NIKE TOC 2011

Arizona, not necessarily known as a hot bed for girl's basketball but this year at the Nike TOC,  (widely regarded as the de facto championship for American girls' basketball),  Arizona saw 5 of it's own in 4 of the 6 division championship games. AZ's 2011 state champion St. Mary's won the top bracket (Smith Division).  As a result St. Mary's has earned the coveted #1 ranking by ESPN/Powerade FAB 50.

Probably not by design and some ways possibly as a result of misleading and innaccurate records the Nike TOC had Arizona's final four 5AI state teams all in different brackets, St. Mary's (Smith), Mesa Mt. View (Desper), Xavier College Prep (Gray) and Chandler (black).

Most notable, St. Mary's, came off a superb summer where as a club team (AZ Warriors), they crushed national travel teams.  They got off to kind of a slow start at the EOT.  They would win their pool but lost horribly in a exhibition game to Team Concept, who ended up winning the EOT.  Also they didn't look great against the NW Blazers.  Although after the EOT they really begin to roll, winning their pool in Chicago, putting on a clinic as they faced Boo Williams.  They got to the semis but fell a possession short to the #1 team of summer DFW.  Their next stop on the summer circuit was USJN (Washington D.C.), where they got to the championship game.  The Warriors/St. Mary's played mid-west elite to the wire but ultimately ended up falling 51-46.  It was from there the Warriors went on to win the Fila Nationals, beating teams like Cal Sparks, that feature Jordin Canada and Erical McCall in the semi's, and Lady Fire (Illinois) in the championship.  They did this as a team that features all the same kids that play at St. Mary's.  It was expected to see them high in the preseason rankings as a high school team.  The one concern going into the season was depth.  St. Mary's had two girls, Lindsay Leikam and Aliyah Dickson transfer out.  They did get Chloe Johnson of St. Mary's, the lone player who didn't travel with the Warriors this summer but jumped over to play with the Warriors this fall after spending the last couple years with GSB.  Overall St. Mary's seemed to get over the proverbial hurdle this summer and grew tremendously as a team.  Going into the high school season, rested and with a full head of steam, St. Mary's was the focus of much national media attention.  

They did not disappoint as they ran through the Smith bracket in defining fashion.  In the end, all that was in their way was an athletic, mature, experienced #3 Riverdale Baptist, that was highly regarded themselves and dominated their competition as well.  

SMITH DIVISION

St. Mary's seemed in the driver seat early as RB failed to convert on many drives and lay-ins, while SM's was executing timely back cuts and outside shooting.  

Cortnee Walton of SM's, after only playing a few minutes in the 1st half found herself sitting most of it in foul trouble.  Without Leikam, SM's found themselves in a peculiar spot with Walton sitting, as they had only one solid player left who could defend inside in Chantel Osahor.  To give Osahor rest at times Coach Ekmark went with a smaller line-up and for the first time in like 8 years I saw the SM's/Warriors group deploy a zone defense.  That is about when RB Coach Richardson went down after being knocked unconscious.  One of her players was shoved in a play near the sideline and the player's arm caught Coach Richardson in the chin.  There was about a 20 minute delay as Coach Richardson was checked out by the athletic trainer on-site and also Chandler paramedics.  This bid well for St. Mary's.  For it allowed Osahor to get the rest she needed to finish the game after Walton fouled out in the 3rd.  Riverdale Baptist fought hard to the end but were in too deep a whole to dig themselves out of by the time expired.  Chantel Osahor and Shilpa Tummala were named to the all-tournament team.  Shilpa also got MVP honors.

DESPER DIVISION

Preceding the Smith Championship game, Mesa Mt. View squared off against Pinnacle for the Desper Championship.  Pinnacle was somewhat of a surprise team to get to the championship, having to fight and claw their way through an athletic Canyon Springs and disciplined Highland's Ranch.  
Pinnacle lost the inside presence they had from a year ago in Aley Rohde (UofA).  They were looking to fill the spot with senior Emily Whalberg, but Whalberg decided to leave the team just weeks prior for personal reasons.  Pinnacle also lost junior small forward Britta Nordstrom.  Who also left the team for personal reasons.  That left Pinnacle short handed for the most prestigious girl's high school tournament of the year. 

MMV, my preseason AZ #2, has been playing up to their expectations.  They have lost only one game in the preseason, and that was to the eventual Anderson bracket champs LJCD, who beat MMV in San Diego a few weeks prior to the TOC.  Mesa Mt. View did get a close contested game against Xavier 46-40 on December 12th, but other than that, have been rolling through their competition.

MMV would be without the services of Arnecia Hawkins (ASU commit) for the final due to a sprained ankle.  Pinnacle implored their go to junk defense (diamond & 1), face guarding MMV starting point guard Renee Coggins and zoning the other four players on the floor. The defense proved to be effective.  Although Renee is not known for her scoring prowess, she is their general and not having the ball in her hands seemed to leave Mt. View with more questions than answers.  One could only assume the defense was intended for Arnecia Hawkins but with her out of the game Pinnacle still kept to their game plan by focusing on Coggins.  MMV is also a very systematic team that largely relies on Coach Pennel's infamous 'circle motion offense' and half court sets.  Pinnacle's diamond and one was forcing Mt. View to make adjustments they weren't prepared nor wanted to make.

The game was exciting, tightly scored and came down to a last second shot by Kenna McDavis that rimmed in&out but Mt. View reigned victorious on this day.  Wiese did poor in 24 pts in the loss but took 26 shots to do so.  No doubt Pinnacle could have used their other slinger in McDavis who was forced to sit a lot with foul trouble. 

GRAY DIVISION

In the Gray Division, AZ had a slew of teams that were all capable of getting to the 'ship'.  In a lot of ways it pendulummed on bracket placement, match-ups and momentum.  St. Mary's and Mesa Mt. View are AZ's obvious #1 & #2 but the next six spots for an elite eight is pretty much a crap shoot between Highland, Hamilton, Xavier, Pinnacle, Chandler & Desert Vista.   All of whom are very familiar with each other.  Xavier, Hamilton, Chandler and DV all played in the very tough Fiesta Region last year and faced each other twice in the regular season.  All except maybe DV have St. Mary's on their schedule each year.  Xavier two years in a row had to go through Highland in the quarters of state as well as play them twice in their regular season schedule.  All of which can lead to some of the misleading records.   Last year Xavier drew two time defending Florida state champions Dillard in the Nike TOC.  Xavier won that game but had to follow it up against Edison with Bonnie (Stanford) and Karlie Samuelson.  After falling to Edison the road didn't get easier for Xavier as they had to face Carondelet, which featured Erica Payne (Stanford). 
Both Hamilton and Xavier seem to be struggling finding their indentity this year, with Hamilton graduating some key components, short a true point guard and post.  Xavier is adjusting to their third coach in three years.  Highland is steady.  They always come on strong and develop more complexity throughout the year and strength.  Pinnacle and Chandler have had their issues with personel, Chandler loosing Newton to a knee injury, Westbrook for 9 games, and Pinnacle had two starters quit this year. 
The cinderella of teams has to be Desert Vista.  A team that always seems to be around but lacked the punch to be considered with the heavy hitters.  DV did retain some key components from a year ago but still nothing on paper that would wow anyone.  They have to be considered a tough oponent but not expected to be a contender.  Although they have seemed to found something this year.

DV gave Pinnacle a scare in the first game of the season, only loosing 68-75.  They also ended up loosing to Highland but by only a possession, 60-63 in their second game.  Since, they have been riding a 6 game winning streak going into the Nike TOC.  They extended that winning streak to 9 getting to the finals of the Gray bracket.  They gave a good fight in the championship but Centennial (Corona, CA) proved to have too many weapons. 

