All-star games don't usually stress team basketball.
But at halftime of the Girls' McDonald's All American High School Game, that's what the West team emphasized.
Fifty-two second-half points showed it wasn't a bad idea as the West beat the East 80-64 at the Joyce Center Wednesday night.
"We were trying to get started and gel with everybody," said Lindsay Schrader, who will be attending Notre Dame in the fall. "We were playing more as a team than individuals, which teams tend to do in all-star games. Playing team ball really won the game."
Most valuable player Courtney Paris led the West with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 12 rebounds. Eleven of Paris' points came in the second half.
"As a post player, it's hard to play in games like this," Paris said. "You have to get a pass from the guards, who were selfless tonight."
Both teams struggled in the first half, each scoring 28 points, but neither shot better than 30 percent. The game started to open up late in the half as the teams started running and getting into the open court instead of relying on individual moves to create offensive opportunities.
Marissa Coleman led the East squad and all scorers with 19 points in 21 minutes.
Schrader is Notre Dame's only McDonald's All-American, and the first since Crystal Erwin attained the honor for the 2003 game. Courtney LaVere played in the game in 2002.
Texas is the only school with three All-Americans while Maryland, Duke, Oklahoma and California each have two.
Overall, the night and weekend was a positive experience for Schrader and Paris.
"When you're on an All-Star team, everyone can take big shots," Paris said. "We got confidence with each other.
"It was exciting and fun to play
