Mid Season successes and celebrations

The Lady Rams are off to a good start in their inaugural season posting an 8-4 record overall and 2-1 in the Carolina 3A. We have a few girls that are ranked statistically among the leaders in the triangle. See below
http://www.newsobserver.com/content/sports/highschool/2010/top_numbers.html#Girls_Basketball
Courtney Ireland 12.7 points per game ranks 29th
Courtney Ireland 9.8 rebounds per game ranks 4th
Dae Dae Roberson rebounds per game ranks 24th
Courtney Morris 4.6 steals per game ranks 4th
Monique Torres 3.7 steals per game ranks 8th
Jasmine Richardson 3.5 steals per game ranks 9th
Monique Torres 2.5 assists per game ranks 15th

As a team the Lady Rams rank 5th in scoring defense among the public schools allowing only 35.8 points per game.

Lady Rams hold on to lead (article from Smithfield Herald

http://www.theherald-nc.com/2010/12/20/17015/rams-hold-it-together.html

Lady Rams win defensive game in 1st Round of Wallace Rose-Hill Tournament

A 4pm game is not the best time to start a Monday game and it showed Monday night as neither Cleveland or West Brunswick could find the range in the 1st half of their game. However the Rams outscored West Brunswick in the second half to seal a 40-34 win to get improve to 8-3 in their first season.

"We weren't finishing our shots in the first half tonight, but like we have done so far this season, we just kept working on the defensive end", said coach Chris Danehower. "I challenged them at halftime to create some more energy on the floor. Our bench did a good job of doing just that by cheering loud when we made a positive play."

The Lady Rams responded with a 8-0 run to begin the second half and snagged as 17-12 lead halfway through the 3rd quarter. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter as Cleveland held a 24-19 advantage to begin the 4th.

The Lady Rams will play in the 2nd round of the tournament tonight at Wallace Rose-Hill High school. The game is slated to begin at 7pm.

**Go Lady Rams**

Lady Rams pull away from Southern Wayne in the final quarter

The Cleveland Lady Rams pulled away from a pesky Souther Wayne team Friday night 46-30 behind a 23 point fourth quarter.

The Rams were led by Courtney Ireland who posted her 6th double double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Monique Torres chipped in 12 points, 4 assists and 3 steals while Jasmine Richardson scored nine points, pulled down 7 rebounds and collected 4 steals. Dae Dae Roberson added 7 points to round out the scoring.

The Rams will travel to Wallace Rose-Hill this week for a three game tournament before taking a break for the Holiday.

**Go Lady Rams**

Lady Rams sweep Corinth Holders

The Cleveland Lady Rams completed a 1st season sweep of the Corinth Holders Pirates on Wednesday evening with a 36-23 win.

The Rams were led by Courtney Morris with 12 points and 4 steals. Monique Torres stepped up to pour in 11 points and 4 assists and Jasmine Richardson scored double digits for the 1st time this season netting 10 points.

Courtney Ireland and Dea Dea Roberson combined for 16 rebounds to secure the win. The Lady Rams are 5-2 and will travel to N. Lenior High School on Friday for the 1st conference contest of the season Friday. Game time is slated for 6:30.

**Go Lady Rams**

Lady Rams win @ Corinth Holders improve to 3-2 on the season

The Cleveland Girls Basketball team took control of a tight game midway through the second quarter and never looked back defeating it's sister school Corinth Holders 35-24 Friday evening.

Courtney Ireland recorded her third straight Double-Double netting 14 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was Courtney Morris with 13 points to go along with 2 steals. Jasmine Richardson contributed with a good all around court game scoring 7 points, 5 steals, 3 assists and three rebounds.

Monique Torres added a free throw, to complete the scoring. Torres also had 3 assists and three steals. Dea Dea Roberson and Angel Chuckwu combined for 7 boards, and three steals.

"I think this game taught us that you have to be at your best every game in order to win on the road", said Coach Chris Danehower.. "We missed some easy opportunities early in the 1st quarter and Corinth did a good job of taking advantage of our missed opportunities. Jasmine Richard really stepped up tonight when we had a little foul trouble and really steadied the ship for us. Some players did not have their best night, but others stepped up and took things on their shoulders. If we can keep that kind of teamwork going, we could do some interesting things."

Cleveland Lady Rams win again!!

The Lady Rams of Cleveland High School won their first home game of the season Tuesday night a tough hard fought 51-31 win over the Princeton Bulldogs.

