Bradley's Pickel Leads Shelbyville Sports To AAU National 15-Under Girls Championship

  • Friday, July 23, 2004
  • Stan Crawley

With Bradley Central High School point guard Jackie Pickel playing an integral role, Shelbyville (Tenn.) Sports Shop won the AAU Girls 15-Under National Basketball Championship on Thursday night.

Playing in Winston-Salem, N.C., Shelbyville used its three-point shooting ability in defeating the New York Gazelles, 75-71, at the Bishop McGuinness Complex.

Pickel, Kenzie Rich and Leah Stone combined to make eight three-pointers for Shelbyville.

"We finished ninth one year, fifth last year and two this year, so we have to come back," coach Cecil King Jr. of the Gazelles told the Winston-Salem Journal. "I think their fresh bodies in the game helped, but I also think our shooters, who have been shooting the whole tournament, didn't shoot today.

"But you have to give them credit. They have a good club and they can shoot threes. That really hurt us, and we couldn't get out on them, and it seemed like they made about 15 of them."

Coach Matt Insel of Shelbyville said he wasn't surprised his team won.

"We were in the toughest side of the bracket," Insel told the Winston-Salem Journal. "We told the kids that if we get through our bracket and get to the finals, we would have a good chance at winning it. They gutted it out and played hard.

"Three years ago, we didn't get out of pool play and we finished seventh last year. We added the point guard (Rich) and the big girl (Stewart) this year. We don't have the best individual kids but we have the best team."

Pickel averaged 14 points-per-game during the tournament. Shelbyville, made up of mostly Shelbyville Central High School players, swept through 11 games in claiming the championship that consisted of 105 teams from around the country. The 105 teams set an AAU record for number of teams in any age group in the history of the competition.

Pickel's highlights included making seven three-pointers in one game and six three-pointers in another.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)


Sports
Lee Volleyball Drops 3-2 In Gulf South Conference Match With Montevallo
  • 10/3/2023

After dropping the first two sets, the Lee volleyball team fought back to capture the next two before falling in the fifth set and dropping a 3-2 GSC contest with host Montevallo University inside ... more

Covenant Volleyball Wins In Five Over Visiting Maryville
  • 10/3/2023

Looking to remain unbeaten in conference play, the Covenant (16-1, 6-0 CCS) volleyball team welcomed Maryville to campus. Covenant went up 2-0, but Maryville battled back to push it to a fifth ... more

Cleveland State Wins In Five Over Pillissippi
  • 10/3/2023

The Cleveland State volleyball team won their first home and conference match of the season this evening. The Cougars broke an eight-match losing streak defeating Pellissippi State 3-2, ... more