Nike TOC 2012

Katie Lou & Karlie Sameulson w/ Jasmine Hotchkins

Karlie and Katie Lou Samuelson, the Orange County girls came out here and put on a show on the biggest stage.  They earned co-mvp honors, shooting an efficient 13-17 from beyond the arc combined and tallying 67 points combined of their team's 94 points in the championship game. The key word there is efficient.  They do it without demanding the ball too much and within the confines of their teams game plan and system.  Mater Dei gets great ball movement amongst each other and play strong roles in support of each other and team.  Great players and even greater kids and family.

Jayde Woods of Mater Dei, the freshman stepped up and filled big shoes.  First in the semi-final game of the G Division, Jayde drew the assignment of stopping UConn commit Courtney Ekmark and did she ever do so, limiting the sharp shooter's touches and the few times Ekmark did get the ball, Jayde's lateral quickness and length never allowed Ekmark to get to the basket or shot off. In the championship game Peyton Langston took a hard hit under the basket and subsequently suffered a concussion.  Jayde was called upon to step up, play some big time defense under the basket against Marshal commit and powerful 6'1 Maya Singleton. 

Gabby Williams, 5'11 guard from Reed (Sparks,NV) is a stud!!  Arguably the best athlete of the tournament has already cleared 6ft, 1.5 inches in the high jump and been invited to compete for spot on the U.S Olympic team.  She compliments her athleticism with great basketball skill and basketball IQ.  She is a lot of fun to watch and considered in the discussion of top 10 prospects in the 2014 class. 

Mikayla Cowling, 6'1, long, athletic junior has many tools that makes her game dynamic and exciting to watch.  She has range to her jumper, can make some great moves off the dribble and soars pretty with her long extension to the basket.  She is a very intimidating presence on defense at the tope of that Syracuse match zone.  Her wing span is incredible.  She has great hands and plays the game with the grace and finesse like former Pittsburgh Steeler great wide receiver Lynn Swan played his position in the NFL. 

Gabby Green, 6'2, junior can play 1-4 positions on the floor.  She is a floor general, scorer, facilitator, shot blocker and clutch!!!!

Chantel Osahor, 6'1 center, committed to Washington, is simply probably the best passer in the high school game.  Chantel pulls down rebounds and outlets text book and her ability to make precision passes from a top the key to cutting teammates is surgical. A crowd favorite, her ability to do the unexpected, like hit beyond the arc and take unsuspecting defenders off the dribble infuses the gym with energy.  

Kelsey Plum, south paw combo guard, future teammate of Chantel Osahor at Washington is a vicious competitior and can get buckets by the handful, two handfuls...  She is clever, savvy and makes quick on point decisions throughout the course.

Long Beach Poly, is loaded with talent and athleticism.  Jada Matthews is a solid forward, strong, athletic, can make moves off the bounce, has a great mid-range jump shot.  She is solid on every aspect of the game, a major prospect. 

Kristen Simon, 6' post, Windward, CA. is a skilled post that can play on the low block and in the high post.  She is great in the pick & roll combo. 

Britta Nordstrom, 6' wing player out of Pinnacle hs, AZ, is an aggressive, athletic wing with a great motor.  We have been seeing a lot out of this kid lately and she is a legitimate 4.5 gpa, D1 prospect who wants to find an academic institution of elite status.

Rock Bridge, is loaded with immeasurable young talent and very well coached.  Every varsity player is returning and arguably their best player for two more years.  Sophie Cunningham, displays leadership, communication, skill, basketball IQ and fundamentals beyond her years.  Look out for this squad next year and years to come. 

THE SHILPA FACTOR

pictured L-R: Shilpa Tummala, Kenna McDavis

In a highly anticipated rematch between #1 (5AII) Pinnacle and #1 (5AI) St.Marys  much was at stake.  For Pinnacle it would be their right to a claim to fame, solidify themselves as not just a top notch AZ program but a chance at national recognition, recognition for their players and bragging rights.  For St. Mary's it was about pride, tradition, a standard and not slipping another spot in ESPN/Powerade FAB 50.  St.Mary's entered the season ranked as high as #7 nationally but has dropped down to #17 after their recent loss to Pinnacle.  In that first match-up Shilpa un-characteristically fouled out in the first half of play, only putting up three points for the entire game.  Being forced to sit most of the first half and eventually fouling out nullified her ability to be the impact player she is for her team and the factor her opponents have to reckon with throughout the course of the show.  That allowed Pinnacle to stifle St. Mary's offensive prowess with their popular box/diamond and one on sharp shooter Courtney Ekmark. The final score was St. Mary's 58, Pinnacle 68.

