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

Chaparral Frosh Starter Casey Rarrick Lifts Team Over Very Talented Pinnacle 71-62

Frosh starter for Chaparral girls' basketball lifts her team past a very talented Pinnacle high school Friday, 1/14/11, pouring in 22 points in the win. With a wonderful class of 2013 players in AZ hs WBB, much attention hasn't been given to the talent that can be found in the 2014 class. Along with Courtney Ekmark of St. Mary's, a gem can be found along Gold Dust Avenue in Scottsdale, Arizona at Chaparral high school. The young player's name is Casey Rarrick and she has quite the storied career but yet came into the season with little buzz. Probably because the transition even for great players coming into high school isn't as easy as most think. The season and commitment are greater than anticipated. One has to find their role amongst upperclassmen. It takes some time to adjust to the speed and physicality of the game. Most great young players that play up in older age brackets when 13-14 do so with other very talented young players that have been playing together for some time. Now your a small fish in a big pond, in a different system, and different players. The workouts and games are more intense, pressurized and rigorous but Rarrick has gotten off to a good start. Leading her team in scoring, averaging 15pts a game, she has provided a much needed offensive punch for Chaparral. Casey Rarrick is a combo guard who can run the point and play off the ball. She is fearless in her attack to the basket and possesses a lot of pose & confidence to shoot the three. Casey isn't assigned or expected to be the leading scorer for her team or shoot a certain number of shots but she gets it done in a variety of ways for her teammates in the flow of their offense. Her teammates are confident in her ability. She in return evaluates the process and finds the right shot and opportunity for her team. As a result Chaparral over the year has shown a lot resiliency, chemistry and camaraderie, making them a very difficult beat. Nobody on Chaparral's team is playing under too much pressure and they seem to enjoy each other's success as much as their own.
Rarrick started her basketball career with Ekmark's AZ Warriors. She was with them when they won the coveted AAU Division I National Championship at 9u. She was also with them the consecutive years following they were runner-ups. At 12 & 13 she competed with AZ Best that morphed into AZ Ultimate. She played the 2009 summer and fall with the famed 'Baby Swish'. As most of the 'Baby Swish' players moved onto high school she was forced to find a competitive team to play with through out the winter months. That was the start of AZ Ryhthm where she is coached by her long time coach, Ben Boyd.

Chaparral plays in a tough region that features Horizon, Pinnacle, and St. Mary's. Look for Chaparral to be there in the end contending for the final two spots in the Arizona 5AII State Championship finals.

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

TOP TEN Going Into The New Year

My Az's Girls HS Basketball
TOP TEN Going Into The New Year
As reported on Crash The Boards Message Board

Start, Stop, & Continue

There are a handful of coaches, business men, mentors and teachers that are of superb value to my growth personally and professionally. Alan Stein is one of those who does it the right way, which contributes to his success. So I thought I might share with y'all his most recent blog going into the new year.
Start, Stop, & Continue

Tear'a Laudermill

Pictured: left to right is Nebraska commit Tear'a Laudermill (2011 Ca) and ASU commit Arnecia Hawkins (2012 Az)


Just recently had a phone interview with Nebraska commit Tear'a Laudermill.
'T', as she is often affectionately refereed to is a dynamic, extremely athletic, fiery intense guard that has always been a steady at Arizona tournaments. So much so, most Sun Devil fans and locals were sold that come 2011 she would be sporting the maroon and gold. Tear'a is intensely fast and puts the ball on the ground in the full court at neck breaking speed and never lets up. She will challenge the help by beating them to the punch or finish over them with her great leaping abilities. She also can stop on a dime and pull up with a short jumper that is pretty and pretty consistent if the lane closes. Her length and athleticism allows her to maneuver around defenders with her dribble and steps without slowing down. Her game is transitional, & offensively explosive.

TRIFECABASKETBALL: "When did Nebraska come into the picture?"
TL: "It was actually Nebraska that first showed interest then ASU."

Tear'a had mentioned that with all the time she had spent on the ASU campus coming out here for tournaments, she became really attached and focused her recruiting on ASU and put Nebraska on the back burner.

TRIFECTABASKETBALL: "What was it that most pulled you to choose Nebraska?"
TL: "My family and I are very religious. We spent a lot of time praying. We sat down, did research on their history, record, other guards being recruited, and I had a good relationship with Coach Yori."

TRIFECTABASKETBALL: "What best describes what kind of player you are?"
TL: "Motivator, I love motivating my teammates, clapping and encouraging them. I run with my teammates who are running because they are in trouble or something."

Tear'a who was also recruited by Louisville, Vanderbilt, ASU, and KU didn't seriously start playing basketball till 12yrs old. Soon got involved with NJB then travel ball. Her dad played basketball for University of California Riverside and her brother is currently playing at Cal. State San Bernardino. She says her motivation for putting time in the gym is that she knows somewhere there is someone working as hard or harder. She told me that when she gets to Nebraska her focus is to be in the right mindset and make sure her grades are on point.