ON THE TRAIL IN OREGON

DAY ONE

Every year the NCAA evaluation period of July starts off with one of the biggest, most prestigious tournaments in the country, hosted in Oregon City, Oregon and surrounding areas. It is a mecca of talent for young high school female basketball players. Though a large number of teams and players are from the west and northwest region of the country, teams travel from all over the country to participate in the Nike EOT Tournament and this year even boasted teams from British Columbia, Hawaii and New Zealand.  The tournament is limited to 224 teams that were divided into  two divisions, National and American. The National division had four brackets of which the winners of each would make up the final four for the National Division Championship. The American had three divisions of which the winners of each bracket would make up a semi-final and final game for the overall American Division Championship. 


I arrived early Wednesday morning to PDX, Portland airport and with barely taking a breathe I jumped in the rental car and raced my way to Oregon City high school, not wanting to miss a moment of the action. Throughout the day I jumped around from gym to gym taking in what the teams had to offer taking special notes of particular players, teams and programs. Many of the kids I have seen first hand but there was more than a handful I've only heard or read about that I needed to see in action.  The teams expected to dominate did just that the first day but there was one game in particular that I had special interest in. It had the billing of a heavy weight match-up and was a perfectly arranged exhibition game between two top notch teams with some of the better young talent coming up, AZ Warriors and Team Concept (heat).


The AZ Warriors have only two players going into their senior year of high school and Team Concept has only three. Team Concept has four players from the class of 2013 and the Warriors have five. TC also has two 2014's, Jaime Nared and new addition Lexi Bando, while the Warriors have Courtney Ekmark as their lone 2014. The game was held at Old Oregon City high school at 5pm, the summer sun still beaming on the old gym making it warmer than usual and the smell of old wood and old finish filled the arena. The setting was perfect and the one sideline and one baseline of the court was lined with college coaches. Being from Arizona I have seen my share of the Warriors play.  I have also followed Team Concept the past couple years but had yet seen them with their three new additions in Russell, Scott, and Bando that weren't with  them on the recent trip to Arizona at the AZ Elite Classic in April.  I had a feeling it was going to be a great game.  Team Concept had the size, skill, athleticism, while the Warriors had experience, a relentless pressing back court and unique way of playing that deciphers defenses with the passing game. Team Concept had no problem with the Warriors press and the Warriors did their usual passing till they found a cutting player in the gaps created by their ball movement or underneath the zone.  No team having favorable momentum, it was a tight game that often exchanged leads but by never more than a possession or two. It wasn't till the last minute of the first half that Team Concept seemed to gain a favorable push. The new additions made their presence known, as Russell blocked shots inside and out on the perimeter and Scott and Bando Knocked down open shots helping TC take a 42-36 lead into half.  In the second half, even with Shilpa Tummala knocking down her patented big shot after big shot, TC's length, athleticism and skill was proving to be too much for the Warriors. As TC kept gaining momentum and a sizable lead the Warriors looked more and more defeated and they were facing an uphill battle. In the end Team Concept would prove to me and the others in the room that they were no longer the young kid on the block. As quoted in the Oregon Live, Michael Abraham said, "But we've paid our dues. This team has taken beatings in this tournament.” Well, now might be their time and this game was sending a message.

DAY TWO

Sorry to change the note on you. Just know that I was everywhere on this day in every gym watching, taking notes and appreciating the effort and play of so many. I took most my notes on day two. I like to give a shout out to so many, but too many and too many that with all my effort still didn't get seen. So how can I give a true objective opinion of an all-tournament team if I couldn't see every player and every team. My evaluations will be submitted to She Can Play. Contact Coach Billy Carson for access to player profiles. Give time for all content to be input.

DAY THREE

Day Three is the day where the rubber begin to meet the road and no more easy passes. Semi's and finals for each bracket started early Friday morning. My final four were all still in the race but the Platinum had a big question mark. In my opinion there was no clear favorite. The bracket could go to EBX, Tree of Hope, Minn Metro Stars or WC Premier (valley). Here my first bracket got busted as a EBX team minus Gabby Green, who left to play for Cal Storm (Taurasi), fell to a Katie Collier led Tree of Hope. Metro Stars took care of the athletic play of miss Lopez and WC Premier behind the steady play of Scherber and Johnson. My favorite, Team Concept kept steam rolling through the Daniels bracket not even faded by the tough play of the Hood sisters and Plum of the Wiggin Waves. TC showed in the Daniels Bracket Championship that they are not just all offense and fluff. They showed their versatility, using their length and athleticism to shut down the shooting of Kelsey Plum and team defense to stop the attack of Maya Hood. My favorite to win the tournament, Cal Swish never seeming to be firing on all pistons, would scratch their way atop the Gold bracket but not after getting a good scare from the Gonzalez twins, Dakota and Dylan. The two sisters Dakota and Dylan do it all and play with no hesitation but are always on the attack mode. In the silver bracket Jaime Weisner became a household name receiving the praises of many as she blazed the nets for 33pts against Oregon City Elite, followed by another stellar performance, 28pts against the AZ Warriors. I told you people in my last post that she is clutch, a scorer and is as strong if not stronger in the 4th late in a tournament as she is in the very 1st quarter of the first game. She gets it from the line, mid-range, three and all kinds of off-balance shots. NW Blazers did surprise me. I had the AZ Warriors getting out of the silver bracket. I didn't think the Blazers were equipped to beat the Warriors relentless pressure. So the final four was set for the overall National Championship:

Minnesota Metro Stars
Cal Swish
Team Concept
NW Blazers

DAY FOUR

Championship Day!

Team Concept and Minnesota Metro Stars would be the first to hit the floor for a 9am tip off.   TC wasted no time taking control of the game from the tip.  It was evident from the beginning the Stars were going to have their hands full trying to defend the high/lo offense of Kailee Johnson and Mercedes Russell.  TC would often throw Jordyn Peacock into the high post, who demonstrated from that vantage point with her size and length to be a meticulous passer. Jordyn is also well versed in knocking down the 15ft shot from the high post and short corner areas.  If that wasn't enough to consider, when TC flashed Jaime Nared to the middle, her athleticism and quickness was too much for Metro Stars. The Metro Stars didn't go down without a fight. Coach Meinhardt of the Stars strategically used timeouts to try and stifle TC's offense and settle his troops but on the defensive end TC was too long and quick.  The Stars got nothing easy and several times were called for shot clock violation. Team Concept would go on to win by a sizable margin and await the winner of the Cal Swish/NW Blazers game. 
Cal Swish had a couple games where they had seemed to be struggling putting the ball in the net and were earnestly waiting on that game they know so well to come to them.  Finally in the Gold bracket championship against the Cal Stars Elite, Swish seemed to have found their way.  Now if they could just reproduce another game like that against Cal Stars, the National Championship would be in their grasp.  NW Blazers who implement a variety of defenses primarily chose to go man against Swish, really sticking on their shooters and never allowing them to get comfortable.  The Blazers scrambled and covered each other but never allowed for an uncontested shot.  Then the Weisner show begin.  Weisner a 5'9 athletically built shooting guard who plays the game tough as nails was stroking it from everywhere on the court. One word that can identify Jaime is "Scorer".  She simply knows how to put up points and she does it in a variety of ways. Her output along with her back court partner Karlee Wilson would prove to be too much for the Struggling Cal Swish team.  The championship game was set North West Blazers vs Team Concept, familiar foes.


