The East Bay Panthers Girls’ Basketball Team Wins 2006 AAU Pacific District Championship

East Bay Panthers girls basketball under-12 team takes first place in AAU Pacific District Championship Blue Division. Under-13 and under-10 teams take 3rd place positions.

Lafayette, CA, May 17, 2006 -- The East Bay Panthers AAU Basketball Club for girls was crowned the 2006 AAU Pacific District Champion when the under-12 team beat the 3XDoubleHoops 29 to 23 in the Blue Division championship. The tournament was held in Reno, Nevada on May 6 and 7, 2006. This huge tournament draws teams from across Northern California and Nevada and is the biggest event of the year for most clubs. Two other Easy Bay Panthers’ teams took title positions in the same championship tournament. The under-13 team beat the Bulldawgs and the under-10 team defeated the Santa Cruz Quakes to take third place positions.

Commenting on the U12 championship game, head coach and Club Director, Dave Smith, said: “I told the girls that defense was the key and our offense needed to be slow and patient, even if that meant a low scoring game. Our defense was outstanding. We stopped the '3X' team from penetrating the middle off screens with superb calling and switching. Defensive rebounding was great. The entire roster played and contributed to the outcome, either with defense or scoring. After having been the "bridesmaid" in three previous tournaments, it was great to be the champion.”

Everyone expected a tough game for U12 championship. The 3XDoubleHoops had a tough center and terrific shooting guard so the Panthers knew that a strong defense was important to winning the game. The Panthers played man-to-man the entire game. Panther players Kayla Galanter and Whitney Berch were outstanding at limiting 3X's shooting guard to only nine points and Amanda Forshay's and Jordan Myers' play inside stopped the 3X’s big girl, putting her into foul trouble early in the second half. Halftime saw the Panthers leading 11 to 7.

In the second half the Panthers played a five-out shell offense to devour the clock and struck for points when the 3X defense made mistakes. The 3X played hard, tying the score at 16 to 16. However, the Panthers' methodical approach regained their lead. With 2:30 remaining on the clock the Panthers were ahead 29 to 23. They successfully stalled to maintain that score to the final buzzer.

The East Bay Panthers 12U championship team included Brittany Anderson, Whitney Berch, Amanda Forshay, Kayla Galanter, Chloe Hull, Gina Lewis, Ashley Manheim, Karly Menez, Jordan Myers, Ruthie Shapiro and Alice Timken. The head coach was Dave Smith. The Assistant Coach was Jill Smith.

In the 13U Blue Division the East Bay Panthers 13U-2 team defeated the Bulldawgs 46 to 45 to earn third place in an exciting finish. With only 8 seconds on the clock the Bulldawgs were ahead by one point and were about to take free throws. They missed. A Panthers rebound got the ball out to their guard who was promptly fouled. Guard Liza Katz then sunk both her free throws to give the Panthers the win.

“I knew it would come down in the last minute or so who would win this game," said the 13U-2 Head Coach Mike Wilson. “I never dreamed that it would come down to free throws with one point down, no time on the clock and one of our youngest players on the line. It was a beautiful win, but with four games, all players had a part.”

In the 10U Blue Division the East Bay Panthers 10U team defeated the Santa Cruz Quakes 30 to 26 to earn third place. "The Quakes are a good team that beat us pretty easily at a tournament in early April," said 10U Head Coach Gary Beeler. “Each player on our team promised to take her game to another level and the results showed up this weekend in Reno."

About the East Bay Panthers
The East Bay Panthers Basketball Club, a non-profit charitable organization, is a member of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). The club provides qualified girls aged 10 through 14 with professional quality instruction and competitive game experience in preparation for middle school, high school and higher-level basketball.

The East Bay Panthers draw highly skilled players from the Northern California cities of Alamo, Albany, Antioch, Bay Point, Benicia, Berkeley, Brentwood, Byron, Clayton, Concord, Crockett, Danville, Danville, Discovery Bay, Dublin, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Hercules, Knightsen, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Oakland, Oakley, Orinda, Piedmont, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Richmond, San Pablo, San Ramon, Vallejo, Walnut Creek, and other cities east of the San Francisco bay.

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