Trio To Jordan Brand Classic

gostanford.com, March 15, 2016

Incoming freshmen DiJonai Carrington, Nadia Fingall and Anna Wilson were three of 24 players selected for the Jordan Brand Classic, which tips April 15 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The three future Cardinal, who signed with Stanford in November, all landed on the 12-member West Team. The trio is also on the West Team for the 15th annual McDonald’s All American Game on March 30 in Chicago.

Carrington (San Diego, Calif./Horizon Christian Academy), Fingall (Navarre, Fla./Choctawhatchee) and Wilson (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) will be the first to represent Stanford at the event, now in its second year on the women’s side.

The trio will join the Cardinal for the 2016-17 season along with fellow prep standout Mikaela Brewer (Barrie, Ontario/Innisdale Secondary School). Collectively, Stanford’s class is rated No. 9 by espnW HoopGurlz and No. 7 by Prospects Nation.

A versatile perimeter performer, Carrington is a five-star talent rated as the 34th best player in the country according to espnW HoopGurlz and 16th by Prospects Nation. Last Monday, she was named MaxPreps/WBCA High School Player of the Week for Region 8 after totaling 45 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, two steals and blocked one shot against Eastlake in the CIF San Diego Section Division I semifinals. She played in 20 games for Horizon this season and averaged 18.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks.

Fingall is a certifiable blue-chip prospect ranked 26th in the nation by espnW HoopGurlz and the seventh-best forward. The five-star post also checks in at No. 23 overall and No. 4 at her position according to Prospects Nation. The 6-foot-4 Fingall was named Florida’s Miss Basketball earlier this month. She averaged 18.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.0 blocks per game this season in leading the Choctaw to a 26-6 record and a spot in the 2016 FHSAA Girls Basketball 6A State Championships final four.

Wilson, a 5-foot-8 guard from Bellevue, Washington, will give Stanford another dynamic player in the backcourt and is rated as the 58th overall player in the class of 2016 by espnW Hoopgurlz and 34th by Prospects Nation. A 2014 USA Basketball gold medalist, she averaged 15.3 points to go with 4.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 steals in leading the Bellevue Wolverines to a perfect 29-0 record and a Washington 3A state title. Last week she was named Naismith Trophy High School All-America honorable mention.

DiJonai Selected to 2015-16 All-CIF San Diego Section girls basketball team

sandiegouniontribune.com, March 12, 2016

Selected under the auspices of the San Diego Hall of Champions

FIRST TEAM

DiJonai Carrington | Horizon | Sr.

Fingall earns MVP as East sweeps West

BRIAN ACHATZ, pnj.com, March 11, 2016

The East reigned supreme in the 2016 Subway High School All-Star Series — sweeping the West on the big night for the top seniors in the three-county area.

Choctaw’s Nadia Fingall surprised few in the audience when she took home MVP honors for the East, just weeks after being named Miss Basketball for Florida.

Fingall (20 points) utilized her scoring abilities in a wide variety of ways.

“(Fingall) really deserved the MVP award (for the East team). She got me a few times. She was a great all around scorer. 

DiJonai Named WBCA High School Player of the Week

wbca.org, March 7, 2016

The WBCA has announced its High School Players of the Week presented by MaxPreps for the week ending Sunday, March 6.

In its inaugural year the WBCA High School Player of the Week is presented to a deserving student-athlete who demonstrated outstanding play throughout the week. Head coaches submit nominations each week and the WBCA selects the individual based on stats that were submitted.

Region 8 
Dijonai Carrington, a 6-foot senior from Horizon Christian Academy in San Diego, California, notched 45 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, two steals and blocked one shot in the Panthers only game of the week.  The 45 points is a season high for Carrington.

Anna Named to Naismith All-American Squad

usatodayhss.com, March 7, 2016

Anna Wilson, a senior from Bellevue (Wash.) who’s signed with Stanford, made the honorable mention squad.

