Date: 7/31/2005
Author: Bob_Richards
© Old Gold Free Press Columnists
This week, 24 teams from across the US squared off in the Nike National Tournament in North Augusta, SC. Some of this summer's top traveling teams met to see who could put together a string of wins in pool play to land a spot in the championship bracket, then run off three games to win the title.The Family, featuring a host of players familiar to Purdue fans, did just that. The Family went undefeated to take the 2005 Nike National Championship. Here's a rundown of how they did it.
Game 1: The Family 66 - NE Crusader 37
The Family bench nearly outscored the entire NE Crusader team with 31 points of the Family's total 66-point effort. Ashley Barlow had a game-high 23 points and Ta'Shia Phillips had a game-high eight boards. The Family held the NE Crusader team to just eight second-half points and 1-of-15 from the perimeter to cruise to the win.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#20 Barlow 23 3 1 0 1 2 1
#32 Fairbanks 9 4 0 1 1 0 2
#15 Gray 6 3 1 0 1 0 1
#52 Phillips 6 8 0 3 0 2 0
#21 Houston 6 4 0 0 0 0 0
#03 Marshall 5 1 0 0 2 0 0
#24 Jernigan 4 5 1 0 2 0 1
#42 Harris 3 4 2 0 1 0 2
#10 Malone 2 1 1 0 3 0 4
#12 Sturtevant 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
#23 Marsh 0 0 1 0 2 1 3
#11 Oswalt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#25 Snider 0 1 0 0 1 1 3
#44 Bell 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 66 34 7 4 14 7 17
Game 2: The Family 80 - Fairfax Stars 61The first major test of the Nike Nationals went over easily as The Family ran away from the Fairfax Stars in the first half and held their lead for the win. Ashley Barlow again led The Family with 25 points, followed by Denise Fairbanks with 10 and West Lafayette's (IN) Michelle Oswalt and Rebecca Gray with eight a piece. The Family saw offensive production from 11 players, with their bench contributing 38 total points. The Family also won the battle of the boards, out rebounding Fairfax 31-22 with 12-of-14 players grabbing at least one board.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#20 Barlow 25 3 1 0 1 4 1
#32 Fairbanks 10 3 1 0 1 0 3
#11 Oswalt 8 1 0 0 0 0 2
#15 Gray 8 1 1 0 0 1 3
#52 Phillips 6 7 0 3 0 1 1
#23 Marsh 6 3 1 0 1 0 3
#24 Jernigan 4 2 0 0 1 0 2
#10 Malone 4 2 1 0 1 2 4
#42 Harris 4 2 1 1 0 1 2
#03 Marshall 3 1 2 1 1 2 1
#25 Snider 2 2 0 0 0 0 3
#12 Sturtevant 0 4 2 0 0 0 0
#21 Houston 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
#44 Bell 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 80 31 11 5 7 11 26
Game 3: The Family 83 - Spokane Stars 60Meredith Marsh and Dee Dee Jernigan had breakout games in the 83-60 win over Spokane. Marsh had a game-high 14 points while Jernigan chipped in 13. Harris had a game-high seven rebounds. The Family hit a blistering 8-of-12 from the perimeter and as a team had just three turnovers.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#23 Marsh 14 1 1 0 1 0 2
#24 Jernigan 13 1 1 0 0 1 4
#15 Gray 12 0 1 0 0 1 2
#52 Phillips 9 2 1 0 0 0 5
#42 Harris 9 7 1 2 1 0 1
#20 Barlow 8 2 0 0 0 2 3
#03 Marshall 5 0 0 0 1 1 0
#11 Oswalt 5 3 0 0 0 0 0
#10 Malone 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
#12 Sturtevant 3 0 0 0 0 1 0
#25 Snider 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
#21 Houston 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
#44 Bell 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Total 83 17 5 3 3 7 23
Game 4: The Family 102 - Carolina Elite 55When Michelle Oswalt scores 17 points it tells me the game was in high gear throughout. The speedy small forward slasher helped The Family eclipse the century mark, shooting as a team 74 shot attempts. Purdue recruit Fakhara Malone led all scorers with a game-high 22 points and three assists, followed by Oswalt's 17 and Gray's 15. The Family's three top scorers came off the bench as the team's starters scored just 24 of the team's 102 total points.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#10 Malone 22 2 3 1 0 1 2
#11 Oswalt 17 3 2 0 1 1 1
#15 Gray 15 3 2 1 1 0 1
#20 Barlow 11 2 0 0 1 0 0
#52 Phillips 10 8 1 1 0 1 3
#42 Harris 6 2 3 0 1 0 1
#03 Marshall 5 1 2 0 0 1 0
#21 Houston 4 7 0 0 1 1 0
#44 Bell 4 0 0 0 0 0 1
#23 Marsh 4 1 2 0 1 2 2
#25 Snider 4 3 0 0 0 1 1
#12 Sturtevant 0 5 1 0 0 0 2
#24 Jernigan 0 3 1 0 1 0 3
Total 102 40 17 3 7 8 17
