownstein (14) elevates to defend.)
The second half of this opening round game saw the Lady Knicks dominate the Spangle at both ends of the court. Theano "T" Alvanos ran the point like a field general, dishing the ball with precision to teammates Cassie Brownstein (Notre Dame), Katie Steates (New Hartford) and Ashley Chanatry (New Hartford), to build a 43-25 lead with just 9:05 to go in the game.
The Spangle managed just six total points in the second half and the Utica Lady Knicks won this one going away, by a score of 55-27.
After the game, Rome coach Tom Nelson explained that while the AAU season is competitive to be sure, the Spangle, which have been around for 11 years now, are in it to develop their basketball skills and improve on the fundamentals of the game. "We pride ourselves on getting the kids ready to play at the next level, getting them the skills necessary to play for their school teams," he explained.
The Lady Knicks were led offensively by Ashley Chanatry with 13 points, while Cassie Brownstein added 12 and "T" Alvanos chipped in 8. Fallon Reinold scored 10 for Rome, while teammate Angela McLean chipped in 9 in the losing effort.
Play continues at all eight local gyms today, tonight and tomorrow morning, with Championship games slated for Sunday afternoon.
For more on this year's event click here
Be sure to visit a game to root on your favorite team. Sunday's finals will be hosted at SUNYIT.
(Utica's Ashley Chanatry follows thru on a first half three point attempt.)
Rome Spangle
Coach :Tom Nelsen
Jamie Donovan
Fallon Reinold
Maya Nelson
Tanya Lombardo
Angela McLean
Autumn Swavely
Aubrey Kotary
Ashleigh Crossman
Utica Lady Knicks
Coaches: Barb Alvanos; Andrea Dziekan
Katies Steates
Lexie Raynard
Sarah Alvanos
Samantha Carswell
Cassie Brownstein
Carly Dziekan
Theano Alvanos
Ashley Chanatry
Jen Deuel
