Whitlock's squad goes 4 & 0 on Memorial Day weekend:
GDW Analysis:
Southern Starz - Whitlock is a girls basketball travel team that knows what it takes to be successful in getting players from different high school programs.
This group coordinated by Branch Whitlock and coached by Dusty Shadix, had four locals that have been covered on a regular basis by Gameday Weekly during their prep tour.
On Saturday, Laklin Shadix of West Point, Ella Gossett and Lexi Collins of Good Hope, plus Hollyn Bruer of Cold Springs contributed to the Starz taking the Southern Youth Basketball League (SYBL) Summer Nights championship in 4 assignments.
Whitlock's
Starz romped over Elite Hoop Dreams 2027 in pool play, 76 to 29.
Then on to the tournament segment, the Starz defeated Primetime 2028 46 to 26, came from behind in the semifinals for a thrilling 60 to 54 victory against the Alabama Elite.
In the championship, the Starz sprinted out to a quick lead and coasted against Elite Hoop Dreams 79 to 47.
The rest of the roster include Belle Hill from Mars Hill Bible, the ASWA 2A player of the year, Emma Eastman from Decatur Heritage, Julie Stapler of Arab and Mia Humphries of Lauderdale County.
The toughest challenge for the Starz was the semifinal with the Alabama Elite from the Huntsville area.
The Elite shot well in the contest, leading 35 to 30 at halftime and then moving the advantage to 50 to 40 late in the game.
It was time for the Starz to step it up and they did. They finished the battle on a 20 to 4 with free throws by Hill putting them ahead 55 to 54 at the 2:10 and a huge FG from Collins to extend the lead to three.
A team effort was on display when it was needed, or the day for the Starz would have ended around 2:30 p.m.
Elite Hoop Dreams had two teams in the event, coming from the Tuscaloosa area.
The older squad pulled out a 52 to 40 triumph vs. the ABA Pink Flames in their semifinal following the Starz win on Court 2 of the CBC.
A quick surge had the Starz leading 7 to 0. They never trailed in the final, leading 17 to 4 by the 10:00 mark of the first half.
Back to back FGs from Hill and a score by Shadix enabled the Starz to roll onward as they ended the half with a comfortable 39 to 15 cushion.
The 2nd half was a scoring spree for the Starz with 40 points they accounted for while the Hoop Dreams netted 32.
The Starz made 17 shots in the final 20:00, six coming from three point range.
Hill would enjoy the championship, scoring 21.
The last three was netted by Stapler in the final minute.
It has been a huge week for Stapler and her family, Her father Brad was named the new principal at Fairview High School by the CCBOE on May 20.
For Shadix, this is her 3rd championship she has claimed in the 2024 season as a member of the well known Starz organization.
The SYBL will conduct its "Summer Splash" the final weekend of May with a percentage of the games to be at the CBC.
Photo of Laklin Shadix (20) and Ella Gossett (24) of Southern Starz Whitlock during halftime of a SYBL game at the Cullman Basketball Complex Saturday.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.