Anna and Bellevue caps perfect season with a state title

Bellevue point guard Anna Wilson drives up court against Arlington’s player in the 3A Girls title game

Matt Massey, seattletimes.com, March 5, 2016

Late Saturday night as top-ranked Bellevue secured the school’s second state title in girls basketball by cruising past Arlington, 69-40, in the Class 3A state title game at the Tacoma Dome.

The Wolverines, who claimed their second title in school history. They last won one in 1975.

“I’m so happy, because we’ve been working so hard all season and undefeated all season, so why give up now,”

“We have a lot of scorers on our team, and everywhere can score on our team so I wasn’t too worried about scoring.”

Bellevue (29-0) blew the game open with a 22-4 run to begin the second half that gave the Wolverines a 63-28 lead with 5:53 to play.

Bellevue reached the title game by winning what everyone was calling a championship-caliber semifinal Friday, turning back second-ranked Lynnwood 73-60 with a strong contribution from its bench.

On Saturday, Stanford women’s coach Tara VanDerveer was in the crowd watching Cardinal commit Anna Wilson, who finished with five points, six assists and five rebounds.

The Wolverines fell behind early 4-3 after starting the game 1 of 6 from the field, but went on a 5-0 run to take an 8-4 lead. That lead grew to 14-8 by the end of the first period as the Eagles never could find their shooting touch.

The Bellevue lead stretched to 22-8 with a 12-0 surge. 

Bellevue expanded its lead to 35-24 by halftime. 

The Wolverines closed out the half on a 6-0 run.

After going down 10 points midway through the second quarter, Arlington closed the gap to 29-24 with 2:09 to go in the first half.

The Eagles’ fullcourt pressure defense caused Bellevue fits in the first half, and the Wolverines turned the ball over 12 times in those two periods.

Before Saturday, the Wolverines won their only state title in girls basketball in 1975 when the state tournament included all classifications.

Bellevue finished fifth in 3A last season, third in 3A in 2014 and fifth in 3A in 2013.

“We’ve come up short every year and we’ve been working so hard this year to just finish, finally,” 

Arlington returned to the state title game for the second time in the last four years.

“It’s a magical season,” Eagles coach Joe Marsh said. “These (nine senior) girls for four years they got (to the state tournament), which is hard to do. Incredible.”

Anna and Bellevue knocks off defending champ Lynnwood, 73-60

Sandy Ringer, seattletimes.com, March 4, 2016

On a team full of mega-stars, the supporting cast made the biggest difference as top-ranked Bellevue beat No. 2 Lynnwood, 73-60, in the semifinals of the Class 3A state girls basketball tournament Friday at the Tacoma Dome.

But her teammates have seen in it, and so has coach Leah Krautter.

“We knew we had some girls who could come in and contribute, and they did,” Krautter said. “They came in and hit clutch shots.

And, finally, Bellevue is in the championship game after falling short the previous three years. The Wolverines (28-0), who lost to Lynnwood 63-37 in last year’s semifinals, play in Saturday’s 9 p.m. final against the winner of the late semifinal between No. 3 Arlington and Kamiakin of Kennewick.

There had been debate all season about who should be No. 1, Bellevue or Lynnwood, which had won 33 in a row dating back to last season. The Wolverines answered that, emphatically.

“We felt like we had something to prove,” Krautter said.

The Wolverines showed their balance, and depth, especially when point guard Anna Wilson — who has signed with Stanford — got in early foul trouble.

Wilson, who moved from Virginia this school year to be closer to her brother, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, still finished with a team-best 16 points.

“This was the biggest game of the season,”  “Probably the biggest game of our high-school career….We just really played our hearts out today. We all showed tremendous effort. Everyone played together as one team, and when we do that it’s like magic.”

“The energy level of our whole team was amazing.”

