The Madison365 12U girls basketball team won the Downpour Invitational in Madison this past weekend. All three of her games for the team were stopped early by the mercy rule as the Madison365 team built a lead of over 20 on her.
But the win was costly, head coach Henry Saunders said, as Maliyah Thompson suffered a foot injury that will keep him out for four to six weeks.
The day started with a 34-14 victory in a shortened game against Armory. It was a balanced attack with eight players scoring. Kennedy Castillo led the way with nine points, and Talia Sanders added eight points. Castillo also grabbed six rebounds and Sanders had five.
Game 2 against the Wisconsin Lakers was also suspended at 34-14. Again, eight different players scored, with Aaliyah Crum, Alyse Windsor and Thompson all scoring six points. Thompson also had six steals and seven rebounds before going down with the injury.
After that game, the rest of the team vowed to win the championship game for Thompson. And they did just that, jumping out to a 45-23 lead before the game was stopped. In the title game, Allise Windsor led the way with 12 points, while Paige Nelson and Molly Murphy each added 10 points.
“I'm very proud, not just of winning the championship, but of how our team came together when one of our players was injured,” Henry Saunders said. “They fought together as a team and dedicated their championship victory to their teammates. That's what the sport should be about.”
Next, the team heads to Mukwonago for the Wisconsin Lakers Classic on June 1-2. Complete statistics are available at Madison365.org/365Basketball.