Adidas Select USA Basketball

2016 is the inaugural year for the girls to send an Adidas Select USA team to Europe to compete against teams in Italy. I was fortunate to be able to come with the team to observe and report on the games and their travel here in Italy. The team consists of nine girls from the class of 2017 and two coaches. All the players participating are part of the Adidas Gauntlet circuit and are chosen from Adidas teams from around the country. 

The players representing the team this year are Jadyn Bush, Victoria Crawford, Alayshia Dailey, N'Dea Flye, Lauren Heard, Cara Judkins, Trinity Oliver, Michaela Onyenwere and Lauren Snipes. The coaches are Steve Klees, representing the Northwest Blazers, and Robert Sanchez, representing the New Mexico Heat Elite. The team arrived in Italy on June 1 and will return to the states on June 6. The team will play three games against teams from Italy and will spend one day in Venice sightseeing this historical city in Italy.

Game One - Adidas Select USA vs. Ponzano, Italy
Game one of the series was on Thursday, June 2 and pitted the Adidas Select USA team vs. Ponzano Italy. The game started off a little slow with the Adidas Select team needing some time to get rid of the nervous energy and to adjust to the rules of FIBA, whicg are slightly different than the rules we play with in the United States. The game consisted of four, ten-minute quarters with a 24-second shot clock. It took the entire first quarter for the team to adjust to the shot clock. Ponzano had a size advantage on the Adidas Select USA team and also got some good three point shooting from Mary Sbrissa. After the first period Ponzano had a small lead on the Adidas Select USA team of 20-18.

In period number two, the Adidas Select USA team dominated the quarter even though the score did not indicate it. The Adidas Select USA team came out the second half attacking the basket and applied full court pressure for most of the quarter. The lead was as much as 13 points at one time. The Ponzano team closed the gap with a 12-2 run toward the end of the quarter. The Adidas Select USA team was a little tired toward the end of the quarter due to the long quarters and only playing with eight players. Victoria Crawford was not able to play due to an injury that she got just weeks before the trip. Michaela Onyenwere and Trinity Oliver led the attack for the Adidas Select USA team the first half. The half ended with the Adidas Select USA team being up by a score of 44-41. 

The Adidas Select USA team came out for the second half again with full court pressure on the Ponzano team. Dominating the quarter with this full court pressure allowed the Adidas Select USA team to open up a lead, which would have been larger if not for the Ponzano team staying in the game on free throws due to the Adidas Select USA's aggressive play. FIBA rules allow a team to shoot two free throws on the fifth foul of a quarter. Three players were in foul trouble after the end of the third quarter for Adidas Select USA. The Adidas Select USA team had widened their lead after three quarters 63-54. 

The fourth quarter was much like the third quarter, the difference being the Adidas Select USA team got to the free throw line and cashed in. The team ended up hitting 21-31 from the free throw line. The Ponzano team out rebounded the Adidas Select USA team 52-41. Size was a big factor in keeping this game as close as it was. The only other category that Ponzano dominated was the 3-point line. The FIBA 3-point line is a few feet back from the 3-point line used in high school and college women's basketball in the United States. The Adidas Select USA team was short on almost every shot from 3-point range only hitting 1-13 from the 3-point line. Hustle and defense was a large determination of Adidas Select USA's success in this game. 

The final score in this first round game was 76-65. The leading scorers for the Adidas Select USA team were Michaela Onyenwere with 22 points and Trinity Oliver with 11 points. The leading scorer for the Pozano Italy team was Mary Sbrissa with 22 points and Giorgia Schiavon with 15 points. Mary Sbrissa led Ponzano Italy with 15 rebounds and Trinity Oliver led the Adidas Select USA team with 8 rebounds. The biggest statistical factor in the game was turnovers. The Ponzano Italy team had 33 turnovers to the Adidas select USA teams 15 turnovers. I am looking forward to watching this team play its next two games.  

Statistical Sheet from Game 1


Game Two - Adidas Select USA vs. Umana Reyer Vevezia, Italy
The second game of this three game series was on Friday, June 3. The Adidas Select USA team jumped out ahead quickly in this game with great defensive pressure and running the floor. There was a lot of scoring in the first quarter by both teams. Both teams were playing very physical and playing hard on both ends. After the first quarter the Adidas Select USA team led 23-19.

