Posted: Jan. 5, 2010 |(0) Comments

In the team photo, Brittney Fair is clutching the hard-won KSA Holiday Tournament championship trophy she and her Nicolet girls basketball teammates won while on break last week.

Her smile is as lovely as opposed to the goofy grins on her teammates' faces.

Did I mention that she was kneeling in front of life-sized, live-action figure of the animated character Goofy?

Did I also mention that the Knights won this three-game tournament at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla.?

Earning trip worth it

Well, maybe that helps explain everything that was just plain "goofy" about this situation except the high level of basketball that went into earning the trophy and all the hard work and fundraising that went into paying for the trip.

"When we found out that we were going to do this last year (about 18 months ago), we were all gung-ho for it," said junior forward Ashley Green. "We knew we had to do anything we could to raise the money."

So that included bake sales, car washes, agreements with area businesses, as well as hustling for donations, asking mom and dad for help, everything and anything it took to get to the $18,000 figure to make this five-day adventure happen.

"Selling things for something like this was fun," said Green. "The day we went to Bayshore (for one event) was just great. Everyone gave 100 percent."

On the court, too, as the Knights improved to 8-1 overall with impressive wins over Jackson Memorial, New Jersey (62-43); Lafayette, Kentucky (38-29); and Sandites, Oklahoma (65-55).

Coach Corey Wolf was pleased on many fronts.

"This was a lot of fun," she said. "In some ways, this was a test, because when you travel, and we don't do this very often at all, you're not sure what's going to happen. But the kids did a great job of getting focused and ready to play.

"Our players acted with great maturity," Wolf said.

Long travel day

They needed to, because their 7:35 a.m. flight to Orlando just a few days after Christmas required them to get to the bus by 4 a.m. Further, their flight landed at 11 a.m. and they needed to be ready to play the first game (against Memorial) at 8 p.m. that same night.

"We all took three-hour power naps," chuckled Green.

So no one was more surprised at the results than the players themselves.

"Going in, we had no idea how good anyone else was," said Green. "We were shocked at the results. We played hard every game and we just played great together every game. It was really different. Some teams were very aggressive, some were very laidback."

But seeing as they were in the middle of the Disney empire, fun could not be forgotten. They got a second day break after their first game and went to the Magic Kingdom and did all the rides. The following two days, they had early morning games, so they had the afternoons to visit Hollywood Studios, Epcot and the other attractions.

"Because of the schedule we didn't want to sacrifice the basketball to the fun," Wolf said, "but we didn't want to sacrifice the fun to the basketball either.

"For me, the proudest moment was just them going out and having fun and representing themselves well," she said. "They're kids with good personalities who exhibited good sportsmanship and who also played hard."

Improving every game

And as far as the basketball itself was concerned?

"I believe we really took a major step forward," Wolf said. "… I believe we got much better as the tournament went along. The kids really adapted."

Green agreed.

"When we got a look at the scale of the complex (six full courts on one site), our jaws just dropped," she said. "Like AAU, only bigger. Playing teams from other states and winning big games, that was fun to do, as was everything else. We can be a silly group when we want to (laughs)."

Also serious, too.

"Some of these kids were away from their parents for the first time," Wolf said. "I was really impressed with how grown up they all acted. They handled themselves so well and communicated well on and off the court. They really looked out for each other."

And there was nothing goofy about that.

Knights win tourney

GAME NOTES

Nicolet 62, Jackson Memorial 43: A 24-8 second quarter outburst did the trick for the Knights as Ashley Green had 18, Brittney Fair 16 and Alex Cohen 13.

Nicolet 38, Lafayette 29: The Knights needed a 12-4 fourth quarter run to break open a close game. Green had 13 and Cohen 10 for Nicolet.

Nicolet 65, Sandites 55: Sandites had a 15-6 advantage in made free throws, but the Knights hit nine three-pointers, including five by Fair to offset that advantage (Sandites hit only two long-range bombs). Fair finished with 20, while Green had 16, Cohen 11 and Courtney Smith eight.

UP NEXT

The Knights took on Homestead on Tuesday and then will get a major challenge when they visit 8-0 Germantown at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a North Shore Conference showdown.