Girls: NJ Sparks Set Rose Classic On Fire
BROOKLYN, NY- As an organization the New Jersey Sparks have done and accomplished near everything an AAU program could hope for, but on Sunday they did something that no one who has walked into J.H.S. 113 had ever done before.
The success of the Sparks is well known, and all they have achieved over the years has already been well acknowledged, but the New Jersey Nike EYBL program was able to make Rose Classic history on Sunday as they didn't just take 1 title, they didn't even take 2, they were able to win all 3 championships that were decided, the first program to do that in the history of the Rose.
Credit first must go to the senior division champs as the NJ Sparks on the highest level were barely tested, and not just in the semifinals and championship on Sunday, but throughout the Rose Classic season.
They had the talent and the cohesiveness to fight through times of adversity, and then again on Sunday against the Lady Bulls (Lady Choz) in Sunday's title game they overwhelmed their opponents, coming on strong late in the first half to eventually pull away to a 59-45 championship game victory.
The Lady Bulls did get off to a pretty good start as after Selena Philoxy (South Shore '17) was able to finish off a nice spin in the lane they were ahead 7-4 just 3 minutes into the game, that though would be their last lead.
Qadashah Hoppie (The Patrick School, NJ '17) finished off a beautiful drive down the left side and was fouled, tying the game up at 7, and then back to back three balls by Tori Harris (Half Hollow Hills West '17) and Raven Farley-Clark (The Patrick School, NJ '17) allowed the Sparks to start to pull out in front.
The long ball helped the Sparks grab the lead, but it was their interior defense that ended up allowing them to expand it as Andrea Aquino (Paterson Eastside, NJ '18) used her long 6'8" frame to block any Lady Bulls player who tried to drive in on her, and when she wasn't blocking or altering shots on the defensive end, Aquino was showing some impressive offensive skills putting the ball on the floor and taking the ball to the rim to help them take a 24-14 lead with 2:15 to go in the opening half.
Some late first half mistakes by the Lady Bulls saw the Sparks then add onto the lead as Michelle Sidor (Saddle River Country Day, NJ '19) was solid from the charity stripe, and then it was Aquino again with a put back and the foul as the Sparks fully dominated the latter part of the first half to take a commanding 31-16 lead into the half.
All the Sparks needed to do in the 2nd half was maintaining their play and they would be Rose Classic champions, and to maintain their play they needed Hoppie to be the team leader and playmaker with the ball in her hands that she is capable of being, and that's exactly what she proved to be.
Scoring with her left hand taking it to the rim, or pulling up and knocking down long treys, or getting out on the break and finding the likes of Farley-Clark and Sidor, Hoppie did just about everything the Sparks coaches could've asked of her as she did a fantastic job of helping open a lead of as big as 19 in the second half.
They didn't get the deficit to within single digits in the second half but the Lady Bulls never did quit as they kept pressuring and attacking, with Earlette Scott (South Shore '18) and Danielle Robinson (Shabazz, NJ '18) each doing a solid job off the dribble getting to the basket later in the game, but the Sparks lead proved to be too much for them to overcome.
Down the stretch it was Hoppie who controlled the pace and the play of the game as she wouldn't let her team lose, leading her team in the celebration when the final buzzer sounded as the Sparks were able to get past the Lady Bulls for the championship, 59-45.
Hoppie was named Championship Game MVP as she scored a game high 18 points, while Farley-Clark had 11 points. Harris had 7 with Aquino and Sidor each adding 6 in what was a truly great team effort all around by everyone on the Sparks.
No one for the Lady Bulls was in double figures in this one as Scott was the high scorer with 9 points, Robinson and Philoxy each had 8 points, and Curstyn Moore (Mt. Vernon '17) had 7 points in the title game loss.
It was a great way to end the tournament for the New Jersey Sparks to see their senior team win the Rose Classic, but that was just the icing on top for the program as they didn't just win the senior championship, they won the biddy and junior Rose Classic titles too.
They did that with just 1 team as well as the Sparks biddy team, the 12u team, won both the biddy and the junior (14u) titles proving that the program the Sparks have now isn't going to suffer when these talented older girls graduate, it's just going to keep getting better and better as the cupboard looks full for years to come.
Playing in the biddy championship the Sparks rolled by 30 points over Harlem USA, and with the same girls playing up against a bigger and stronger Team Sol squad, they were able to eek out a 45-43 victory to set up the chance at the sweep of all 3 divisions, which they would achieve.
Breauna Ware was named Junior Division Championship Game MVP for the Sparks, while Kayla Beckford was named Junior Division Season MVP, an impressive achievement for them playing against girls most of the time 2-3 years older than them.
Overall what the New Jersey Sparks as a program were able to do on Sunday was previously unheard of and it speaks volumes about what coaches Keith Gilchrist and Chez Williams are doing as they are building strong foundations from top to bottom throughout the Sparks program, and leading all their kids to championships.
