DeNesha Stallworth logs miles to lead FBC Blue to victory

Written By Girls Basketball Contributing Editor Harold Abend

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Stop No. 2 for the Girls of Summer caravan was appropriately in the desert of Las Vegas where outdoor temperatures soared to over 110 degrees.

Inside the state-of-the-art new gymnasium at Bishop Gorman High's new location off the now completed West-215 freeway in the newly developed southwest corner of Vegas out past Durango High (yes, while the housing market most places is in the tank, it seems Las Vegas keeps growing and "new is what's in) the hoops play was almost as smoking hot on the three courts in action as the blazing desert sun outside.

A total of 32 teams and over 400 players flew into Las Vegas or drove from as far away as Calgary, Alberta to kick off the final portion of the NCAA viewing period with one thing in mind: To play and do their best to impress coaches, scouts and people like me from ESPN Cal-Hi Sports who are out evaluating talent in the last 10 days of NCAA certified event competition.

For some girls, this is one of the last opportunities to impress the many college head coaches who travel during the last session.

The Summertime Invitational Tournament, founded by Ray Mayes of the Inland Empire four years ago, and moved from the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas this year and held July 22-24, drew more teams and college coaches than any previous year. Why? Everyone wants to come to Vegas.

Over 100 college coaches, including every Pac-10 head coach, attended the event. Other major schools with whose coaching staff members ESPN Cal-Hi Sports had a chance to talk with were: UNLV and new head coach Kathy Olivier, who after leaving UCLA returns to a school where she played, Maryland, Oklahoma, Clemson, BYU, Loyola-Marymount, USF, Santa Clara, Harvard and Dartmouth.

"We have a lot of great players in Colorado and the Mountain States, but to see the top level of talent and athleticism, and to find matches for what we're looking for in the Buffalo program we have to come here, Colorado women's head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller told ESPN Cal-Hi Sports, as we walked to the parking lot in 107-degree heat that had McConnell-Miller longing for Boulder and yours truly immediately turning on the air-conditioning in the car to full blast.  

From the outset, host Mayes' top team, FBC Blue, and its huge front line and outstanding array of ball-handlers and long-range shooters, dominated the action.

Mayes' brags about having a program that features some of the nation's top post players, and the way the Blue group performed over the three-day, five-game event, he wasn't exaggerating.

Cal-bound 6-foot-3 DeNesha Stallworth (2009) of Pinole Valley (Pinole), the only Northern California girl on the squad, kind of stole the spotlight from her Southern California teammates, and played as well as we've ever seen.

Stallworth's play this summer, and especially at Vegas, made Bears' coach Joanne Boyle look good in having landed the Bay Area star. Even though she only played about half of most games, Stallworth recorded a double-double in four of the five games.

Talia Caldwell (2009), a 6-4 post from Marlborough of Los Angeles, who is being looked at by several schools including Texas A & M, improved her stock, after showing she's not only a big girl in the middle, but can also finish and score around the basket when asked. Caldwell is also a girl you don't want to drive on in the paint.

Three other FBC Blue girls whose showings in Vegas got them moved up much higher on the college coaches charts were two more posts and a blazing fast ball-handling guard.

Six-foot-three Cierra Windham (2009) from Norco played exceptionally well. In the semifinals, she had a team-high 14 points with eight rebounds in a 52-50 victory over a very talented Team Xpress Black with girls mostly from the San Antonio, Texas area.

Brittany Henderson (2009), a 6-3 center from Muir of Pasadena, scored and rebounded consistently and played aggressive defense throughout.     

The deliverer of the rock into the hands of the big girls inside was standout point guard Chloe Wells from A.B. Miller of Fontana. In the four games we saw her play, she had a combined total of 20 assists and 22 steals, and played great defense on the perimeter.

While FBC Blue defeated Vegas Elite (with girls from Bishop Gorman as well as other metropolitan Las Vegas schools such as Legacy and Silverado), 68-51, behind Wells (14 points, six assists, five steals) and Stallworth (14 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks) for the championship title, the winners' toughest game was probably in the previously mentioned semifinal 52-50 victory over Team Xpress, a team with size and speed.

Besides Windham's efforts in the victory over Xpress, Stallworth helped seal the win in the closing moments, and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Meigham Simmons (2010), a speedy 5-8 point guard who can shoot from the outside as well as penetrate, led Xpress with a game-high 17 points.

In the opening round of pool play, FBC Blue took on a gritty group of girls from Canada called Foundation Youth of Calgary. The team from Alberta played hard all 32 minutes and guard Paige Robinson (2009) impressed with 13 points, but after a sluggish start Blue blew them away in a very lopsided 66-30 final margin.

Stallworth, who had 14 points in the first half, finished with a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds. She added five blocks, four steals and three assists.

Windham was solid in the paint and even hit a long trey. She finished with nine points, and eight rebounds. Wells added nine points, seven steals and four assists, while Meghin Williams (2009), a 6-2 inside power from Summit (Fontana), chipped in with nine points.

In its next game, the Blue squad took on Oregon Elite Navy with girls from all over Oregon (except Portland proper) and a couple from Washington.

Once again, the FBC girls came out a bit lethargic, seemingly convinced they could turn it on at will and dismiss the girls from the Pacific Northwest.

Blue trailed 7-0 to start but once the team got all cylinders fired up it blew past Elite Navy by a 52-26 final.

Stallworth led the way again with 14 points and 11 rebounds with Wells adding seven points, five steals and four assists. Guard Ashley Wilson (2010) of defending Div. I California state champion Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) had a solid outing (five points, four steals) as did 6-2 forward Rhema Gardner (six points, five rebounds) from Ayala of Chino Hills.

Before the next game for Blue against Nevada Elite (girls from metro Las Vegas such as Shadow Ridge and Chaparral), we mingled with the girls and even implored Stallworth (who was on the cell phone with her dad up in the Bay Area giving him an update), Caldwell and Windham to come out with more energy and show me their real stuff right out of the gate.

We can't say ESPN Cal-Hi Sports had anything to do with it but Blue came out smoking and opened a 13-2 lead before coasting to a running clock 67-30 victory.

"Was that more energy or what? Mayes' top assistant and Blue head coach Larry Gholar asked rhetorically.

Stallworth played less than half the game but led the way again with 15 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Destini Mason, a 5-9 guard from Perris, connected for 10 points. Henderson contributed eight points, Caldwell went for eight points, five assists, five rebounds and four blocks, and Wells chipped in for seven points and five assists.

Elisha Hensey (2010) of Shadow Ridge led Nevada Elite with eight points.  

Other teams whose players were evaluated were the La Vegas Bulldogs with players from Centennial, FBC Georgia Black, TG Purple from the Dallas area, FBC White, and two teams from the Silver Division FBC Black and Riverton Utah.

Girls from those teams as well as several other girls from teams mentioned in the above story will make it into the next release of the Girls of Summer player rankings.

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