Women's hoops to sign 5-8 PG Shar'rae Davis of Grand Haven, MI

[ysuindy]

Twitter informs us that 5-8 Shar-Rae Davis will sign with YSU


J.Wilkins ‏ @LBInsider
5'8" Sha'rae Davis '12 of Grand Haven HS (MI) will sign with Youngstown St according to her AAU Coach DeWayne Scott..

https://twitter.com/#!/LBInsider

[ysuindy]

Davis is a 5-8 point guard who had the winning basket in the state championship game

EAST LANSING -- Cierra Rice -- a freshman everywhere at Grosse Pointe South except on the basketball court -- scored on a backdoor cut to tie the game with 16 seconds left and was headed to the free-throw line to put South ahead.

The little team that couldn't was indeed about to do it.

South, which had never done anything in the state tournament, was on the verge of winning the Class A state championship Saturday against No. 1-ranked Grand Haven.

In the final time-out of the season, Grand Haven coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer told her players Rice was going to make the free throw and set up a play for point guard Shar' Rae Davis.

"We were going to run a one-four low for Shar' Rae, she does a very good job at getting to the rim," she said. "I told her if they pick her up, get it to Abby and keep it high."

Davis heard everything but the last sentence.

Yes, Abby Cole is 6-feet-5, but the only way the ball was leaving Davis' hands was by court order or on a shot attempt.

"Anytime in that situation, my goal is to get to the rim," she said. "Either they're going to foul me or I'm going to make it."

In other words, Davis' two options were she was going to shoot or she was going to shoot.

"Yep," she said, laughing. "Yep. For the most part."

But what about Cole, the 6-5 star who had scored 18 points?

"I didn't even see ... were you down there, Abby?" Davis asked. "I didn't even see the rest of my team."

Cole lined up on the left block, opposite the side Davis was coming down the floor on.

"I was saying: 'Just go,' " Cole said waving her hand toward Davis. "I was on the opposite block and I was ready to rebound if she had missed, but we trust Shar' Rae and she does what she does."

Davis streaked toward the basket, twisted her body and laid the ball off the glass and through the bucket with 9 seconds left.

Then she ran down the court and watched as Rice's last shot never got to the basket -- if she was fouled, she traveled first so please let's not have any conspiracy theories -- and the buzzer sounded.

But instead of acting like she had just won the state championship, Davis stood there and waited ... for overtime.

"Actually, when I made the basket I thought it was tied," she said. "I was waiting for something to happen. Then I saw Abby jumping and everybody run at me. I still didn't believe it. I had to look at the score."

The score had Grand Haven winning, 54-53, and Davis wound up with 19 points in the biggest game of her life.

No one would have guessed that because for the first three quarters Davis struggled as South built an 18-point lead.

"Early on she was kind of forcing it and not getting her teammates involved," said Kowalczyk-Fulmer. "We weren't running our offense and she wasn't getting it done on defense, either."

But in the final 8 minutes of her high school career she scored 10 points, including the final two on the biggest possession in school history when there was only one choice.

"I do pass a lot, my teammates know that," Davis insisted. "But this is one time I wasn't going to pass it."

http://www.freep.com/article/20120318/HSS1201/203180641/Mick-McCabe-Cierra-Rice-had-only-1-option

[ysuindy]

Two time first team all-state

Their stats aren’t as impressive as some other players across the state.

They don’t need to be.

The impact they make on their team is undeniable, and coaches across the state have taken notice.

Grand Haven seniors Alex Law and Shar’Rae Davis were both named to the Class A girls basketball all-state first team today.

The announcement came as a thrill to coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer, who guides her No. 1-ranked Bucs into the Class A state semifinals against Inkster today at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

“They’ve both had very good years,” Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “All-state is usually a lot about stats, but that’s hard to tell. We tried to play a tougher schedule this year, but we didn’t have many close games. I don’t keep kids in the game trying to get them all-state.”

Even playing limited minutes, Law and Davis put up nice numbers this winter.

Law, a four-year varsity starter who eclipsed 1,000 points in her career, had a strong all-around season. She led the Bucs in scoring at 11.6 points per game and also averaged around 3 rebounds and 2 assists. She shot over 40 percent from 3-point range and 87 percent from the free throw line.

“Alex had a really great year,” Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “She’s a four-year varsity player and our leading scorer those four years. She really has a passion for the sport. It’s nice to see her be rewarded. That’s some pretty tough company on the all-state team. Some of those kids average 20-plus points a game. We’ve earned the respect of voters going 25-1 this year and 26-1 last year.”

Kowalczyk-Fulmer also complimented Law on how she handled a lot of adversity over the past year. Her father, Dave, suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm during the Bucs’ season a year ago. Law then hurt her knee during the Bucs’ quarterfinal contest against East Lansing and gutted out her team’s semifinal loss to Detroit Renaissance on a bad leg.

“With what Alex has had to endure with her dad, with some injuries, she’s had to overcome some tough things, and she’s been a good leader for us,” Kowalczyk-Fulmer said.

Davis, who transferred to Grand Haven from Allendale prior to her junior season, is a repeat pick on the first-team all-state team. She is the engine that makes the Buccaneers go from her point guard position.

Davis is very capable of lighting up the scoreboard, averaging over 10 points per game, but she typically defers to her teammates, taking more pride in assists than points, averaging five per contest.

Her value to the team was apparent in Tuesday’s quarterfinal game against East Lansing. Davis picked up three quick fouls and had to sit almost the entire first half, and the Buccaneers looked lost without her.

“Shar’Rae really has a gift, a talent out there,” Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “She has the ability to make other people better on the floor, and she has a very high basketball IQ. Her ability to pass, she can shoot the three, she uses her body really well to get to the rim, and she’s shooting 83 percent from the line.

“Shar’Rae understands the game really well, and she really thrives on the big stage.

“These girls have really raised the bar for Grand Haven girls basketball.”

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/content/bucs-law-davis-named-first-team-all-state?similar

[Pizza]

I have a friend who just had a new baby girl....he's deciding on names.

I was thinking.....Mary, Dina, Courtney.....Maria.

He is leaning towards......Shar'rae. You know, something that  is easy to say and spell.....so when the child gets older, graduates, has job interviews, ......has sales calls to make ....... .....life will be easier.....so she doesn't have to spell her name for everyone she ever contacts for the rest of her professional life.