CHANDLER, Ariz.—Two days down and the semifinals are set for the 2014 Nike Tournament of Champions. The five 16 team divisions will narrow the field to just two teams each on Saturday before taking a day off before Championship Monday. Out of the 20 teams remaining in contention for TOC bragging rights, 10 come from the state of California with four more calling Colorado home. Six more states are represented by a single team. Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Tennessee each will have representation in Saturday’s semis.
For complete results and a full schedule for the entire field, follow the link below.
http://www.niketournamentofchampions.com/events/pdfs/TOCBB14_results-2%20(2)4.pdf
Blue Star Media Day One Snapshot
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/index.php/component/k2/item/1085-nike-toc-day-one-snapshot
Quarterfinal action in the high profile Joe smith Division started Friday’s action off at Hamilton High School with Blackman (Tennessee) taking on Desert Vista (Arizona). Following a competitive opening quarter Blackman was able to exploit foul problems for DV standout post Kristine Anigwe and open up a 38 – 18 lead at the half. Desert Vista was able to cut into the 17 point lead during the second half but still found themselves on the short end of a 58 – 48 final score. Highly underrated senior forward Alex Johnson led the Blaze with 23 points while dynamic point guard Crystal Dangerfield chipped in 17 more. Sabrina Haines had 12 for the Thunder and Anigwe contributed 10 more in the loss.
The second Smith quarterfinal featured two of the nation’s premier seniors with Mater Dei (California) and Katie Lou Samuelson facing Jessica Shepard and her Fremont (Nebraska) teammates. Things were tied up at 12 after one period but the Monarchs used a 16 -8 run in the second to claim a 28 – 20 halftime edge. Coming off a 41 point performance Thursday, Samuelson had 15 at the break while Shepard paced the Tigers with 10. Mater Dei extended the lead to 14 after three and added one more in the fourth for a final 59 – 44 margin. The UConn bound Samuelson finished the game with 36 and Nebraska signee Shepard had 22 in the battle of top five players.
The day’s marquee match-up featured two renowned programs who both hang their hat on their defensive efforts. Long Beach Poly (California) and St. Mary’s Stockton (California) both pride themselves on turnovers and conversions and the only folks not looking forward to the match up were the folks in the striped shirts. Poly held a slight one point lead after one only to see St. Mary’s come back to hold a 39 – 33 edge at the break. St. Mary’s extended their advantage to 15 entering the fourth and while Poly cut the gap to nine, they still came up short, 66 – 57. St. Mary’s junior guard Micole Cayton had 24 in the win while Eliza Matthews, also a junior, led Poly with 20 points in the post
Millennium (Arizona) and Parkview (Georgia) both struggled to generate any offensive consistency looking for the last spot in the winner’s bracket on Saturday. In the end Vickie Harris produced 22 of Parkview’s total of 40 to claim a 40 -36 win.
For complete coverage and insight into the Poly – St. Mary’s game as well as the Millennium and Parkview match up, check out Tony Bleill’s story on all the action. Follow the link below for Tony’s Take from the TOC.
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/index.php/component/k2/item/1086-nike-tournament-of-champions
Tony, Kevin Lynch, Prentice Beverly and I will all be back in the gym on Saturday. Check back with Blue Star Media for further coverage throughout the final two rounds of the 2014 Nike Tournament of Champions.
