Cal Stars National Champs!

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/