We took in some great action at the Apache Classic. The game that caught our attention was Hoopers NY 17U versus the Luela Swedish National Team. The Swedish team was very long with no player under 6’0. Luela Sweden was running through their completion until they faced the Hoopers led by Nicole Melious.
Luela jumped up to an early lead going up by 13 early in the first half. Hooper switched from zone defense to man-to-man, and quickly cut into the lead. Melious showed poise and scored 9 straight including two deep 3’s and a tough and-one drive to the hoop.
The game went back and forth and had a great finish. Off the inbound, Melious had the ball and was double-teamed. She found Fordham commit Katelynn L’amoreoux on a skip pass and she knocked down the jumper in dramatic fashion for the win. Luela had their 91 game win streak snapped in a classic game in front of the likes of Geno Auriemma and Jeff Walz.
Hoopers NY director Bryan Williams called it “the best win in his program history.” Coach Dan Melious had a great game plan and he said how proud he was of the team. He said it was like Rocky 4, as his Hoopers NY squad took hard shots early but delivered the knockout blow late.
Melious, Jordanna Schrecker, and Maya Watts were fantastic all game long. Melious finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, Schrecker had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Watts finished with 7 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
