Contents
Guide
Page List
GIRLS SportsZone
GIRLS
BASKETBALL
By Brendan Flynn
SportsZone
An Imprint of Abdo Publishing
abdobooks.com
abdobooks.com
Published by Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55439. Copyright 2022 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International
copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without written permission from the publisher. SportsZone is a
trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing.
Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota.
102021
012022
Cover Photos: Colin Edwards/Alamy, (girl); Shutterstock Images, (basketball)
Interior Photos: Nick Wass/AP Images, 45; Elaine Thompson/AP Images, 7, 2021,
39; AJ Mast/AP Images, 10; Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images, 1213;
Eileen T. Meslar/AP Images, 15; M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire/AP Images,
17, 26; Aris Messinis/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, 23; Nick Wosika/Icon
Sportswire/AP Images, 25, 2829; Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire/AP Images,
32; Duncan Williams/Icon SMI/Corbis/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images, 34; Abbie
Parr/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, 3637; Jordon Kelly/Cal Sport Media/AP
Images, 42; Shutterstock Images, 44
Editor: Charlie Beattie
Series Designer: Jake Nordby
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021941592
Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Flynn, Brendan, author.
Title: Girls Basketball / by Brendan Flynn
Description: Minneapolis, Minnesota : Abdo Publishing, 2022 | Series: Girls
SportsZone | Includes online resources and index.
Identifiers: ISBN 9781532196331 (lib. bdg.) | ISBN 9781098218140 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Basketball--Juvenile literature. | Sports for girls--Juvenile
literature. | Basketball for girls--Juvenile literature. | Team sports--Juvenile
literature.
Classification: DDC 796.323--dc23
JUMP SHOOTING WITH
ELENA
DELLE DONNE
lena Delle Donne wasnt the first option
on the play. After all, she was just a
E
rookie. And the Chicago Sky had plenty
of veteran stars available to take the last shot.
But even in her first year, Delle Donne had
demonstrated a knack for making big plays.
And with the clock ticking down in a 2013
game against the Phoenix Mercury, she did
it again.
The score was tied 6868 with 5.8 seconds
left. Delle Donne took an inbound pass from
teammate Epiphanny Prince near center court.
The Mercurys DeWanna Bonner, one of the top
defenders in the Womens National Basketball
Association (WNBA), came out to guard
Delle Donne.
Delle Donne took a couple of dribbles
toward the basket as she looked for an open
teammate. She wanted to pass the ball back to
Prince, but Prince couldnt shake her defender.
Time was running out, and Delle Donne knew
she had to make her move.
While playing for the Washington Mystics, Elena
Delle Donne, right , hoists a jump shot over Los
Angeles Sparks defender Jantel Lavender in 2018.
She dribbled to her left, and Bonner followed her. Then Delle
Donne spun back to the right, finding space to shoot just inside
the free-throw line. She jumped and released the ball with
0.5 seconds remaining on the clock. The ball swished through
the net as the horn sounded.
Big Shot Maya
The dramatic jump shot gave
The Minnesota Lynx won four
the Sky a 7068 victory.
WNBA titles between 2011
The play not only
and 2017. One big factor
demonstrated Delle Donnes
in their success was the
shooting ability of guard Maya
shooting skills. It also showed
Moore. The six-time All-Star
how much trust she had earned
and 2014 league MVP was
from her teammates so early in
one of the top five WNBA
her career.
three-point shooters for six
The play was for [Prince],
straight seasons. One of her
biggest moments came in
Chicago center Sylvia Fowles
2015. She hit a three-pointer
said. Im pretty sure they knew
at the buzzer to lift the Lynx
it was going to Piph because
past the Indiana Fever 8077
everybody ran to Piph, but the
in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
clock was winding down and
Minnesota went on to win the
[Elena], as always, had the
title two games later.
green light to go.
Delle Donne generally has been given the green light to
shoot wherever shes played. From her high school and college
days in Delaware to her WNBA career with the Sky and later
Delle Donne puts up a shot during the 2018 WNBA Finals.
The forward averaged 20.7 points per game that season
while hitting 48.8 percent of her shots.
with the Washington Mystics, the six-time All-Star has carried
teams with her jump shot.
It helps that at 6 feet, 5 inches, shes tall enough to shoot
over most players. And as her play against Phoenix showed,
she also has the agility and ball-handling skills to create a shot
for herself.
Delle Donne is a pure shooter from pretty much anywhere
on the court. She won the WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP)
Award in 2015 when she averaged a career-high 23.4 points per
game. She won her second MVP award in 2019 while leading
Washington to its first WNBA title.
Much of Delle Donnes success is credited to her famous
work ethic. Shes usually the first player on the court before
practice and the last one to leave after. She does this to work
on her shot. But it also demonstrates a leadership quality her
teammates respect. Every single day she comes in with the
same efficiency, whether shes tired, whether shes hurting,
whether shes fatigued, said Natasha Cloud, Delle Donnes
teammate on the Mystics. And when you have that in your
leader, its easy to follow her example.
The Jump Shot
Making jump shots is not an easy task. Many professional
players make less than 50 percent in games. But Delle Donne
makes the jump shot look easy. She can rise above defenders
and nail shots from all over the court. Any team that has great
jump shooters like Delle Donne has an advantage.
There are other ways players can score in basketball. The
layup is a common shot. Free throws are important too. Both
of those shots take a lot of practice. But jump shots are the
hardest to make. That is especially true for three-pointers.
The best scorers often take hundreds of practice shots
between games.
The first key to a good jump shot is finding a balanced
position. The players feet and body should be square to the
basket. That means her body should be directly facing the
hoop. Then the player must jump upward. The goal is to release
the shot while rising and at or near the highest point of the
