The 35th edition of Bookstore Basketball tipped off Tuesday on the pavement of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore and two other sets of courts as teams battled in the preliminary round of the tournament.
You Surely Received an Unfortunate Draw began its tournament with a 21-5 victory over Team 161.
Unfortunate Draw's name is a reference to past champions and 2006 No. 1 seed U Got a Bad Draw, though the spin-off team lacks a starting quarterback. But the team's cohesive play was enough to knock off its first foe.
"We were the ninth-to-last rated team, so we have a lot to prove in this tournament," Unfortunate Draw captain Fritz Shadley said.
Team 161 captain Pat O'Brien was not surprised by the game's outcome, as he thought going in his team was outmatched.
"We were hoping to play a girls team that wasn't taking it seriously," O'Brien said.
After an early 1-1 tie, Unfortunate Draw ripped off seven straight points en route to an 11-3 halftime lead. The team used its strength and athleticism to create second-chance opportunities with offensive rebounds.
The chairmen of the boards were captain Fritz Shadley and Eric "The One Who Goes by Churninator" Cherney, who both fed outlet passes to teammates for fast-break points.
The Churninator donned a Wisconsin t-shirt and scored a game-high six points, badgering Team 161's defense with a shot that was a hybrid Kareem skyhook and one-handed toss. Every player on Unfortunate scored at least three points.
Shadley said the tournament is a personal mission for him
"I feel like I'm going to have to stand up for people named Fritz everywhere," he said. "'Cause we can play basketball."
1997 All European Team 21, Dem Keenan Boyz 9
An endless arsenal of Euro-fabulousness was too foreign for the ebonically confined "Boyz" of Keenan to stop.
Dem Keenan Boyz suffered sudden culture shock, as All Euro opened up with a 7-1 run their opponent never came back from.
All Euro captain Ben Chupp said his team had to replace its original starting lineup of former Bulls forward Tony Kucoc, Hornets center Vlade Divac, Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis, Celtics guard Dino Rada and Sonics forward Detlef Schrempf due to the fact they had no affiliation with Notre Dame.
But Chupp dealt with the lineup changes and tied a game high with six points, a feat matched by teammate Anthony Obering.
Both Chupp and Obering played physical games reflecting a style more American than European, as Chupp's Grant Hill jersey suggested.
Chupp complimented Obering's play.
"We used our big man pretty well," Chupp said. "Everything kind of went through him. [He] was a dominating force."
On defense, Chupp disrupted Dem Keenan Boyz' offensive flow by getting in the passing lanes and forcing turnovers.
Five Hot Girls Who Will Probably Lose in the First Round But are Hoping to Get Lucky 21, Flunis 15
Defying the team name, Five Hot Girls used advantages in size and quickness to defeat Flunis 21-15 Tuesday at McGlinn Courts.
"We have some quick big guys that really helped out on the fast break," Hot Girl junior Joe O'Connell said.
Five Hot Girls used its transition offense to seal the contest towards the end. The game was neck-and-neck through the first half, as Flunis employed a 2-3 zone, often doubling Five Hot Girls' big men underneath. The Hot Girls led 11-10 when the teams switched ends.
"We tried to limit their shots inside with the zone, but they got some put-backs and easy transition buckets," Flunis player Brandon Reichardt said. "We hung in there, but then we got tired, and they pulled away."
While Hot Girls had three players that were taller than the tallest Flunis member, the 2-3 zone kept Flunis in the game. But Hot Girls began hitting their midrange jumpers after the half and increased its lead to 16-13.
"We tried to attack the open spots and get the closest shot as possible, then use our size to get putbacks," O'Connell said.
The Hot Girls pulled away using fast break opportunities created by an aggressive man-to-man defense to seal the victory.
Team 50 21, Fetching Fivesome 2
Despite eccentric clothing, the Fetching Fivesome could not overcome the wind, a talent disadvantage and an "inept" coaching staff in a 21-2 loss to Team 50 Tuesday.
"I think our lack of ability stems from our coaching," Fivesome member Maureen Sefton said.
Using a coach-designed offensive strategy, Fetching Fivesome had more than 10 passes intercepted by Team 50 near the half-court line.
"In our defense, we did score - twice," Fivesome coach Meg Ditsworth, said. "To be honest though, we're in it for the money."
Fetching Fivesome's tactic of wearing distractingly bright undergarments over regular clothes worked wonders on the defensive end of the court as Team 50 missed more than a dozen layups.
"We caused them to miss all those lay-ups," Sefton said. "But the rest of us were just too lazy to get back down there and rebound."
Halfway through the game, one of the players on Team 50 engaged in some trash-talking, Fivesome player Chrissy Perocchi said. That lit a fire under the team.
Perocchi said she her one of her opponents quip, "You guys paid $20 for this?"
She responded by scoring the first of her team's two buckets.
After the game, resentment remained among the Fivesome.
"I'm not going out with any of those guys," Fivesome guard Laurén Shuttleworth said.
Middle School MVPs 21, Team 183 9
Middle School MVPs topped Team 183 21-9 at the Bookstore courts Tuesday in a game much closer than the final score indicates.
The contest was a hard-fought battle between two teams comprised entirely of women that saw countless dives for loose balls. Players on both teams said the intensity level was higher than expected.
"There was definitely a lot of aggressive play," MVP senior Erika Gurrola said.
Members of Team 183 said the high-contact game resulted in many abrasions and bruises on their teammates.
"We knew that Bookstore games were supposed to be serious as well as fun but we're very disappointed that the game got so brutal," Team 183 sophomore forward Meghan Paladino said.
All five members of Middle School MVPs are seniors.
"We knew we could take on a bunch of sophomores," MVP Liz Berry said.
Berry said the win was important to legitimize the team's name.
"Middle school was the last time we were legit," she said. "Until now."
We're Big in Europe 21, Team UBS 17
We're Big in Europe defeated Team UBS - Build Up Your Assets 21-17 at the Bookstore courts yesterday in a game that remained close throughout.
"We're definitely lucky to have won," We're Big player Patrick Starr said.
We're Big led 19-13 but Team UBS, which was composed entirely of female players, fought back to cut the deficit to 19-17. But to the dismay of a vociferous crowd, We're Big thwarted the Team UBS comeback attempt.
"It was a pretty tough loss," UBS freshman guard Alison Heyden said.
Meanwhile, members of the all-male squad We're Big in Europe were thankful to have escaped to play in the second round.
"We faced some good players today," We're Big point guard Andrew "Conan" Digan said. "They definitely gave us a run for our money."
Digan said the two teams were evenly matched in terms of basketball talent.
His teammate, Tim "Let's Get Physical" Harmon, said the squad is looking forward to its next game, a contest Saturday against Google Maps Are the Best, True That, Double True. Harmon said his team must improve upon its performance in the first contest.
"We have to rebound a lot better than we did," Harmon said, referring to the physical play of Team UBS' players in the paint.
Despite not advancing to the second round of the open tournament, Team UBS will play again.
"We still get to play in the women's tournament, so we're not that upset," Hayden said. "This was a very good warm-up for us."