The Rams were led by double-double from Monique Torres and Courtney Ireland. Torres got her's the hard way scoring 19 points while stealing the ball 10 times. Deanna (Dae Dae) Roberson notched 11 points and 7 boards. Jasmine Richardson knocked down 3 baskets and three free throws to tally 9 points to go along with her 3 assists, 4 steals and 6 rebounds. Courtney Morris finished out the scoring with one bucket to go along with 5 steals and 2 assists.

The Rams will travel to Corinth Holders on Friday December 3, 2010. The Pirates are off to a good start as well at 2-1 having recorded wins over both Princeton and SSS in their first three games. Game time is slated for 6pm.

**Go Lady Rams**

Lady Rams fall to North Johnston 62-45

The Lady Rams could not get over the hill Monday night at North Johnston falling to the Panthers 62-45. The rams fell into an early hole just too far to dig out of trailing by 9 after the first quarter but just 12 at the half (32-20)

The Rams opened up on a 8-4 run through the first 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter cutting the North lead to just 8 points. After a Panther timeout, North Johnston extended their lead and never looked back.

Cleveland was led by Courtney Ireland with her first career double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Monique Torres lead the team in scoring pouring in 16 points, dishing out 3 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds. Courtney Morris added 8 points and three steals. While Deanna Roberson scored three baskets inside and Jasmine Richardson chipped in with a bucket while she pulled down 5 boards and had 2 takeaways.

"Overall, I thought we really competed tonight. We had good effort and continued to be aggressive throughout the game. We have to continue to get better and work on some basics defensively and finish under the basket", said coach Chris Danehower.

The Lady Rams will host Princeton tonight beginning at 6pm.

**Go Lay Rams**

Lady Rams sink Princeton for first win

The Cleveland Lady Rams made 9 of 11 free throws in the final minutes to complete their first win in program history 50-46.
Cleveland trailed at the half 16-11, but come out more aggressive in the 3rd quarter due primarily  to a full court pressure applied to the Princeton Bulldogs. After only shooting 2 free throws in the first half. Cleveland visited the charity stripe nine times in the 3rd quarter and 18 in the 4th stanza.

Cleveland was led by Courtney Morris who scored a team high 17 points to go along with 10 steals. Monique Torres contributed 14 points and 3 assists. Courtney Ireland hit on 8 free throw attempts and pulled down 7 rebounds along with teammate Deanna Roberson who also had 7 boards to go with 2 baskets. Jasmine Richardson contributed 3 baskets and a free throw to net 7 points and 4 assists.

"I am proud of these girls", said first year coach Chris Danehower. They have come in and worked and trusted what we asked them to do. The free throw shooting down the stretch was crucial to us having a chance to win this game at the end."

Cleveland will travel to North Johnston on Monday November 29th to play a non conference game.
"I know North (Johnston) is one of the most consistent programs in Johnston County and I know they will present some challenges to our team. Hopefully we will be ready to accept their challenge on Monday.

**Go Lady Rams**

Lady Rams put up a good fight but fall in opener 34-24

The Cleveland Lady Rams found themselves ahead of West Johnson in their first game. Midway through the second quarter Cleveland led 13-8. West finished the half on a 9-0 run to lead at the half  by a 17-13 count.
"I thought we started the game very well, said coach Chris Danehower. We had a lot of energy early and I think West was a little surprised."

The final tally was decided in the third quarter as West changed defenses and were able to make Cleveland do something different. West outscored Cleveland 11-4 in the third quarter to take control of the game.

The teams both scored six in the final stanza and West pulled out a 34-24 win.

"Overall I feel like we competed the entire game, had good shots that did not go down, but overall I really liked out effort and tenacity. We had some stretches that we could have played more consistently and taken better shots."

Deanna Robertson collected a game high 12 rebounds to go with her two baskets and Courtney Ireland finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds for the Lady Rams.

The Rams will travel to Princeton tomorrow night for a 5:00 tipoff.

Practice plans for Thanksgiving weekend

Realizing we will all need a break from basketball next week. We are going to have practice on Saturday at 5pm. We are going to have a later practice on Saturday to give families a chance to get back from their Thanksgiving travels.

Don't forget we have a game on Monday November 29th.

Coach D

A learning scrimmage with Garner

We had a pre-season scrimmage with Garner last night. While we don't keep official score of the game, we did keep up with some statistics.