Since that first showdown, the rematch has been the talk of AZ's womens' hoops community.  St. Mary's used the forum for breast cancer awareness, calling for a "Pink Out", sported their pink warm-ups and high-glossy pink Nike 2010 Hyper Dunks.  OK, enough with the fashion status, on to the game.  Again like in the first game ShilpaTummala started the game on the bench.  This allowed Pinnacle an effective leverage on SM's. By imploring their diamond/1 and box/1 defensive set, Pinnacle was able to cut down the opportunities of Courtney Ekmark, SM's biggest scoring threat on the floor at the time.  SM's showed patience with the offense but still bewildered on how to score they took many shots that were off the mark.  Just what Pinnacle wanted to get into their transition offense.  Pinnacle quickly went up 8-2, mostly on break away lay-ups.  SM's looked a step slow, matched up in transition poorly and were getting out hustled, out rebounded.  Then entered ShilpaTummala into the game.  Within a minute she made her presence felt with consecutive 3's that tied the game.  Kenna McDavis came down on the other end and connected from long range herself, keeping Pinnacle in the game.  Then Shilpa hit her third straight 3 and quickly the fans caught fire and momentum starting swinging in SM's favor.  SM's found their offense which was allowing their press defense to become affective. When Ekmark started connecting from outside, SM's went on a scoring binge to close out the quarter 20-12.  During the 3rd quarter, SM's started to pick apart the Pinnacle defense with their passing game.  I have yet to see a high school team as patient and score off the pass as well as SM's.  SM's was finding back door cuts off pass feeds by Osahor and the Williams sisters.  SM's suffocating jump defense allowed Pinnacle to score only 7 points in the 2nd.  Numerous Pinnacle turnovers and SM's efficiency gave SM's the upper hand in terms of possession and they converted for 20 points of their own in the 2nd.  SM's took a dominant 40-19 lead into intermission.  

SM's continued their torrid pace into the the 3rd.  Walton's presence inside was keeping drivers at bay and limited Pinnacles second chances.  Pinnacle's only highlight in the half was Weise's relentless attack of the basket that got her to the charity stripe a few times and to the basket on an un-characteristic SM's lack of help defense.  Kenna McDavis was an efficient 2-3 from 3 and showed ability to pull up off the dribble but Pinnacle's in-ability to take care of the ball at times hand-cuffed their offensive weapons.

By the first minute of the 4thQ SM's had gained a 29 point advantage 66-37 and Pinnacle's reserves were entering the game to finish it off.  SM's would eventually coast to a 69-49 victory.  The turning point can be isolated way back in the first quarter when Shilpa entered the game and knocked down 3 consecutive 3's in just three minutes of her being on the floor.  She finished the first half with 16 points and 25 points for the game, always a hard item for opponents to account for when she is doing it like she so often does.  The difference in the game, the X factor, equals the "THE SHILPA FACTOR".  Many girls stepped up and showed their worth and on any given night a dozen or so of the players that played this night can have big games but the night belonged to St. Mary's and the MVP was Shilpa Tummala.

Pinnacle Upsets #11 St. Mary's

L-R: Britta Nordstrom, Kenna McDavis, Sydney Wiese

In a highly anticipated game with lots of local news coverage and college coaches in attendance, Pinnacle did the unthinkable. They took down highly touted, #11 (ESPN/Powerade) ranked St. Mary's Knights. Pinnacle packs a powerful punch behind 6'5 UofA commit Aley Rohde. Behind Aley are three young budding superstars, 5'6(G) Sydney Wiese AZ-13, 6'1(W) Kenna McDavis AZ-13, and 6'(W)Britta Nordstrom AZ-13, who are all garnering lots of DI attention. That's quite a lineup but Pinnacle has shown some inconsistencies and lack of defensive presence at times this year. Add that to how wonderful a team St. Mary's is, with 10 potential DI prospects, a #11 ESPN ranking and not a lot of people were giving Pinnacle a chance. St. Mary's has faced similar challenges against a talented Chandler and Hamilton and beat them both by a combined 50+ points. St. Mary's only close game against another AZ team was a couple weeks ago when Xavier had them within 4pts with three minutes to go. St. Mary's would end up winning that game by 9.

St. Mary's looked flustered early and Shilpa Tummala was in foul trouble. Pinnacle was throwing multiple defensive looks at St.Mary's trying to keep them off balance. After Tummala fouled out early in the game Pinnacle was really able to put the pressure on St. Mary's by taking away their best scoring threat left on the floor, Courtney Ekmark. Pinnacle would implore their smothering box & one and stifle SM's offense. Only up by 4 with less than 4 minutes to go St. Mary's would make some costly turnovers and with Wiese scoring 10 of her 27 points in the 4th quarter, SM's would find themselves behind with time running out. Down the stretch Pinnacle would take control and St. Mary's finding themselves in uncharted territory looked very uncharacteristic faltering to Pinnacle 68-58.

Pinnacle: Wiese 27pts, Rohde 17pts, McDavis 13pts
SM's: Dickson 14pts, Ekmark 10pts