In the second quarter, the Adidas Select USA team really turned up the speed of the game to the point that Reyer just could not keep up. Trininty Oliver for Adidas Team USA led the charge in this quarter by scoring and grabbing big rebounds. Lauren Heard added a couple of nice 3 point shots and Michaela Oyenwere scored on mutiple full court coast to coast drives. Trinity Oliver ended the half with 15 points and Lauren Heard had 12 for a combination of 27 of the 48 points. The Adidas Select USA team led at the half 48-31.

The third quarter was much like the second with the Adidas Select USA turning up the tempo of the game. Michaela Oyenwere went off in this quarter leading the charge and scoring the majority of the teams points. She was pretty much unstoppable again going coast to coast and scoring at will. Trinity Oliver was again instrumental in this quarter as well pulling down rebound after rebound. At the end of three quarters the Adidas Select USA team had extended the lead to 20 points. The Adidas Select USA went up after three quarters 64-44.

The fourth quarter belonged solely to Adidas Select USA. The speed of the game was just too much for Reyer as the Adidas Select USA team built up leads as much as 30 twice in the fourth quarter. I will give this Reyer team a lot of credit for working so hard the entire game. They took the lead down from 30 to 16 at one time by fighting hard and never giving up. The Adidas select USA team won this game in US fashion by a score of 82-59. Michaela Oyenwere led the scoring with 25 points, with Trinity Oliver adding 23 points, and Lauren Heard with 15 points. Trinity Oliver again led the team in rebounding with 14 rebounds. Game three will be on Sunday, June 5.

Game Three - Adidas Select USA vs. Udine, Italy  
This game could be called the Battle of Udine. This was a very physical game from the tip off. Being the third game in four days was definitely affecting the Adidas Select USA team. The legs were a little gone, the fatigue had set in, but the heart in these young ladies were stronger than the heart of a lion. This was a typical team from the USA playing for the pride of their country. 

The first quarter was much like most of the game with the lead going back and forth from the tip off to the end. This was one of those games that took all players to help win. The Adidas Select USA team was in foul trouble from the first quarter on. It was an obstacle that both coaches had to deal with the entire game. The coaching staff did a great job rotating players in and out to keep the players fresh. After period one the Adidas Select USA team led 17-15. 

Period two was a typical second period for this team as the Adidas Select USA team came out with even more pressure defense. The coaching staff wanted to speed up the tempo of the game to push Udine into some turnovers. The score went back and forth for most of the quarter but a small run toward the end of the quarter allowed the Adidas select USA team to open up a seven-point lead and went into the half with a 38-31 lead. 

The third period was a tough quarter for the Adidas Select USA team. One of the team’s top players, Michaela Onyenwere, the leading scorer for the team, got into foul trouble early into the period. The other seven players knew that they had to pick up the slack. This was a hard fought quarter for both teams. The Udine team was very physical and the Adidas Select USA team was getting no help form the officials. One player had already had a tooth knocked out with a few other players acquiring busted lips. The momentum seemed to be swinging toward the Udine team. The Adidas Select USA team lead had been cut to just one point, 55-54. 

The fourth quarter was truly a great battle. Each team left it all on the floor. Michaela ended up fouling out about half way through the forth quarter. Trinity Oliver who was the teams top rebounder and was scoring as well, played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls. The team could not afford to loose Oliver. The score was back and forth with the lead changing hands about four times in the fourth quarter. The scoring for this team was very balanced in this game, but it was N'Dea Flye and Jadyn Bush that led the charge in the last few minutes with Jadyn scoring the last seven points for the Adidas Select USA team. Jadyn Bush ended the game with 19 points and led all scoring for the team. Michaela Onyenwere had 15 points, Trinity Oliver 12, N'Dea Flye 12, Lauren Heard 9 and Alayshia Dailey had 5 for Adidas select USA. The Battle at Aldine was truly a battle for both teams. Adidas Select USA held on to win the battle 72-67. 

Click Here to view Pictures from the 2016 Adidas Select USA trip