2009 McDonald's All-American Girls Game

The 2009 McDonald's All-American Girls Game was an All-star basketball game played on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at the BankUnited Center in Miami, Florida, home of the University of Miami Hurricanes. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school girls graduating in 2009. The game was the 8th annual version of the McDonald's All-American Game first played in 2002.

2009 McDonald's All-American Girls Game
West East
69 68
1st half2nd half Total
West 3138 69
East 3038 68
DateApril 1, 2009
VenueBankUnited Center, Miami, Florida
MVPSkylar Diggins,
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt
RefereesMarc McClenney
Ron Leddington
Tina Harrington
Attendance5,981
NetworkESPN
McDonald's All-American

The 48 players were selected from 2,500 nominees by a committee of basketball experts. They were chosen not only for their on-court skills, but for their performances off the court as well. Coach Morgan Wootten, who had more than 1,200 wins as head basketball coach at DeMatha High School, was chairman of the selection committee. Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, who has been involved in the McDonald's All American Games since its inception, served as chairman of the Games and as an advisor to the selection committee.

Proceeds from the 2009 McDonald's All American High School Basketball Games went to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of South Florida and its Ronald McDonald House program.

2009 Game

The game was telecast live by ESPN. The West Team grabbed a hard-fought 69-68 victory in the opener at the BankUnited Center. The contest was close throughout and came down to a missed free throw with seconds remaining. Kelly Faris (Connecticut) was fouled as she was forced to take a desperation 3-pointer with two seconds to go. After nailing the first two shots, the third came up short and so did the frantic comeback of the East Team.

In a game that was dominated by defense, the West Squad managed to get double figure scoring from only five players. Taber Spani (Tennessee), Christina Marinacci (USC) and DeNesha Stallworth (California) led the offensive attack with 11 points each, while Gennifer Brandon (California) added 10. Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (North Carolina) poured in 10 points and grabbed a team high 10 rebounds.

The East Team was led by Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), who scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and nabbed three steals. Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Kelsey Bone (South Carolina) and TaShauna Rodgers (Georgetown) contributed with 10 points and five rebounds each. Kelly Faris provided an all-around solid performance, as she paced the East in rebounds with seven, added four points, three steals, three assists and two blocks in just 15 minutes of play.

For their efforts, Skylar Diggins and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt were selected as the John R. Wooden MVP’s of the game. Unable to play due to injury, Stephanie Holzer (Vanderbilt) was given the Naismith Sportsmanship Award for her involvement in the week’s events and for the support she displayed towards her fellow All Americans.[1]

2009 West Roster

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Hometown High School College Choice
00 Christina Marinacci 6-2 155 F Santa Ana, CA Foothill USC
1 Eliza Pierre 5-8 135 G Pasadena, CA John Muir Cal
3 Tayler Hill 5-10 155 G Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis South Ohio State
4 Tierra Ruffin-Pratt 6-0 175 G Alexandria, VA T.C. Williams North Carolina
11 China Crosby 5-5 121 G Bronx, NY Manhattan Center for Science & Mathematics Virginia
12 Tierra Rogers 5-11 160 F San Francisco, CA Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep Cal
21 Stephanie Holzer 6-4 190 C Newtown Square, PA Cardinal O'Hara Vanderbilt
25 Gennifer Brandon 6-3 160 F Sylmar, CA Chatsworth Cal
33 Taber Spani 6-1 180 G Lee's Summit, MO Metro Academy Tennessee
34 Monique Oliver 6-2 200 C Long Beach, CA Long Beach Polytechnic USC
42 Brittney Griner 6-8 200 C Houston, TX Nimitz Baylor
50 DeNesha Stallworth 6-3 190 F Richmond, CA Pinole Valley Cal

2009 East Roster

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Hometown High School College Choice
2 Dara Taylor 5-7 135 G Wilmington, DE Caravel Academy Maryland
3 Erica Wheeler 5-8 141 G Miami, FL Parkway Academy Rutgers
4 Skylar Diggins 5-9 145 G South Bend, IN South Bend Washington Notre Dame
5 Kelsey Bone 6-5 210 C Stafford, TX Dulles South Carolina, transferred to Texas A&M
12 Jasmine Hassell 6-2 205 F Lebanon, TN Wilson Central Georgia
15 TaShauna Rogers 5-11 163 G Suffolk, VA King's Fork Georgetown
23 Markel Walker 6-2 165 F Pittsburgh, PA Schenley UCLA
24 Destiny Williams 6-3 181 C Benton Harbor, MI Benton Harbor Illinois,
transferred to Baylor
32 Morgan Stroman 6-2 163 F Hopkins, SC Lower Richland Miami (FL)
34 Kelly Faris 5-11 150 G Plainfield, IN Heritage Christian School Connecticut
44 Joslyn Tinkle 6-3 190 F Missoula, MT Big Sky Stanford
45 Cokie Reed 6-4 200 C Hewitt, TX Midway Texas

Coaches

The West team was coached by:

The East team was coached by:

Boxscore

[2]

Visitors: West

## Player FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A Points Off Reb Def Reb Tot Reb PF Ast TO BS ST Min
3*Tayler Hill1/ 61/30/ 031012100218
4*Tierra Ruffin-Pratt5/150/ 30/ 01037103220223
11*China Crosby1/ 50/ 30/ 020445241021
33*Taber Spani3/122/ 53/ 4113142050222
34*Monique Oliver2/130/ 10/ 042461002220
00Christina Marinacci3/ 73/ 52/ 2113250132318
1Eliza Pierre1/ 20/ 01/ 231232501419
12Tierra Rogers1/ 70/ 02/ 245381131118
21Stephanie Holzer///00
25Gennifer Brandon3/ 80/ 04/ 5103250211120
42Brittney Griner
50DeNesha Stallworth5/111/ 10/ 0111230020121
Team105151
TOTALS25/867/2112/1569323264161421818200

Home: East

## Player FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A Points Off Reb Def Reb Tot Reb PF Ast TO BS ST Min
2*Dara Taylor0/ 30/ 30/ 002020131019
4*Skylar Diggins6/132/ 54/ 5181454030321
5*Kelsey Bone5/150/ 00/ 0104151013119
23*Markel Walker1/ 30/ 02/ 242460101215
34*Kelly Faris1/ 40/ 02/ 342572322315
3Erica Wheeler1/ 51/ 40/ 030112130015
12Jasmine Hassell3/ 40/ 00/ 060112010114
15TaShauna Rogers3/ 93/ 61/ 2100552120020
24Destiny Williams0/ 20/ 01/ 212240030112
32Morgan Stroman1/ 20/ 01/ 432131111117
44Joslyn Tinkle3/ 71/ 20/ 070550115021
45Cokie Reed1/ 80/ 00/ 022241014014
Team3361
TOTALS25/757/2011/1868203454159221712202

(* = Starting Line-up)

All-American Week

Schedule

  • Tuesday, March 31: Powerade JamFest
    • Three-Point Shoot-out
    • Timed Basketball Skills Competition
  • Wednesday, April 1: 8th Annual Girls All-American Game

The Powerade JamFest is a skills-competition evening featuring basketball players who demonstrate their skills in two crowd-entertaining ways. Since the first All-American game in 2002, players have competed in a 3-point shooting challenge and a timed basketball skills competition.

Contest Winners

  • The 2009 Timed Skills Competition contest was won by China Crosby.
  • Skylar Diggins was winner of the 2009 3-point shoot-out.

See also

References

  1. http://www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com McDonald's 2009 McDonald’s Game Program
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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