CHANDLER, Ariz.—Any program lucky enough to hang a championship banner from the Nike Tournament of Champions has plenty to brag about. Make that a banner from the highly regarded Joe Smith Division and you’re among elite company. Claim three of them in a row and you’re defining not just a team but a program. Mater Dei’s (Santa Ana, Calif.) 53 – 44 win over the defending national champs from Blackman High School (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) dubs them scholastic royalty. Of course that only carries weight until they tip off their next game. It’s a safe bet Monday’s achievement does nothing for their future opponents other than enlarge the bulls eye on the Monarch’s back.
Considering Saturday’s semifinal performances you would have been hard pressed to find many folks willing to wager on Mater Dei and three in a row. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) gave Coach Kevin Kiernan’s crew all they could handle and while they grabbed the 60 – 53 win, it was far from a confidence inspiring effort. For Blackman to move on they had to overcome talented and well coached St. Mary’s (Stockton, Calif.) squad and their turnover inducing defense. Despite 26 miscues, their 79 – 68 win was the kind of win that can become a cornerstone for a state championship run. The 10 three pointers they surrendered however may have been a bad omen for Monday’s final.
Facing the nation’s number one player Katie Lou Samuelson necessitates an understanding of her propensity to embrace the family tradition of the long ball. (See older sisters and current Stanford players Bonnie and Karlie) With 3:07 remaining in Monday’s first quarter “Lou” nailed her fourth three pointer and helped Mater Dei jump out to a 13 – 5 edge after the opening period. The Monarchs had also held dynamic junior point guard Crystal Dangerfield to a single free throw over the opening eight minutes.
The UConn bound Samuelson opened the second period the old fashioned way with an “and one” before connecting on two more from deep as well a smooth baseline cut. Blackman did find their footing thanks to a couple of threes of their own from future Tennessee Lady Vol Me Me Jackson cutting the lead to 29 – 20. Just when the Blaze thought they were heading to the locker room facing a single digit deficit, Monarch point guard Andee Velasco thought she would one up teammate Samuelsson by drilling a three from just beyond halfcourt at the buzzer. The crowd pleasing shot pushed things back to 32 – 20 and provided Blackman with a steep uphill battle to get back in contention for the crown.
For the half Samuelson had 25 points, 18 of which came from downtown. The Monarchs had eight threes all together. Dangerfield finally got on the board from the field in the second for Blackman but still tallied just five over the first 16 minutes, far short of her usual totals. Jackson finished with six on the previously mentioned threes. Forward Alex Johnson, who had been a model of consistency and productivity, found the going tough as well with four points on a single field goal and two free throws.
The third period did little for precision basketball with cold shooting and turnovers being the standard for both teams. Coach Chad Hibdon turned up the pressure baseline to baseline for the Blaze resulting in some struggles for Mater Dei but Blackman failed to convert the resulting opportunities into any more than just nine points. They did close the gap on the scoreboard as the Samuelson onslaught was contained. The folks from California managed to post just three points of their own and seeing the lead shrink to 38 – 29 after three.
Mater Dei extended the gap back to 14 to open the fourth before Me Me Jackson and Crystal Dangerfield drilled back to back threes to cut the margin to 47 – 39 with 1:55 remaining. Unfortunately for Blackman, while they would get it to eight three more times down the stretch, it was as close as they could get before falling 53 – 44 and absorbing their second loss of the season.
When all was said and done, Samuelson added 11 to her first half total finishing with 36 on the night. While little consolation to Blackman, she had no threes after the break. Velasco produced nine more in the win. For Blackman, Dangerfield wound up with 14 on a tough shooting night and Jackson contributed 13 more. Johnson had her toughest night at the TOC coming home with just eight points.
CHAMPIONSHIP MONDAY DIVISION WRAP UPS BY TONY BLEILL PHOTOS BY MARK LEWIS
Brea Olinda (Calif.) has been accustomed to competing in the elite Joe Smith Division of the Nike Tournament of Champions.
This year, however, the Wildcats took a slight step back, instead participating in the John Anderson Division, which offered coach Jeff Sink’s team a chance to let its bevy of freshmen get a taste of the big-time without having to face a few of the nation’s top heavyweights.
On Monday, Sink’s choice to avoid the Smith Division seemed a wise move as his club held off Windward (Los Angeles, Calif.) 38-33 to capture the Anderson Division.
Next year? Back to the elite division.
“I hope so. That’s my goal, to play elite next year,” Sink said. “I thought we were a year away, and I think that’s honest. Some people dogged me a little bit, saying you should be there this year. But I don’t think you’re there with all these freshmen. But next year, definitely.”
Look out for the Wildcats next year. A frequent member of national top 25 lists in years past, Brea Olinda could be right back near the top given a stacked roster of underclassmen.
“Brea was good for so long,” Sink said, “and now we’re kind of rebuilding. Hopefully the legacy will come back.”
Consider: Sink played seven players in the final, four of whom were freshmen. The top two are Tyiona Watkins, a 6-foot jumping jack who cleared a game-high 13 rebounds Monday, and Krislyn Marsh, a 6-foot forward who had four points in the low-scoring showdown.
