There was no better elite AAU girls basketball team in the nation this summer than the Orinda-based Cal Stars.
And it wasn’t even close. Literally.
The CalStars closed out a 54-1 season by steamrolling the competition at the Nike Nationals in North Augusta, South Carolina, from July 27-30. The Cal Stars swept their way to the championship winning seven games by an average margin of 32.1 points. They won their semifinal matchup 80-43 over Cy Fair of Houston, and then dominated the championship with a 78-47 romp of the Indy Gym Rats from Indiana.
“I’m pretty speechless,” Cal Stars guard and top national recruit Sabrina Ionescu told reporter David Lee after the game. “Coming out with this great group of girls, and competing and winning against a very tough team, it’s like a surreal feeling. I’ve never felt like this before.”
Ionescu and post standout Aquira DeCosta both scored 16 in the final.
CAL STARS ELITE ROSTER
Player, Ht., Pos., High School (College commitment)
Minyon Moore 5’6 G Salesian-Richmond
Elle Louie 5’11 G Miramonte-Orinda
Cydnee Kinslow 6’2 F Freedom-Oakley (Pepperdine)
Nina Bessolo 6’1 F Valley Christian-Dublin (UC Davis)
Sabrina Ionescu 6’0 G Miramonte-Orinda
Kat Tudor 6’0 G St. Mary’s-Stockton (Oregon State)
Evina Westbrook 6’0 G South Salem
Aquira Decosta 6’2 F St. Mary’s-Stockton
Valerie Higgins 6’1 F Chaminade-Granada Hills
Vanessa Cruz 5’7 G Carondelet-Concord
Mallory McGwire 6’5 C ““ Reno (Oregon)
How CalStars Stacked up in 2015:
54 wins, 1 loss
National Tournaments Attended:
The Hoop Invitational (Salem Oregon) 5-0
Boo Williams (Hampton, VA) 5-0
Reno Pacific District Championships (Reno, NV) 5-0
Nike End of the Trail (Oregon City) 7-0
Battle of the Boro (Nashville, TN) 5-0
North Tartan Meltdown (Minnetonka, MN) 5-0
Nike Nationals (N. Augusta, SC) 7-1 ““ NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CAL STARS at http://www.calstars.org/