Top seeds all victorious as stars shine on one of game's biggest stages.
MESA, Ariz. — The Nike Tournament of Champions opened Wednesday with action spread across four gyms as seven teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school girls basketball rankings were in action.
In the Vincent Cannizzaro Division, the tournament's top bracket, all
of the top seeds advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday.
No. 1
Ontario Christian (Ontario, Calif.), No. 2
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), No. 7
Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), No. 9
Purcell Marian (Cincinnati, Ohio), No. 11
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 17
Clackamas (Ore.) and No. 20
Grandview (Aurora, Colo.) all won opening-round matches, meaning there will be ranked teams that lose in Thursday's action.
Here are a few takeaways from the first day of action at the Nike TOC.
Runaway victory
The biggest victory was MaxPreps Top 25 No. 1 Ontario Christian blowing out Canadian team Brookwood Secondary 86-19. The running-clock affair saw the Knights take a 52-11 lead at intermission and coast behind 13 from freshman
Tatianna Griffin and 10 from sophomore
Kaleena Smith.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Knights.
Tatianna Griffin of Ontario Christian led the top-ranked Knights to a runaway 86-19 win on Wednesday in the opening round of the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona. Ontario Christian takes on No. 20 Grandview in Thursday action. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
Jazzy Davidson of Clackamas put on a show in Wednesday's second game of the day, scoring 31 points and showcasing a complete offensive arsenal. She ran the floor in transition, posted up in the paint and knocked down shots from distance.
With the Cavaliers trailing
Princeton (Cincinnati, Ohio) 29-23 at half, the USC commit took over in the third period. She scored 13 on 6 of 10 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and had five blocks as Clackamas outscored the Vikings 20-6 in the quarter on the way to a 66-41 win.
Relentless
Bishop McNamara comes in waves on both ends of the floor. The Mustangs, who came to Arizona off a 47-24 win over IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) over the weekend, aren't reliant on a superstar like last year in South Carolina's Maddy McDaniel. Instead, they are nine deep and attack on the offensive end and clamp down on defense. Their big three of
Zhen Craft Princess-Alexandria Moody and
Vanessa Harris led them in scoring, but the defensive intensity wore down a good
Sage Hill (Newport Beach, Calif.) team in a 70-44 win.
Vanessa Harris of Bishop McNamara grabs a rebound against Sage Hill's Amalia Holguin on Wednesday in the Mustangs' win at the Nike TOC in Mesa, Ariz. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
Ontario Christian-Grandview — This will not only be a showcase of the senior
Sienna Betts vs. Ontario Christian's two freshmen post players in Griffin and
Sydney Douglas. Betts, a UCLA commit, showed off an impressive arsenal in the Wolves' win over
Mt. Zion Prep Academy (Lanham, Md.). She hit from all over the court, scoring 24 with 22 rebounds.
Griffin led the Knights with 23 and like Betts can score from anywhere on the floor.
Archbishop Mitty-Clackamas — This 3 p.m. game shines the spotlight on Davidson going against one of the top juniors in Mitty's
McKenna Woliczko. The battle down low will be must-watch as Woliczko controlled the paint, scoring an easy 19 in the Monarchs' 68-50 win over
George Rogers Clark (Winchester, Ky.).
Mitty sophomore
Ze'Ni Patterson knocked down three 3-pointers Wednesday and gave the Monarchs good energy with several steals.
The games can be streamed
here.
Wednesday's leading scorers