These are just estimates but this gives us a foundation to build upon.
27 turnovers
11 baskets including 4 while being fouled while shooting
18 rebounds
7 steals
5 assists

Overall a good experience for the girls. This was a good team to play because of their athletic ability. For the most part we were aggressive and played hard. We are going to focus on cutting down on the turnovers and finishing those shots.

We had a successful scrimmage vs. our boys practice squad

Deanna Roberson score the game winner as the Lady Rams come from behind to defeat their boys practice squad in an intra-squad scrimmage Wednesday night at Cleveland Gym.

Blue/White Intra squad Scrimmage tonight at Cleveland

Tonight is our very first Intra squad scrimmage. The JV girls will get started at 5pm with the Varsity Girls starting around 5:30.

We are asking for a donation of 2 cans of food to the Food Bank as your admission to tonights event.

Go Lady Rams

Thanks for a good turnout at the parent meeting last night

Thanks to all of the parents that attended the parent night at Cleveland High.
Today's practice will be from 4:30-6:30. We need everyone to attend the entire practice.

Let's get this thing going right tomorrow with our Blue/White Scrimmage. Admission is two cans of food to donate to the Food Bank.

Week 2 of Practice begins today

Today we begin our second week of practice. We are coming along well with our conditioning. This week will be a little different with an early release day and Veterans Day in the middle of the week. Parent night is tonight at 7pm. Student-Athletes and Parents are expected to attend tonight and sign a Athletic Contract.

Click on this Schedule Link to see the Practice schedule
Click here to see the Game Schedule

One week until the 1st Official Practice begins

Get ready to Rock Lady Rams
First Official Practice begins Monday November 1, 2010

Basketball Training sessions offered this week

We will have basketball training session this week for the girls from 2:45-4:00 on Tuesday and Thursday. More individual workouts will be offered soon as we get ready for the 1st official day of team practice.

See coach D for details......

Official Practice begins in 33 days

Let's get our minds right....our first Official Practice begins on Monday November 1, 2010

1st open gym for the Lady Rams

Yesterday we had our first open gym and the girls are out of shape :) but for the most part I saw some really positive signs for the building of our programs.

Open Gym Schedule for next week

Open Gym Schedule for Week of September 13, 2010
Tuesday September 14 @ 2:45-3:45 in the Main Gym
Thursday September 16 @ 2:45-4pm in the Aux. Gum

Hope to see all of the non-fall sport Athletes there...

Coach D

Today we had our first meeting

18 prospective student-athletes showed up today to find out what kind of commitment is required to become a Lady Ram......what a great start!!

This afternoon we will have our first open gym of the year in the main gym. I can't wait to see who shows up.

Lady Rams finish summer workouts and now some rest

The Lady Rams Basketball team completed their first summer of basketball together on Tuesday July 27th. I am very impressed with the girls that choose to give up their summer mornings with us in order to prepare for the opening of our new school.

THANKS FOR A GREAT SUMMER OF BASKETBALL!!

FYI: Due to NCHSAA rules, basketball cannot have any workouts during the fall tryout period which runs from August 1 though September 1. 

Coach D

Lady Rams participate in Mount Olive Jam

The Cleveland Women's Basketball team participated in the Mount Olive Jamboree on Friday July 23, 2010. This was the 1st scrimmage for our new program. The Lady Rams played three games vs. Hobbton, River Mill and Havelock. Hobbton is a annually in the running for a playoff spot. River Mill is one of the states top 1A teams and Havelock was a 3A Eastern Regional participant last season.

While summer camp doesn't really count for much it does give the players and coaches an idea of what a team can do in November. However this was a really important day for the beginning of our program as we played two teams to a three-point loss. While River Mill introduced us to high school varsity basketball, I really liked the fight I saw in our team fought back as we never gave up and nearly pulled out 2 wins at the end of the other two games.

I can't wait until November as I am sure we will add some other players to the core unit we currently have and will round out our team.

Go Lady Rams!!!

Jamboree opportunity for next Friday

We have an opportunity to play in a Jamboree next Friday July 23 to end the summer workout schedule. We however need 7 or 8 people to commit to going. It will be in Mount Olive and we would play three or four games.

We need to make a decision today so to give Mount Olive time to schedule the games. West Johnston is not going as previously thought.

