2-26-00...The clash between Erica Valek and Shereka Wright materialized on Friday night
with the favorite coming away the winner. Coronado fell to the Lady Bulldogs of
Copperas Cove 72-60 in the regional semifinal of the Region I-5A tournament.
The key to Coronado's success this season has been their ability to force
turnovers from their pressure defense, a defense that has forced as many as
40 turnovers in back-to-back games this season. At times it worked against
Copperas Cove, but the aggressive defense forced Valek to sit for periods of
time because of foul trouble. Valek eventually fouled out with 22 points.
Wright finished with a game-high 42 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 24-of-31
shots from the freethrow line. Coronado's season ends with a record of 27-6,
while Copperas Cove moves on to the Region I final against nemesis Mansfield
(33-2) today (Saturday) at 1:00pm. Complete game summary: [Lubbock Online]
2-24-00...Coronado (27-5) has earned a matchup with Texas No.1 Copperas Cove
by defeating Abilene Cooper 64-58. Next game: 2/25/00 vs. #1 Copperas Cove.
2-21-00...All fifteen players on the Coronado team played in a
87-51 romp over Odessa. Valek finished with a team-leading 19 points, seven rebounds,
four assists and seven steals. The team got a scare when Valek turned her ankle
and had to be helped off the floor with five minutes remaining. She later returned to
the game and scored. Coronado then faced El Paso Hanks (33-5) on Friday, defeating
them 62-50. Coronado also defeated Hanks in last year's tournament by forcing
20 turnovers with relentless pressure defense. If both Coronado and Copperas Cove
continue to win, the two teams will soon meet in Region I play. Next game: 2/22/00
vs. Abilene Cooper (21-9)
2-5-00...There is a lot of security in your game when you can have a bad
shooting performance ut still come away with a 26 point effort. Erika
shot 9 of 24 from the field, but was a perfect 8 for 8 from the line to
get those 26 points. She also led the team with 8 rebounds in the 66-57
victory over Monterey. Game summary - [Lubbock Online]
1-29-00...Erika Valek had 24 points, including three 3-point goals, leading
Coronado past Tascosa 81-64. Coronado used a 21 point first quarter to gain
the lead and a 29 point fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Coronado is 22-4 overall, 4-1 in their district, which puts them at risk of
losing a first round bye in the state tournament beginning the second week of
February.
01-20-99...It was a little less than a month ago when Coronado beat
Monterey by twelve points at the Caprock tournament. Yesterday, it
was Monterey beating Coronado by twelve points, 85-73. Valek, who
came into the game averaging 26.6 points for #4 Coronado, still got
her 27 points. It just took her 29 attempts to do it this time.
Coronado is now 20-4, ranked 4th in the state of Texas.
01-04-00...Coronado defeated the top ranked team in Class 1A, 72-56
behind 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocked shots
from Valek. Coronado extended their winning streak to seven games and
are now 18-2 on the season.
12-30-99...Tenacious defense was the key in taking the championship at the
Caprock Tournament this week. Coronado defeated Caprock 62-50 in the final
game, after also defeating Frenship 93-53 the night before. In both games
Coronado forced 40 turnovers on their opponents. In the Frenship game,
Coronado was able to force almost as many turnovers (40) as the total number
of field goals (48) Frenship attempted in the entire game.
12-11-99...Erika Valek scored 34 points as Coronado rallied past Arlington
Sam Houston 65-61 Friday at the Arlington Girls Classic. The Lady Mustangs
(10-1) advance to a championship semifinal game against Dallas Bishop
Lynch.
11-15-99...Purdue has received Valek's LOI, officially making her a
Boilermaker. "Erika is the best pure point guard in the country,"
Curry says. "She is a born leader and she has a great knowledge and
understanding of the definition of what a point guard is. She will
give us immediate help on the perimeter and will be part of an
outstanding backcourt throughout her career at Purdue."
11-10-99...Purdue has picked up the commitment of Erika Valek over hometown
Texas Tech. Valek had narrowed her list to Purdue and Texas Tech, and claims
to have been leaning Purdue's way since last Thursday. After a weekend visit
to see a Texas Tech scrimmage, she knew Purdue was the school for her. A
couple of interesting articles about her decision. The first article from
LubbockOnline, talks about Curry's recruitment of her and the fact Purdue
did not show interest until Curry came to Purdue. The second article, from
the Journal and Courier, discusses some of the difficulties she has and will
experience from having everyone around her wanting her to go to the hometown
university. Valek is rated as the 4th best player in the Class of 2000 by
All Star Girls Report, and is regarded as the best pure point in the class.
10-2-99...Despite the recent verbal commitment from point guard Cherrise
Graham, Coronado senior point Erika Valek is still scheduled to make an
official visit to Purdue October 22. Whether she follows through on that
visit will depend on how things go at Texas Tech, the hometown school
she will pay a visit on October 15. A hobby listed in her Nike Camp bio
was spending time with her family. If that is the case, Purdue may not
get a chance to have her on campus after the Tech visit. Another thing
in Texas Tech's favor is the recent verbal commitment from Valek's AAU
teammate Natalie Ritchie from Amarillo. The two have been friends since
they were little girls, and also play on the same AAU team. Valek considers
Ritchie one of her best friends, but has been used to playing against her
in Texas state high school competition. The two were co-winners of this past
year's Texas Distict 3-5A MVP award. If she goes along as scheduled, her
final official visit will be at Texas on October 29. For some quotes from
her coach, check out this article from Lubbock Online.
7-15-99...Erika Valek, a 5'6 point guard from Lubbock Texas rumored to be
getting the attention of Coach Curry, has been extended an invitation to attend the
Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis. Click here for an article from the
Lubbock Online.
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