Game 5: The Family 70 - Texas Express 65Ta'Shia Phillips led The Family to a 70-65 win with 16 points and eight rebounds shooting 77.8 percent from the filed. Phillips got the start along with Fakhara Malone (12 points, 4 rebounds), Lauren Sturtevant (8 points), Ashley Barlow (5 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals) and Beth Marshall (2 points, 2 assists). Rebecca Gray came off the bench with nine points and two assists, and Amber Harris added eight points, one rebound, two steals and three blocked shots.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#52 Phillips 16 8 1 0 0 0 0
#10 Malone 12 4 1 0 1 3 2
#15 Gray 9 0 2 0 1 1 0
#12 Sturtevant 8 0 0 0 0 0 1
#42 Harris 8 1 0 3 0 2 2
#20 Barlow 5 1 1 0 0 2 2
#24 Jernigan 4 5 0 0 1 3 3
#32 Fairbanks 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
#23 Marsh 2 2 1 0 2 3 2
#21 Houston 2 2 0 1 2 0 2
#03 Marshall 2 0 2 0 0 0 0
#11 Oswalt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#25 Snider 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
#44 Bell 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Total 70 24 8 4 7 14 16
Game 6: The Family 60 - Boo Williams 53Amber Harris posted a double-double in leading The Family to victory over Boo Williams. She filled her stat line with 22 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Malone was the only other player in double figures with 15 points and two rebounds. Boo Williams shot just 2-of-19 (.105) from the perimeter, shot under 50-percent from the line, and only saw five points from their bench, compared to a deeply talented Family roster that saw 27 points come from their bench players.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#42 Harris 22 10 2 2 3 2 3
#10 Malone 15 2 0 0 1 1 1
#20 Barlow 8 3 1 0 0 1 4
#24 Jernigan 8 8 3 0 2 1 4
#23 Marsh 3 2 1 0 1 0 2
#25 Snider 2 3 0 0 1 0 0
#52 Phillips 2 6 0 0 0 1 1
#03 Marshall 0 1 3 0 1 1 0
#15 Gray 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
#32 Fairbanks 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
#21 Houston 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
#12 Sturtevant 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 60 37 10 2 10 7 15
Game 7: The Family 67 - Georgia Metros 60Hamilton Southeastern High's (IN) Beth Marshall led The Family is a starting role with 16 points, two rebounds and three assists against the Georgia Metros. The Metros' all-american Maya Moore got her points, but shot a tournament low 33-percent from the floor against The Family. The team as a whole did not do much better, shooting 35-percent for the game off 60 shot attempts. In contrast, The Family hit 50-percent from the field, 40-percent from the perimeter and 68-percent from the freethrow line. The Family's bench again outperformed their opponents bench, 28-16.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#03 Marshall 16 2 3 0 1 1 0
#42 Harris 12 4 1 0 4 1 1
#10 Malone 11 2 4 0 0 5 3
#52 Phillips 9 3 0 1 0 0 6
#15 Gray 6 0 2 0 2 1 0
#20 Barlow 5 4 0 0 2 0 6
#23 Marsh 4 1 1 0 2 0 1
#24 Jernigan 2 4 0 1 0 1 3
#12 Sturtevant 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
#25 Snider 0 1 2 0 1 2 1
#21 Houston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#32 Fairbanks 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Total 67 23 13 2 12 11 21
Game 8: The Family 67 - Spokane Stars 57Notre Dame recruit Ashley Barlow led The Family to the championship of the Nike Nationals with 22 points and four rebounds, followed by both Harris (18 points) and Jernigan (10 points) in double-figures. Ta'Shia Phillips had a team-high seven rebounds. The Family hit 55-percent from the field compared to Spokane's 42-percent, and got eight more chances at the line than Spokane. Again The Family put tough defense on their opponents big hitter, Angie Bjorklund, taking her tournament 63-percent shooting percentage and reducing it to just 46-percent for the game.
Player PTS RB AS BK TO ST PF
#20 Barlow 22 4 0 0 3 2 4
#42 Harris 18 3 1 2 2 0 1
#24 Jernigan 10 4 0 2 1 1 2
#10 Malone 8 4 1 0 2 2 0
#52 Phillips 4 7 1 2 1 0 2
#15 Gray 3 1 2 0 0 0 0
#12 Sturtevant 2 1 0 0 0 0 1
#03 Marshall 0 1 2 0 2 1 1
#11 Oswalt 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
#32 Fairbanks 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
#21 Houston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#25 Snider 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
#23 Marsh 0 0 1 0 1 0 2
Total 67 26 8 6 13 7 15
For the eight game tournament, Ashley Barlow led The Family in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game. Harris was second in scoring with 10.3, followed by Malone with 9.6, Phillips with 7.8, the North Carolina-bound Gray with 7.4, and Dee Dee Jernigan with 5.6.
