Excerpted from The Middle School Rules of Skylar Diggins as told to Sean Jensen. Copyright ? 2016. Published by BroadStreet Publishing. Used by permission.Chapter 19Watch and LearnWhen Skylar is 11, the Lady Soldiers cruise to their region and state AAU titles. They qualify for the national tournament!After another successful fundraiser, the girls want to enjoy one of the most fun cities in the world for kids: Orlando, Florida. Thats even more special for Skylar because Orlando is only 90 minutes from Tampa, where Daddy and her brothers live!The day before the Lady Soldiers first game, some of the girls and their families go to a beach about an hour away. Some head to Disney World. Others shop at a big mall. Skylar has dinner and watches a movie with Daddy and her brothers who are excited about attending her games.An hour before tip-off of the first game, Daddymoe does not sense the usual excitement from his players. Several Lady Soldiers yawn and lay around the locker room.All right, Family, Shalana says. Win on 3.1 ... 2 ... 3 ... Win.The cheer lacks its usual gusto.When they walk on the court, though, the Lady Soldiers marvel at the stands. They see a sea of fans wearing red shirts featuring the same logo as the jerseys of their opponent. They are from Louisville, and their fans stomp and sing loudly.Who rocks this house? one father yells.The Cardinals rock this house! dozens of others scream.They do this over and over.The Lady Soldiers do not start well, and they do not rally. The Cardinals steamroll them, 62-40.In the locker room, Daddymoe is usually positive and upbeat, even when they lose. But today he is upset -- and he sends them a strong message.I know Orlando has beaches, theme parks, and malls, he says quietly, and those things are a lot of fun. But we came here to play basketball! If we lose tomorrow, were going home.The girls all lock their eyes on Daddymoe. The way the national tournament is set up means a team could lose a few games and still advance to the championship. But Daddymoe makes clear another poor performance will mean a quick trip home.Daddymoes RuleWe are not going to waste your familys hard-earned money, Daddymoe says. Tune out the distractions and focus on the number one goal of this trip.The girls accept the message. Instead of going to a team dinner at a theme park, they decide to eat next to their hotel and rest in their rooms.When he does bed checks, Daddymoe notices Skylar intently watching the television.When he steps into the room, Daddymoe also sees her scribbling down notes.What are you doing, Skylar? he asks.Skylar peeks up.Oh, Im watching the tape of our game, she says.Skylar continues her film study. She replays the moves of her opponent, a taller but faster guard, over and over and over again.She looks for clues in the tape to see why her opponent scored on her with nifty post moves near the basket. Skylar searches for tips on why she misses three layups. She discovers that the Cardinal guard would stick her hands in Skylars face when she leaps toward the rim.Since she is bigger, what can I do to create more space between us? Skylar asks herself.Daddymoe smiles, stands, and heads for the door.How long have you been watching tape? he asks Skylar before leaving.About an hour, Skylar says, but I only have 20 more minutes, then Ill go to bed.Skylar learns some things she can do better the next time she plays against a taller and faster opponent. But she wishes she were home, so she could head to her backyard court to practice before bed. Their hotel, unfortunately, does not have a basket.At the next game, the Lady Soldiers regain their confidence and their energy. They blow out a team from Dallas, and they convincingly defeat each opponent until they reach the championship game.Though Skylar scores 29 points, the Lady Soldiers lose by eight points to a team from Atlanta.At the medal ceremony, each of the Lady Soldiers graciously accepts their hammer-sized, second-place trophies. They are proud of how much they have improved in a year.But they are not satisfied.They want the three-tiered championship trophy, which must be handled with both hands.That would look really sweet at the King Center, Skylar whispers to Emily.Next year, Emily answers.Daddy, Shay, Dezz, and Tayta walk from the stands to the court, where they hug Skylar.Great job, Skylar, Daddy says. You were amazing!The Lady Soldiers return to the King Center and keep practicing and playing against boys their age and even men. Ashley grows stronger and stronger, both physically and mentally. Em develops a reliable jump shot, and Skylar finishes better around the hoop.The Lady Soldiers lose a lot of practice games to the boys and men. But they keep growing individually and collectively and push for the next win.Then something clicks.The Lady Soldiers put everything together, and they start to dominate opponents on the court. At the next AAU National Championship, Skylar leads the way, as the Soldiers win the title, defeating every team, including the one from Atlanta that beat them the previous year.The Lady Soldiers family-first approach and their years of hard work pay off.They are champions! Cheap Custom Clippers Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. 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LOS ANGELES -- Two freshmen almost managed something in one game thats been accomplished only four times in UCLAs storied history -- a triple-double.Forward T.J. Leaf and guard Lonzo Ball each finished only a few assists shy of a triple-double in No. 2 UCLAs dominating 102-62 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday night.Leaf finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Ball had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.UCLA coach Steve Alford took both players out with several minutes still to play, uninterested in individual accomplishments.It all centers around our guys being unselfish, Alford said. Im not going to leave our guys in for something like that in a 40-point game.UCLA (11-0) scored at least 100 points for the fifth time this season.The Gauchos outrebounded the Bruins 50-46, but UCLA held Santa Barbara to 30.1 percent shooting (25 of 83).We let the boards get away from us in the second half (34-23), but we did have 10 blocks, Alford said.Ami Lakoju had 12 rebounds and 11 points, and Gabe Vincent added 10 points for the Gauchos (1-7).Santa Barbara struggled to find consistency against the Bruins, shooting just 25 percent (13 of 52) in the second half.Gauchos coach Bob Williams was left almost in awe of the Bruins effort.They are incredibly gifted, very long and they shoot really well, Williams said. They really run effortlessly and theyre playing and making the game easy. They pass and move and cut hard.At times out there, they have five guys who can shoot the 3. Their length is something you dont see at our level.Leaf and Ball said they were both unconcerned at just missing a triple-double.We really didnt notice it, Leaf said. Were trying to play unselfish basketball, and we were able to do that tonight.Five Bruins scored in double figures. Aaron Holiday had 20 points, Brycee Alford added 15 and Isaac Hamilton had 13 (all in the first half).ddddddddddddThe Bruins played their second consecutive game without starting center Thomas Welch, who is out with a bruised right heel.BIG PICTUREUC Santa Barbara: The Bruins were the highest-ranked team the Gauchos have faced since meeting No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 21, 2008. The Tar Heels won 84-67.UCLA: Coming off Saturdays 102-84 victory over Michigan, the Bruins were ripe for a letdown but had too much talent to ever be in trouble against Santa Barbara.STAR WATCHHoliday, who lost his starting spot with the arrival of Ball, continued his torrid scoring pace off the bench. He is averaging 13.9 points per game. Alford said Holiday had been disappointed in his 73 percent free throw shooting and had been spending extra time on it.I was just concentrating, Holiday said. Nine of nine? Thats pretty good.TURNING POINTThe Bruins trailed once, slipping behind 12-11. They responded with a 17-0 run -- all but three points scored by Leaf.TRIPLE-DOUBLESThe four triple-doubles in the UCLA record book belong to Kyle Anderson (2013), Toby Bailey (1995), Jelani McCoy (1995) and Bill Walton (1973). The assist became an official NCAA stat in 1983-84.POLL IMPLICTIONSThe Bruins looked very much the No. 2 team in the country, the spot they have held since upsetting then-No. 1 Kentucky on Dec. 3.UP NEXTUC Santa Barbara: The Gauchos meet Iona on Wednesday in Las Vegas in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic.UCLA: The Bruins meet Ohio State on Saturday in Las Vegas as part of the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes will have been off a week.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '