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By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
The top two high school girls’ basketball teams in the country appear to be right on course to meet in the finals of the prestigious Joe Smith division of the Nike Tournament of Champions. The loss of star forward Alexyz Vaioletama did not slow down Orange County, California’s Mater Dei High a bit as they blew by Hillsboro, Tennessee, 78-30. This was no pick-up game either. Hillsboro had started the season ranked No. 20 in the country by ESPN Rise after finishing last season 36-1.
Vaioletama, who helped lead the U.S. U16 team to gold this summer, has been out since September, and is expected to be out for the rest of the season, due to stress fractures in both shins, according to Monarchs’ Coach Kevin Keirnan. She is due to be reevaluated by her doctor in five weeks, but Kiernan says the medics are not optimistic about her release to play.
But talented teammates Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Jordan Adams did a more than cable job of picking up the slack. Mosqueda-Lewis single-handedly outscored the Burros, posting 33 points in the outing. Adams posted eight points, and while the Nike Tournament doesn’t keep track of assists, the 6-0 guard appeared to be handing out quite a lot of them. Saturday, Mater Dei moves on to face Riverdale Baptist (MD), which defeated South Eugene (OR), 55-45, on Friday.
Meanwhile, top-ranked St. Mary’s of Stockton, California, had no problems getting past a previously unbeaten Norcross team ranked No. 12 in the country, 79-55. Norcross fought nobly til the end, but St. Mary’s was clicking on all cylinders with a passing game that was noticeably crisper than much of what had been seen on the court for the rest of the day, even in this elite division. Today, St. Mary’s will face Tennessee’s Memphis Central, which defeated Washington, D.C.‘s H.D. Woodson, 69-40, in Friday’s action.
Long Beach Polytechnic became the third California team moving on into the winners’ bracket of the Smith Division, after bumping off Bolingbrook (IL), 57-35, in what was considered by many to be an upset. Ariel Massengale posted 18 points, but had a difficult outing with numerous turnovers. (Again, Nike keeps no records in that category.) Meanwhile, Poly enjoyed well-balanced scoring and excellent defense. The Jackrabbits will meet New York’s Christ the King in today’s game.
The top two high school girls’ basketball teams in the country appear to be right on course to meet in the finals of the prestigious Joe Smith division of the Nike Tournament of Champions. The loss of star forward Alexyz Vaioletama did not slow down Orange County, California’s Mater Dei High a bit as they blew by Hillsboro, Tennessee, 78-30. This was no pick-up game either. Hillsboro had started the season ranked No. 20 in the country by ESPN Rise after finishing last season 36-1.
Vaioletama, who helped lead the U.S. U16 team to gold this summer, has been out since September, and is expected to be out for the rest of the season, due to stress fractures in both shins, according to Monarchs’ Coach Kevin Keirnan. She is due to be reevaluated by her doctor in five weeks, but Kiernan says the medics are not optimistic about her release to play.
But talented teammates Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Jordan Adams did a more than cable job of picking up the slack. Mosqueda-Lewis single-handedly outscored the Burros, posting 33 points in the outing. Adams posted eight points, and while the Nike Tournament doesn’t keep track of assists, the 6-0 guard appeared to be handing out quite a lot of them. Saturday, Mater Dei moves on to face Riverdale Baptist (MD), which defeated South Eugene (OR), 55-45, on Friday.
Meanwhile, top-ranked St. Mary’s of Stockton, California, had no problems getting past a previously unbeaten Norcross team ranked No. 12 in the country, 79-55. Norcross fought nobly til the end, but St. Mary’s was clicking on all cylinders with a passing game that was noticeably crisper than much of what had been seen on the court for the rest of the day, even in this elite division. Today, St. Mary’s will face Tennessee’s Memphis Central, which defeated Washington, D.C.‘s H.D. Woodson, 69-40, in Friday’s action.
Long Beach Polytechnic became the third California team moving on into the winners’ bracket of the Smith Division, after bumping off Bolingbrook (IL), 57-35, in what was considered by many to be an upset. Ariel Massengale posted 18 points, but had a difficult outing with numerous turnovers. (Again, Nike keeps no records in that category.) Meanwhile, Poly enjoyed well-balanced scoring and excellent defense. The Jackrabbits will meet New York’s Christ the King in today’s game.
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Originally published Sat, December 19, 2009
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