Foothills Frogs wins the CSB Mayberry Nationals Basketball Tournament

On Saturday, April 20, the Foothills Frogs travel basketball team, a team composed primarily of Elkin High School basketball players, traveled to Mount Airy to participate in the Carolina Stars Basketball Mayberry Nationals “Ring Series” Tournament. The Frogs went undefeated to claim the tournament championship, earning the players a plaque and championship rings.

Best friends and former AAU teammates, McKendal Renegar and Jd Lomax teamed together to coach the new team in an effort to increase the girls’ skills and to strengthen their team play during their high school off season. This was the first tournament for the newly formed team.

The Frogs took on the West Virginia Ballerz in the first game of the tournament. Their tenacious defense seemed to paralyze the Ballerz. Ayla Ford burned up the nets from behind the arc as she led her team in scoring, with five made three pointers. The Frogs won their first game, 27-20.

With balanced scoring from all of the starters, the Frogs easily rolled past Carolina Zoom in their second game of the day, to take another victory, 23-16. The Frogs, led by their guards Sierra Carpenter and Mavery Renegar exhibited good ball movement and took great care of the ball, with only 4 turnovers for the game. Alyssa Jenkins grabbed several steals and converted a couple of those into easy layups.

In the championship game, the Frogs faced their toughest competition of the day with a matchup with Shockwave. In a fast paced game, the Frogs again, were able to minimize their turnovers while placing intense pressure on their opponents to force them to turnover the ball. Presley Baker, although outsized under the basket, managed to grab double digit rebounds, including several offensive rebounds, giving her team numerous second chances to score. Although Shockwave kept the game close, the Frogs led the entire game and took the win, 28-24.

When asked if he expected his team to win the tournament, Coach Renegar remarked, “of course. I had complete confidence that the girls could take the win.” Coach Lomax commented, “It has been a great weekend. We are proud of these girls. Now, its back to work!”