The Oklahoma City Storm girls basketball team won't scare their opponents off with their size, but they'll turn some heads with their speed.
Quickness has been the most valuable asset for the Storm in attaining the No. 5 national seed — and No. 1 seed in their region — at the National Homeschool Basketball Championships, which begin Monday in Springfield, Mo.
The Storm has hopes of playing for a national championship at week's end, but they know it won't be easy. The competition level at the top is fierce, so playing to their strengths will be vital for the Storm.
“Especially when we press, or when people press us, we can use our speed to our advantage and it's layups all the time,” senior Brook Ferguson said. “We have a lot of speed in the backcourt as well as the frontcourt, and not a lot of teams can say that.”
The Storm is 29-14 on the season, and won their regional tournament last week. They returned three starters from last year's squad, so the experience at nationals won't be new.
“Nationals is a lot of fun,” said junior Laura Ward, who was named MVP at last year's tournament. “It's hectic. You've got games every day and there are a lot of teams there. But there's so much energy from our fans, that we play so much more as a team. It's so much fun.”
There's the possibility that the Storm could eventually run into the nation's top player — not just in homeschools, but any school. Moriah Jefferson of THESA, a Fort Worth-based homeschool, is the top-ranked point guard in the country according to ESPN and has signed with Connecticut.
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