The Emerald City Basketball Academy’s Swish Black seventh grade girls team, which includes several girls from the Valley, traveled to Kings Island, Ohio, July 11 to 18 for the AAU Girls National Championships.

Swish Black placed 10th in the nation for 2012 at the tournament, which boasts some top competition. Swish Black is coached by Brent Merritt, Sam Adams and Jan Nicholas.

Swish Black is a team known for its speed, scoring drives and outside shooting.  It is made up of top players from all over the Northwest:  Te’a Adams (Kirkland), N’Dea Flye (Oregon City), Juanita Agosto (Seattle), Kennedy Nicholas (Kirkland), Kailey Kassuba (Issaquah), Kallin Spiller (Snoqualmie), Kamri von Oelhoffen (Richland), Taryn Shelley (Shoreline), Heidi Olsen (Kenmore) and Jill Chellis (Snoqualmie).