It was  a nice warm afternoon in Oregon City, Oregon about 2:15 pm as I made my way to the gym at Oregon City high school one last time during this tenure of the EOT 2011.  As I made my way to the bleachers my first thought was, "where are the 224 teams that participated in the Nike EOT?".  In the day, if you didn't make the championship or play at the same time you brought your behind to the game.  It is a respect thing and a sincere desire to see the best of your class compete in a game you so passionately wished you were in.  Now days it seems if teams don't make the "Chip", they are on the first ship out of town.  I honestly believe it's only the right thing to do, to pay homage to the players that worked hard to get to where all players should want to be.  OK, I will get off my soap box now.  
There was no need for note taking in this game.  I've seen both teams before and a number of times this year and this tournament.  If anything stood out to me I would just make a mental note.  I was here to purely enjoy watching great young talent, decipher the game and admire what separates the best from the rest.  I hate to always state the obvious, but evident every game for Team Concept is there abundance of skill, talent, size, length and athleticism.  On the other hand, even though the NW Blazers don't always awe you or pass the look test, they consistently outplay teams in effort, smarts and they have a great scorer in Jaime Weisner.  Early in the game it was evident the Blazers were going to have a hard time stopping the high/low offense of TC, with Russell, Johnson and Peacock down low.  TC could play big with any of the three before mentioned playing intermittent roles high or low.  TC can also go a little smaller and faster using 6'1 Nared as their small forward.  One jaw breaking moment, to give you an idea of the versatility of Team Concept, is when 6'5 Russell started a break seamlessly, dribbling in the back court and kicked it up to a 6'4 Johnson who was running the wing.  The Blazers would fight to stay in the game, and in previously match-ups were able to stay in games against more talented teams with the relentless scoring ability of Weisner.  This day was not to be, as it was the first time I saw Weisner without an answer.  The length of Nared and Reynolds gave Weisner fits. Team Concept would run away with the championship game in a lopsided 62-40 win and Reynolds would get MVP honors.

Team Concept Nike EOT National Champions 2011

R-L: Rachel Mendelsohn, Kailee Johnson, Abby Scott, Mercedes Russell, Anjenae Torregano, Jordyn Peacock, Lexi Bando, Jordan Reynolds, Jaime Nared

Shilpa Tummala shares her secrets to excelling on the court, in the classroom

As reported  By Whitney Holtzman of ESPN RISE GIRL: Captain's Corner, our local prep star Shilpa Tummala not only excels on the court but in the classroom.  

Junior at St. Mary's (Phoenix, Ariz.) says time management is a skill you have to master

Shilpa Tummala (back row, second from right) is not only captain of the girls basketball team at St. Mary's (Phoenix, Ariz.), she's also No. 1 in her junior class.	Photo By: Courtesy of Shilpa Tummala

Shilpa Tummala isn’t just a leader on the basketball court for St. Mary’s (Phoenix, Ariz.). She also happens to be the leader of her entire class.

Tummala, a 5-foot-11 guard/forward, is No. 1 in her junior class of approximately 150 students.

So how does Tummala find time to rule on the court and in the classroom?

“It is tough to balance everything,” she said. “But it is possible. It’s all about time management, and sometimes I had to make sacrifices, such as not being able to go hang out with my friends when I have homework or not being able to watch TV during the week.

“The rule around my house was no grades, no basketball. … Maintaining my grades was mandatory because that is what would help me make a living later in life.”

Tummala has some advice for girls who are struggling to find a balance.

“The advice I would give is if you get your assignment ahead of time, don’t procrastinate and wait until the last minute,” she said.

She also has different techniques for how to handle homework on practice days vs. game days.

“If you have a late practice, go to the library and do homework rather than hanging out with your friends after school,” she said. “On game days, go to the library during your break period or lunch hour and finish whatever you can. The more you do during the day, the less you have to do after.”

She also points out that getting homework out of the way helps to clear the mind.

“Some days, you may actually finish all of it, and therefore you will be relieved and can be completely focused on the game,” she said.

Tummala also emphasizes that school work can actually be a great form of team bonding, since every team member has work that needs to be done (or at least that they should be doing).

It certainly serves as a way to bring the St. Mary’s girls together.

“Usually, the whole team is in the library studying or doing homework,” she said.