Lynnwood (25-1), which plays the Arlington-Kamiakin loser for third and fifth places Saturday at 1 p.m., never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Fingall awarded Florida's Miss Basketball

Choctaw senior Nadia Fingall goes up for a shot challenged by Fort Myers' player during the 6A Girls state semifinals game in Lakeland.

Seth Stringer, nwfdailynews.com, March 4, 2016

Nadia Fingall carries a lot of monikers.

McDonald’s All-American is one.

All Sports Association Scholastic Female is another.

How about Back-to-back Daily News Basketball Player of the Year, an honor preceding this year's Athlete of the Week honor?

Oh, yeah, don’t forget blue-chipper, a label earned by her five-star, 97 scout grade on ESPN that has her ranked as the seventh best forward in the nation.

Of course that beget her label as a Stanford signee.

On Friday the 6-foot-4 Choctaw senior added another sobriquet to the mix: Florida’s Miss Basketball.

“It’s truly an honor to represent my family, school and state as Miss Basketball,” Fingall said. “I had some stiff competition from some equally amazing young women, all of whom I’ve played with or against.”

Stiff competition, indeed.

Fingall, on the heels of a campaign where she averaged 18.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.0 blocks per game in leading the Indians to a 26-6 record and a spot in the 6A final four, totaled 115 points to finish just ahead of 2A POY and University of Louisville signee from Florida A&M (111) and 8A POY and Yale University signee of Vero Beach (108).

It was the closest vote in the 24-year history of the Miss Basketball award, and Fingall’s 21-point, 15-rebound, five-assist effort in a final four loss likely left an indelible last impression on The Florida Dairy Farmers High School Sports Awards program voting panel.

All in the family: Anna Wilson shoots for championship of her own

GABE COHEN AND VIENNA CATALANI, komonews.com, March 3, 2016

A rising star from Bellevue High School is playing in the first round of the WIAA girls' state tournament at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday.

"My brother is Russell Wilson so, so that's pretty awesome," Anna Wilson tells KOMO News.

Anna - sister to Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson - is leading her team with hopes of winning the Wolverine's first Class 3A state championship in decades.

"I try to stay focused on basketball. I watch Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant," Anna says. "I want to grow everyday, be better, and be a great teammate."

The 18-year-old point guard moved to Bellevue her senior year from Richmond, Virginia.

"I feel right at home, my brother is here," Anna says. "I love it here, it's so different, everyone can be their own kind of person."

Anna already has one gold medal for playing with the 2014 USA Women's Under-17 team, and was voted MVP after helping Bellevue earn a title in the Nike Tournament of Champions. She's following in her brother's footsteps, and lets her athleticism speak for itself.

"For a while I thought I lived in my brother's shadow, but I don't think I live like that anymore. I have my own personal accomplishments," Anna says. "Having a brother like that makes me competitive. I want to win at everything."

Anna is headed to Stanford University on scholarship, and hopes to one day play in the Women's National Basketball Association.

"I'm gonna be a great student most importantly," Anna says. "I'm gonna be the best I can everyday."

Before that, she'll be competing with her high school team starting Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.

"We're gonna have some good games this weekend, so I'm excited," Anna says. "I'm never really nervous for games, I'm always prepared."

Eastlake has an answer for DiJonai and Horizon

Steve Brand, hs.utpreps.com, March 1, 2016

Eastlake offset a 45-point, 17-rebound effort from Stanford University-bound Dijonai Carrington to pull away from the visiting Panthers 83-73 in the girls basketball semifinals.

Although No. 5 Horizon (19-12) managed to trim the lead inside double digits three times, the Titans always had an answer.

As for Carrington, her high school career ended in frustration, just as it did a year ago when the Panthers won the Division I title only to be left out of the state playoffs. But she did everything she could with an injured knee that left her “about 70 percent,” according to her mother and coach, Vickie Carrington.

“Hey, props to her, she’ll do big things, you can just see that,”  “She’s one of those players.”