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By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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The Dyersburg Storm's 14-under AAU basketball team
finished third in the National AAU Division 2
championships last week.
The event took place in
Orlando, Fla. with McKenzie's Anna Trull as a member of
the Storm.
Trull said the experience of playing for a national
championship was inspirational.
"I never thought I would have a a chance to do
something like that," she said. "I think it's going to
help me a whole lot (as a high school player) because I
learned so much.
Trull averaged 11 points per game and had a personal
best 17 against the Pennsylvania Mavericks. She drained
five triples in that game.
In pool play, the Storm knocked off the Connecticut
Breeze, then the Wisconsin Somerset Spartans, the
Georgia Pearls and the West Virginia Fairmont Waves. The
lone pool-play loss was to the Virginia Blue Angels.
The Storm opened the tournament defeating the
Tennessee Tigers 40-35. The Storm next drew North
Carolina-Garner Road YMCA. The Storm advanced with a
58-55 win. In its most one-sided victory of the
tournament, the Storm defeated the Penn.-Mar. Mavericks
from Maryland, 66-53.
In the semifinal round, the Storm succumbed to the
North Carolina Express 61-51.
"(Finishing third) was disappointing, but not to me
because I'm from a small town, so third is a good
thing," she said.
Considering that the Storm was third among 39 teams
at the national tournament and beat out hundreds of
other teams across the country.
Trull said she didn't feel like a fish out of water
during the national competition. She also said she
wasn't really surprised by anything she saw there.
"It was pretty much what I expected," she said.
"There were some quick players and it was hard and
challenging, but they played like I wanted - fast
paced."
Sometimes, being an outsider on a team carries with
it problems. Not for Trull, who felt at home with her
Dyersburg teammates.
"It was awesome," she said of their embrace. "They
made me feel like one of them and didn't treat me any
different."
During her week in Central Florida, Trull said she
learned the value of defense and blocking out. She says
she hopes to apply the positives from here experience
when basketball season rolls around next November.
"I'm looking forward to stepping up and being a
leader," she said. "I want to use what I've learned and
I want to help the younger kids who are going to be
freshman."