Week Five...looking for further progress in as our Program enters second month

There are a lot of kids out of town this week in vacations and such. However, we are still having workouts for those who are in town and want to be a part of something fun. I went down to the Cleveland Middle School camp this week and watched their drills for a while.

Looks like a bright future for Cleveland Girls Basketball as the girls continue to progress through the summer.

Week four ends with six girls showing up for workouts

We started the skills session today by working on setting and using screens. We focused on change of direction and change of speed when dribbling and footwork.

Two weeks until we have a jamboree at Mount Olive

Week Four Day 2...

We continue to have to great group of girls to work with and build a program. We are focusing on getting our core body in shape. Working on fundamentals of shooting, dribbling and defense are among or skill building sessions.

The girls have been asking about going into the weight room...This is a first for me as I am not sure I have ever had several girls as about the weight room. We will get them in there soon, perhaps today.

Let's see what happens today.

Article from Cleveland Post

Danehower signs on with Cleveland and will lead the Lady Rams

Week Four: Building a Strong Foundation

This week we will continue to build a foundation and hopefully add some more players to our growing list of girls who are committed to basketball.

This week we are going to focus on building trust among teammates and coaches. We are also going to be working on strengthening our core body and mind.

150 Days until Lady Rams play their first game

The Lady Rams will open up with West Johnston on November 22. We got a lot of work to do between now and then.......

Week Three ends with seven girls coming to workout

Today our program took a dramatic turn by having seven girls work hard for about 1 1/2 hours on some basic fundamentals, conditioning and I even added myself as an 8th person so we could scrimmage (this is scary).

Can't wait to see what happens next week!!

Week Three of our new Program

Today for the first time we actually have five girls committ themselves to improving their skillls. We have our best workout yet. I am beginning to see some improvement in both skill level and confidence that they can be good basketball players.

Can't wait to find out what they can do tommorrow!!

Week two of our new Program

The girls are coming along well in our 2nd week. I have been able to contact a few others to add to the four we had coming to our workouts.

This week we working on some of the basic fundamentals of the game: dribbling, passing, shooting layups working on shooting form and of course getting ourselves into "basketball" shape. As we continue to add potential girls to our program we will add new skill development.

Next week we are looking for a few others.
Schedule for week three
Monday 11-12:30
Tuesday  11-12:30
Wednesday 11-12:30
Thursday 11-12:30

Lady Rams
Ram Tough

Day four of our new program....

Well today we rounded out the week working on full court dribbling, conditioning and shooting. Learning the fundamentals of the game of basketball is the first order of business. One we have a basic skill set of the fundamentals we can then get ourselves organized as a team.

We are back at it next week starting Monday at 11am. Hope to see a better turnout then.

Lady Rams
Ram Tough

Coach D

June Schedule adjustments to workout schedule

We have moved our June workouts to 11am. We are doing this so we can go right after Volleyball. This way girls that want to participate in both won't have to make two trips to school.

Download the revised schedule from Google Docs and print out if you like.

June 2010 Women's Basketball Workout Schedule

Day Three of our new Program

Today we had three young ladies who come to Cleveland High School to improve on their games. Angel, Courtney and Alexis worked hard on dribbling the ball and shooting drills while getting some much needed conditioning done.

Tomorrow we are going to go at 11am so we can encourage some of the VB players to stay and workout with us.

Second Day of our building our new program

Today we had two young ladies who came and worked on the fundamentals of the game. These two girls have demonstrated they are ready to lead this program in year one.

All we need now are some other girls to join them....and we are going to be in business. I will not be discouraged by a low turnout......others will join in due time

Lady Rams
Ram Tough

1st Day of our new program

The first day of the beginning of building our program of course did not go without a few challenges. We did have balls to start with although we had to go buy a ball pump and needles to get them pumped up We were supposed to use the Aux gym but when we were ready to begin the cleaning crew arrived to clean the backboards. While they cleaned one end we used the other. Thanks for the construction guy who lower the curtain and it actually worked

 We had a group of three young ladies who came to start Cleveland Girls Basketball. One of them mad the first basket in the new school. We will have a video up of that later today...

Today I believe a few more will show up and dedicate themselves to daily improvement.

Day two starts at 3:30 today..

Lady Rams
Ram Tough

Chris Danehower named Cleveland Girls Basketball Coach

From the Cary News
Danehower accepts Cleveland's offer

June Workout Schedule

June Workout Schedule for Cleveland Women's Basketball

2010-2011 Johnston County Schools District HS Maps

Boundary Maps