Stars shine at Nike Nationals

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - Following a 14th place finish at the Junior National basketball tournament two weeks ago in Washington, D.C., the Spokane Stars went 2-3 in five games at the Nike Nationals tournament in North Augusta, S.C. from July 28 to July 31.

The Spokane Stars is a Nike sponsored select girl's basketball team comprised of 16-, 17- and 18-year-old girls from Washington and Idaho, Spokane Stars head coach Ron Adams said,.

Moses Lake High School girls basketball players Carly Noyes and Jordan Loera are members of the Spokane Stars team and performed well at the national tournament, Adams said.

"Both had great tournaments," he said. "Jordan made 13 3-pointers in the tournament, which is phenomenal."

Noyes finished the tournament with an average of 8.5 points and 9.1 rebounds.

Loera finished the event with 11.5 points and 4.2 assists per game.

Both Noyes and Loera start for the Spokane select basketball program.

The tournament included the top 24 Nike sponsored teams in the country, Adams said.

The Stars lost its first game of pool play 40-27 to the Georgia Metros.

The Stars could not recover in the second game, and lost to the Georgia-Lina 76ers 46-34.

After falling to 0-2 in pool play, the Stars lost to the West Coast Elite national team from California, Adams said.

"We didn't play very well," he said. "But that's a great team."

After losing three straight games in pool play, the Stars rebounded to defeat Texas 57-52.

The victory kept the Stars eligible for the elimination round of the tournament following pool play.

The Stars completed its five game pool play with a 55-38 victory over the Alabama Roadrunners.

Despite finishing with a 2-3 record in pool play, the Stars narrowly missed an opportunity to advance to the elimination round of the tournament, Adams said.

"We just missed getting out of pool play," he said. "We lost by a coin flip."

The Spokane Stars finished the 2008 season with a 38-6 record.