AUGSBURG 1Second-half goals from Maximilian Philipp and Nils Petersen, both se | Forum

As a freshman, Rennia Davis played basketball with the physicality of a butterfly. Nike React Mens Shoes Ireland . The only contact she wanted was a high-five from a teammate. Stay away from the post, she thought. The backcourt, that was the place to spread her wings.But Kimberly Davis Powell, coach of her Florida Essence AAU team, wasnt about to let that fly. She wanted to toughen Davis up, inside and out, so she could become a versatile talent.I was almost defiant, Davis said of giving the post a shot. I would just stand there. I didnt want to touch the ball down there. I was tall, but I didnt have that much weight on me (130 pounds at the time). If a point guard was looking to throw the ball to me in the post, I was like, No. Go the other way. Reverse the ball. Do something else. I dont want it. Davis mother, Sheretta Davis, had her daughters back.I said, Oh my God, my baby doesnt hardly weigh more than 100 pounds. Theyre going to kill my baby, Sheretta Davis said.Turns out, Davis Powell knew what she was doing.Davis, now a 6-foot-1, 150-pound senior wing at Ribault (Jacksonville, Florida), is the No. 16 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2017 class. Last year, she was the Class 5A player of the year in Florida after posting double-doubles in 29 of Ribaults 31 games. She averaged 20.3 points and 10.4 rebounds. She led her team to a state title and then the championship of the Dicks Sporting Goods High School Nationals at New York Citys Madison Square Garden.Ribault finished 30-1, and Davis was the MVP of the Dicks tournament. She had 23 points and eight rebounds in a finals win over Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland). Davis had 20 points and 13 rebounds in a semifinal win over Seton Catholic (Chandler, Arizona).If Rennia didnt have a good game, it would have been hard for us to win, said former Ribault guard Kayla Rogers, now a freshman playing for FIU in Miami. The potential that I had always seen in her came out in that tournament.Mystery talentWhere that potential came from, nobody knows.Davis has no brothers. She has three sisters, and none of them play sports. Sheretta, a single mom, wasnt an athlete, either.But when Davis was in sixth grade, she asked her mother to sign her up for basketball.I said, No, girls dont play basketball, Sheretta said. I had only known basketball as a mens sport.Thats when little Rennia explained to her mother about the WNBA and how basketball can actually be a career for women. Somewhat convinced, Sheretta took her daughter to the local Police Athletic League. Unfortunately, they had missed the sign-up deadline and were told to come back next year.Davis insisted her mother mark the next sign-up date on the family calendar. Sheretta did so, but -- deep down -- she was hoping her daughter would forget.A year later, Davis asked her mom to put a basketball hoop in the driveway, and that became her Christmas gift.Ribault coach Sheila Seymour-Pennick saw Davis play during her eighth-grade year and was impressed.Even though the other girls werent at her level, the coach said, she still shared the ball.By freshman year, Davis was an obvious talent. But Davis Powell wanted more out of her.For starters, the coach thought Davis could play up a level or two in AAU ball, against older girls, a move that her mother fought. Sheretta admits she didnt know much about basketball, but that didnt stop her from voicing her opinions.I told [Davis Powell,] If it aint broke, dont fix it, Sheretta said. I was pretty upset.Davis Powell, though, stood firm about playing up and also about working in the post.I always knew Rennia was a guard, the coach said. But she wasnt physical. She hated contact. We had epic battles with her and her mom. It took about [18 months] to convince them.It was constant communication. I told Rennia, Im not asking you to be a post player. Just turn and face, and take girls off the dribble. Her persistence paid off.During her junior year, when college coaches were allowed to start calling her, Davis Powell said, her mother contacted me to thank me. College coaches loved how versatile Rennia had become.Colleges lining upDavis said she no longer minds playing in the post or guarding bigger players. She said she has gone from being one of the two weakest Ribault players in the weight room in her freshman year to one of the two strongest.This Saturday -- in part because of the all work she has put in -- Davis will get a home visit from Tennessee coaches. On Sunday, Kansas coaches will swing by, and on Monday it will be Rutgers turn. Depending on the vibes she gets from those coaches, Davis will pick two of those three schools to add to her list of finalists. She already has official visits lined up for Georgia Tech later this month and Maryland and Oklahoma in October.With a 3.8 GPA, Davis seems like a sure bet to succeed as a student-athlete. And, because of her participation in Ribaults early-college program, Davis will enter college with an associates degree and a two-year head start on most freshmen.She plans to use her four-year scholarship to finish her bachelors degree and start work on her masters in business and restaurant management.After shes done playing basketball, Davis said she wants to own her own restaurant, where another one of her talents -- cooking -- can be on full display.Davis said her chef skills are mostly self-taught. She watched her mom as a child and did the rest on her own. Her specialties are seafood and soul food.And because shes a self-described neat freak, there is a certain order to how she prepares her meals and how they look.Shes an awesome cook, her mother said. Her food is not only tasty, but its pretty, too. I dont know where she gets that. Nike React Discount Ireland .