Girls all-stars are winners in debut

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Girls all-stars are winners in debut

Sports

Thursday, 01 April 2010 07:46

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
The final score was East 43, West 40, but that wasn’t the whole reason behind the success of the inaugural Osceola County Girls Senior All-Star Game, played Saturday at Poinciana High School.
The pre-game 3-point shooting contest went down to the wire, just like the main event, and the game saw some big performances.
Osceola Kowgirls Coach Barner Cooks spent the entire school year drawing up the event. He coached the West team, made up of OHS and Poinciana players.
“The kids had a blast. The 3-point contest went down to a shootout in the second round and the finals, and in the game neither team had more than a five- or six-point lead,” he said.
Osceola’s Sarah DiLeonardo, a four-year varsity player at St. Cloud and Osceola, culminated her career by leading all players with 20 points and 18 rebounds. The East’s Diana Martinez, who played basketball for the first time as a senior, had 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals and was the game’s MVP.
“Sarah had a huge game for our side. Diana played great, the more I learn about her the more I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Cooks said. “She’s the best athlete in the county, and my mind wants to think about the player she’d be if she just played basketball.”
Shanel Davidson, St. Cloud’s head coach, led the East team to victory.
“I loved it. Our group bonded in a way that’s good to see when you pair up big rivals,” she said. “And all my kids scored, which was great.”
Martinez said it was odd playing alongside rivals.
“It was my first All-Star experience in any sport, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had in a game,” she said.
OHS’ Constance Uzzle scored 15 points for the West and earned All-Star honors along with DiLeonardo, Martinez and the East’s Mirian Ruiz (Gateway, 9 points) and Leah Smith (Harmony, 7 points).
Coaches from Brevard Community College, Webber, Warner and Tennessee Temple attended the game.
Gateway’s Helen Collazo won the 3-point contest over DiLeonardo.
“It was a success, no doubt. There was a good crowd and the game being close made it that much better,” Cooks said.
Next year, Cooks plans to play the game the weekend after the FHSAA state tournament.
He’d like to make a 10-player county All-Star roster and play one from Brevard County.