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Philadelphia team ends Boo Williams' streak
By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com

HAMPTON -- Megan Pearson knows that Kerri Shields likes the ball near the 3-point line so she can launch deep 3s. Shields knows that Pearson likes to get the ball in transition in order to make things happen, and although it's her first year running with the Comets of Philadelphia, Elena Delle Donne is learning to know it all.

In front of more than 100 college coaches, the Comets displayed that chemistry Sunday to roll past Boo Williams Summer League 58-45 in the 16-and-under Gold Division title game at Hampton University's Holland Hall.

A couple hundred fans also were in attendance as Delle Donne, named the tournament's most valuable player, scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Pearson led the Comets with 19 points.

BWSL had won the tournament the previous two years.

"I'm new, but they've been together since they were like 10 years old," Delle Donne said of her teammates. "We play really well together as a team. It's our third tournament, and I don't know all of their sweet spots yet, but we all came together really quickly. We just share the ball and think that the next pass is the best pass."

Delle Donne was dominant early, scoring her team's first 10 points. Pearson took it from there and scored the Comets' next seven points to give them an early 17-8 lead.

They led 33-23 at halftime, after 21 of the Comets' points came from seven 3s.

"We were hot," Pearson said. "Elena told us that Boo Williams had a good team, but we had never played them before. Sometimes it's better not knowing too much about your opponent."

Delle Donne said that the Comets' plan was to push the pace because of BWSL center Lynetta Kizer, a brute offensive threat who is more effective in the half-court set.

Kizer, from Potomac High in Dumfries, ended up with seven points, one of her lowest totals of the weekend.

"She's very strong," Delle Donne said of Kizer. "We tried to get it to the girl who she was guarding because we knew that we had a quickness advantage."

The Comets also outrebounded BWSL 39-26.

"Really?" Delle Donne said. "That's a surprise; we didn't expect that at all. I didn't think that would happen. We just knew we had to grab the ones we could."

BWSL coach Boo Williams said his team would take its first tournament of the AAU season as a learning experience.

"We played hard, but they made shots and got us out of rhythm," Williams said. "Delle Donne was great and you know that she's gonna get hers, but No. 24 (Pearson) killed us. You can't have that. We've got to contain better, but we'll learn from this and move on."

Delle Donne said this was the type of momentum the Comets needed heading into regionals in two weeks.

"It's a big boost for us," she said. "But we've got to keep working because we see what can happens when we do that." «