Air-Time Elite finishes second at Foreverland tournament
The Air-Time Elite girls basketball team finished as the runner-up at the Foreverland II tournament hosted by Premier Basketball June 17-18 in Mansfield.
The team features four Burnet High School athletes: Sydney Lough, Sierra Schaefer, Kloe Shannon and Zaria Solis. They helped the team beat Team Lex Elite 55-17 and Nike Pro Skills (Texas Finest) 53-43 and lost to Texas Elite Fort Worth 63-53 in the championship.
“We did great,” said head coach Chris Torres, a 2011 Marble Falls High School graduate. “We won our pool and were in the championship and lost a close one. There were some really good teams there that featured five or six Division I girls.”
Nike Pro Skills (Texas Finest) featured several Division I-caliber players taller than 6 feet .
Air-Time Elite had an eight-point lead against Texas Elite Fort Worth, but an injury paved the way for the opponent to make a comeback.
Torres noted the Lady Dawgs have “played together for a long time” and showed it on the court.
“There’s plenty of court camaraderie that translates to on-court chemistry,” the coach said. “All the girls are really clicking. They’re comfortable with each other as well as a sisterhood. They all treat each other like sisters. That translates to the court.”
Other athletes include Genesis Barnhart of Corpus Christi Carrol, Caitlynn Clark of El Paso Franklin, Ava (Izzy) Fernandez of San Antonio Churchill, Sophia Semmler of Houston Fulshear, and Jade Williams of Houston Hargrave.
Clark, Torres said, plays much like her namesake — the great Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa who led the Hawkeyes to the national championship in 2022-23 and won every Player of the Year honor for the season.
“She plays just like her,” Torres said of Air Elite’s Clark. “She’s a girl with a bunch of Division I and Division II interest. “
Air-Time Elite’s style of play attracts other athletes and challenges opponents to be in tip-top shape, he said.
“We’re a run-and-gun type of team,” he said. “Everyone has the green light from the 3-point line. We’ve hit 17 3-pointers. “
The team will travel to Kentucky for Run for the Roses Classic and Run for the Roses Championship July 6-11 then play in the Orlando Splash tournament July 20-21 and The National Championship July 22-24, both in Orlando, Fla.
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