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Nike Epic React Ireland . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. http://www.discountnikereactireland.com/ . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. BERLIN -- As Bayern Munichs traditional rivals continue to drop points, Hertha Berlin has taken the mantle of challenging the leader with its best ever start in the Bundesliga.Hertha, which was level with Bayern before the defending champions comfortable 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach in Saturdays late game, is struggling to keep expectations down after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over previously unbeaten Cologne.Its a bit much, Hertha striker Vedad Ibisevic said of being called Bayerns challenger. Were playing well but its early. Were not Bayern-chasers, thats other teams.Hertha leads an unlikely chasing pack comprising Hoffenheim, Cologne, and Leipzig, while the traditional heavyweights are all lagging behind after making false starts.Dortmund is six points off the pace but needed Christian Pulisic to rescue a 3-3 draw at lowly Ingolstadt. The second-half substitute scored one and set up another to prevent Dortmund slumping to its third defeat of the season.BAYERN MUNICH 2, BORUSSIA MOENCHENGLADBACH 0Bayern attacked from the off and duly went ahead when Arturo Vidal powered a header under the bar from Rafinhas cross.Fifteen minutes later, Douglas Costa celebrated his first start of the season by taking David Alabas cross on his chest and firing the ball inside the right post. The Brazilian ran over to two fans, posed and took a selfie with them.If he always scores, he can take 100 selfies, Bayern defender Mats Hummels said.It was all Bayern with `Gladbach offering next to nothing in attack. But for an early shot over on a counterattack from Fabian Johnson, every other effort in the first half came from the home side.Bayern was able to conserve energy in the second half, when Andre Hahn struck the post for `Gladbach.INGOLSTADT 3, BORUSSIA DORTMUND 3Dortmunds title chances took another blow after dropping points for the fourth time in eight games.Almog Cohen gave Ingolstadt an early lead after a poorly defended free kick, then Roman Weidenfeller prevented the home side going further ahead when he blocked Lukas Hinterseers overhead kick. Weidenfeller started for the first time since March as Roman Buerki had a cold.Another free kick from a similar position on the right allowed Dario Lezcano to head in Ingolsttadts second. Cheap Nike React Ireland. Bad at the back, Dortmund also created little up front in the face of Ingolstadts well-organized defense.Thomas Tuchel sent on Pulisic after the break and Mario Goetze shortly afterward. The latter was involved straight away as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled one back with his seventh of the season.The celebrations lasted less than a minute, however, as Lezcano grabbed his second, minutes before Ingolstadt hit the post.Pulisic set up Adrian Ramos to get within one in the 69th, and he prodded home the equalizer from close range in the last minute after Orjan Nyland saved Lukasz Piszczeks initial effort.Ingolstadt was previously bottom after six straight defeats.HERTHA BERLIN 2, COLOGNE 1Ibisevic fired Hertha into an early lead after a fine run and cross from Mitchell Weiser.Anthony Modeste grabbed the equalizer with his league-leading eighth goal in the 65th, converted from close range after great interplay between Jonas Hector, Konstantin Rausch, and Leonardo Bittencourt.But Niklas Stark grabbed the winner less than 10 minutes later for the high-flying home side.DARMSTADT 3, WOLFSBURG 1Valerien Ismaels tenure at Wolfsburg got off to a rocky start when last defender Jeffrey Bruma was sent off for denying a clear goal chance. Anis Ben-Hatira scored from the resulting free kick in the 25th.Germany striker Mario Gomez equalized on the hour with his first Wolfsburg goal, but Laszlo Kleinheisler restored the home sides advantage eight minutes later, and Sandro Sirigu ensured Wolfsburgs seventh consecutive game without a win.Ismaels predecessor, Dieter Hecking, was sacked on Monday.BAYER LEVERKUSEN 0, HOFFENHEIM 3Leverkusen was dealt a blow when forward Kevin Volland was sent off against his former side in the sixth minute for denying Kerem Demirbay a clear goal chance.Demirbay fired under the bar to open the scoring, Sandro Wagner made it 2-0 early in the second half, and set up Steven Zuber to score on the hour.FREIBURG 2, AUGSBURG 1Second-half goals from Maximilian Philipp and Nils Petersen, both set up by Vincenzo Grifo, gave Freiburg its fourth win of the season. ' ' '