And while Tummala would like to play basketball in college, she hopes to eventually go into biomedical engineering.
But her most pressing advice?

“Be confident in your game at all times and keep working hard,” she said. “Reach for your goals and don’t let anyone get in the way of that. Enjoy playing the sport you love and embrace every minute of it.”

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

ST.MARY'S v XAVIER 1-10-11

Two of the more storied programs and rivalries in Arizona high school girls' sports belongs to the two schools of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, Xavier and St. Mary's. Basketball in particular draws special attention this year because currently St. Mary's is nationally ranked #14 by ESPN/Powerade. St. Mary's opened the season #7 by ESPN/Powerade but recently lost their footing losing to a very talented Monarchs (Louisville,CO), which features Eliza Norman (ASU commit) as their top player. Also because two current Gators once played with the Az Warriors AAU National championship team, which is comprised of 8 Knights and coached also by Curtis Ekmark. Don't get me wrong, off the court these girls are great friends and acquaintances, but every year this date is marked on the calendar and highly anticipated by players and fans alike. The game is naturally attended well by boosters, alumni, and students. This nights game had the potential of being a block buster if it wasn't for the BCS Bowl Championship game being played in Arizona on the same night, but still a packed house. The game was scheduled on a Monday night when most other valley basketball teams had off.
As if the 15-1 St.Mary's Knights weren't imposing enough by each player's physical build, talent, and well known relentless full-court press, the game was on their court, in their house, on their floor. St. Marys is coached by Curtis Ekmark, who is in his fourth year as head coach. Xavier is coached by first year head coach of the Gators Mary Hauser who had previous stops at Jesuit (OR) and Mater Dei (CA).
Tip off went to St. Mary's and they attacked first but Shilpa Tummala's shot fell short. A quick outlet and push up the floor put Xavier on the board first with a Erin Tucker lay-up. Xavier imploring a nice aggresive man/man switch off defense was locking up SM and causing a little delay and confusion in their offense, not to mention the always feisty defense by Aubrey Lincoln, the most under-rated senior pg in Az. And just like that, Xavier went on a 12-4 run to open up the game and Courtney Ekmark on the bench with foul trouble. The young freshman phenom Ekmark seamed baffled by the speed and intensity of the game. St.Mary's would have to do without the sharp shooter for almost the entire second quarter. Ekmark wasn't the only one struggling, super soph Jasmine Hotchkins, whom Xavier was going to need to counter the press in the back-court, seemed a little shaky in her time on the court in the first half. SM turned on the pressure behind the powerful defensive game of Dominique and Daniel Williams. SM started to relax on offense and with Cortnee Walton's ability to shoot and attack off the dribble from the high post area, went on a 21-5 run of their own. SM was up 25-17 before Rikki Mulloy knocked down one of her patented three's to cut the lead 25-20 with one minute remaining in the half. And just when Xavier thought they had themselves in good position to end the half, the Shilpa Tummala show begin. Shilpa hit two of her game total six three's in the first half's final minute to put St. Mary's up 31-20 before the teams headed to the locker room.
The third quarter saw SM extend their lead by as much as 16, as Xavier struggled to put points up on the board. Although the Gator's defense was still stifling SM's opportunities on offense. The third quarter belonged to Tummala, who was hitting big shots, and Walton, who was cleaning the glass like a street corner bum. As the game moved into the fourth quarter, obvious fatigue was settling in but so was super soph Hotchkins, who owns one of the quickest first steps and used it to get by her defender to knock down a timely fifteen footer to get Xavier within eleven (44-33). Then sensational sophomore Katie Werner, who was having a great game, knocked down two big shots, the first cutting the lead 46-38, the second putting Xavier within four 48-44. With just three minutes remaining, that was as close as Xavier got, as Shilpa Tummala would catch fire again. Coming off a down screen Tummala caught the ball beyond the arc turned and knocked down her final of six three's to put SM up 58-46. Xavier would claw back in the final minutes of the game, but out of time, losing by nine 59-50.