“I’m surprised,” Sink said of his team’s accomplishment. “I thought we’d go 2-2. We’re basically playing three freshmen most of the game. They’re good freshmen, but this is a big stage.
“Reili Richardson and Shay Jarret show a lot of leadership. They ‘Mother Hubbard’ everybody. That made a real difference.”
Richardson had 14 points and Jarret 10 to lead the Wildcats, but their steadying influence had just as much of an impact, especially when Windward made repeated second-half attempts to erase a deficit.
When Windward cut the margin to three with 1:03 to play, Richardson rebounded a Windward miss and raced end-to-end for a layup. Jarret followed by sinking two free throws with 35 seconds left for a seven-point cushion.
The Wildcats survived despite scoring only 10 points in the first 14 minutes of the second half.
“They’re long and they’re deep and they’re athletic, so I knew it would be a low-scoring game,” Sink said of Windward. “It was kind of ugly offensively for both teams. They average 70 and we average 68. I felt the team that played the best defense was going to win. I was willing to accept a low-scoring game. I thought we’d win under those circumstances. I didn’t think we’d win a shootout.”
Coach Vanessa Nygaard’s squad – which used two freshmen and two sophomores extensively – got 10 points from Columbia recruit Emily Surloff. Jayde Woods, a 6-foot junior, had nine points and 11 rebounds.
Horizon Christian (San Diego, Calif.) edged West Campus (Sacramento, Calif.) 60 – 58 in overtime. The Panthers squandered a 10-point halftime lead, survived nearly crippling foul trouble to their best player and secured the victory on freshman guard Taylor Williams’ layup at the buzzer.
Williams grabbed a long rebound on West Campus’ miss with 4 seconds left and raced to the other end for a layin as the buzzer sounded. It was her only basket of the second half but it was fitting, given that the Panthers had failed to secure those long, loose-ball rebounds for much of the game.
“Big-time (play),” coach Vickie Carrington said. “I had been preaching to them about hustling to the loose balls. She just got it and went.”
The game served as a showcase for Horizon Christian junior DiJonai’ Carrington. The 6-foot guard had 31 points and 20 rebounds despite sitting out the first 5 minutes, 15 seconds of the fourth quarter with four fouls. When she returned, the Panthers trailed by six. But Carrington scored four quick points to get Horizon Christian back in position to force overtime. They had a chance to win it in regulation but Melanie Quijano’s three-pointer at the buzzer was off.
Horizon Christian also won a TOC division in DiJonai’ Carrington’s freshman season. The Panthers were second last season while Carrington sat out because of a knee injury, which forced her to miss all but the last two games of the season. Her return this season has sparked the Panthers.
“She’s only played one year of high school basketball,” Vickie Carrington said. “She feels she has a lot to prove to herself.”
But maybe not as much to others. Carrington began receiving scholarship offers in the seventh grade and now counts more than 40, including a large chunk of the Power 5 conference schools.
“I think everybody wants to see, can she go?” Vickie Carrington said. “She’s getting it back after sitting out for a whole year.”
West Campus charged back on the backs of two emerging underclassmen, guards Kiara Jefferson and Namiko Adams.
Jefferson, a 5-8 freshman, had 20 points, including three three-pointers. Adams, a 5-8 sophomore, finished with 26 points and six rebounds.
Horizon (Brighton, Colo.) defeated La Jolla Country Day 48 – 37 for the Mike Desper Division crown.
The convincing 11-point victory came behind 17 points and 16 rebounds from Alyssa Rader.
Rader, who is headed for Northern Arizona, used her sturdy frame to control the lane and stiff-arm Country Day challenges. The Torreys crept to within five in the fourth quarter but Horizon got five points from Lauren Bennett (12 points) to subdue Country Day.
Guard Kayla Chand added 10 points for Horizon, which knocked off a good Fremd (Palatine, Ill.) team, featuring Duke-bound Haley Gorecki, in Saturday’s semifinals.
Lutheran (Parker, Colo.) claimed top honors getting by Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.) 69 – 60.
Morgan Barone scored 17 points and sank a key three-pointer to lead the Lions.
Clovis West had closed within four points early the fourth quarter, but the Lions pushed the margin back to 10 on Barone’s three with 3:58 left. Clovis West never threatened again.
Lutheran got 15 points from Northern Arizona recruit Kaleigh Paplow, and senior guard Chandler Sturms added 12.
Megan Anderson, a 6-1 sophomore, paced the Golden Eagles with 16 points.
RED DIVISION
The four team Red Division went to Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) who got by Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) in the final by a score of 62 – 35.
JOE SMITH DIVISION ALL STAR TEAM
Katie Lou Samuelson – Mater Dei – Most Valuable Player
Daisa Alexander – Southwest DeKalb
Kristine Anigwe – Desert Vista
Micole Cayton – St. Mary’s Stockton
Crystal Dangerfield – Blackman
Destiny Frazier – Dillard
Alex Johnson – Blackman
Vickie Harris – Parkview
Tania Lamb – Long Beach Poly
Jessica Shepard – Fremont
Andee Velasco – Mater Dei
