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. 

Xavier College Prep Point Guard, Budding Star

Pictured here at the top of Tom's Thumb(10 mile hike the XCP Girl's basketball team did over winter break)
5'4, Xavier College Prep Star Shows Glimpse Of What's In Store. Jasmine Hotchkins is no stranger to big games. She has had plenty of them over the years on her club team, GSB. Her youth club team, AZ Ultimate, competed 12u & 13u in the top brackets in California at UPG Memorial Day Classic and SGV, competing against the likes of the GBL Lady Rebels, Cal Sparks, NJB All-Stars, Mission Rec. They dominated here in town at the club level, boy's recreation leagues, and high school fall leagues when they were just 12 and 13 years old. By the summer of her 8th grade year She played with AZ Swish (white) "Baby Swish". The only two times they played in a local tournament they made the 16U championship game. Beyond that they competed in NCAA Showcases at 16U where they fared very well. A game was specially arranged to be played at ASU Team Camp featuring the AZ Warriors vs. AZ Swish. They gave the Warriors the closest game to date in town losing only by a couple possessions. Hotchkins often led the "Baby Swish" in scoring, shooting close to around 60% from the field, on a team with Sydney Wiese, Kyndall Adams and Katie Werner. Over the past couple years, can't count how many times she has hit from beyond the arc more than six and even eight times a game. She has gotten hot in Oregon at End of Trail. She has tore it up in Georgia at Peach State Hoops, garnering lots of worthy interest and talk. Now, she is starting to do it at Xavier College Prep. A little more deferred and reluctant to take too much control early in her high school career, playing behind two established upper-class guards in Rikki Mulloy and Aubrey Lincoln, Jasmine has gained more confidence from herself, coaches, and teammates. She has the freedom to create for her teammates and self and is starting to seize opportunities. Expect more 22+ pts, like she put up against Desert Vista on Friday night in an 87-68 barn burner. She can get it done in a variety of ways: Three pointers, driving & pulling up, at the free-throw line, breaking defenders off the dribble and getting to the lane, even 4pt plays which she has had a handful of (fouled and making a three). Though we have mostly talked about her offense, she is even a better defender. As long as she is getting looks, Jasmine Hotchkins will be a sought after player for college.

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.

Az's Girls HS TOP TEN Teams 1/1/11

1.St. Marys- Is still a top this list with only one lost coming at the hands of Monarch out of Colorado, which features future Sun Devil Eliza Norman. Since the loss SM has gone on a 7 game winning streak, taking down top programs, such as Bishop Gorman, Mt. Lebanon, & Christ the King. If that wasn't enough, they went on to win the Nike Interstate Shootout in Portland,OR. They appear unstopable in their quest for a state championship.
2.Mesa Mt. View- Has made a strong case for themselves as of late, only one loss to their record. They went 3-1 in the Nike TOC (white division). They won their last game against tough relentless Hamilton.
3.Hamilton- Just won the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic. They looked strong in their division at Nike TOC but loss close games to a scrappy Kennedale and #2 Mesa Mt. View.
4.Chandler- Like Xavier, played in the second toughest division at the Nike TOC. After losing in first round against Regis Jesuit (Aurora,CO) They bounced back with two wins before going down to a sharp shooting Pinewood(Los Altos Hills, CA). They look impressive in the second session of the Nike TOC, notching a 2-2 record.
5.Xavier- Entered the John Anderson Divison of the Nike TOC with an 8-0 record. They pulled out a scrappy win against last years Florida state champs, Dillard, with which they recieved Richard Obert's #1 ranking. Then it was on to the toughest road to the top facing Edison (HB, CA) featuring the Samuelson sisters. Bonnie Samuelson will play at Stanford next year. They hung with them for the first 3Q but toppled in the 4th. Then they had to go on and face Carondelet(Concord,CA), which featured another Stanford commit, Erica Payne. Carondelet also played in California's state championship game last year against Mater Dei. Again a closely contested game until running out of gas in the 4th. Both Edison and Carondelet could have competed in the Joe Smith bracket.
6.Highland- Advanced to the championship game of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. In the Championship game they faced an always athletic Centennial Bulldogs which this year is led by Louisiana Tech bound Courtney Hayes. The Bulldogs speed proved to be too much as the Hawks eventually went down 65-47.
7.Pinnacle- Looked the most impressive they have all year, rolling past a tough Canyon Springs (CA), taking Clackamas to the brink, then losing a tough, hard fought battle with Hamilton. Pinnacle is really starting to show their versatility on the defensive end, showing multiple defensive zones, traps and man. Pinnacle is a tough opponent when they are playing with good chemistry.
8.Seton Catholic- Went a content 2-2 at TOC, losing their first game against Villa Park (CA) by 4,who would go on to win their bracket.
9.Tolleson- Always seems to faulter this time of the year, going 1-3 in TOC, only winning their last game.
10.Horizon- Don't under estimate the Huskies.

**Chandler, Hamilton, Xavier all play in the Fiesta Region. Seeding should play an important role in state playoffs. Out of these three along with Mesa Mt. View is who I predict will play St. Mary's for the state championship