Alexis Jones, Breanna Stewart: Star Watch at Nike TOC

Day two, game six at the Nike TOC. Loser's bracket, MacArthur (Irving, Texas) vs. St. John's (Washington, D.C.).

Two teams, enough disappointment to fill the Grand Canyon, which is only a few hours' drive from Hamilton High School, just south of Phoenix. After all, MacArthur and St. John's came to the TOC with one thought in mind: Winning the tournament, and winning the national title.

Both were upset in round one, and were here to finish the day before an only mildly interested crowd.

And then along came Jones … Alexis Jones, that is, who dazzled the fans and St. John's with a spectacular triple-double. We know she had 32 points, and MacArthur statkeepers gave her 10 rebounds and 12 assists – but the coach conceded "We miss a lot."



Jones didn't miss much in the first quarter, scoring 15 points, and then broke open a close game in the fourth period with a series of how-did-she-get-that-off shots and that's-just-not-fair passes. MacArthur won 72-62, but in the loser's bracket, that doesn't matter that much. What mattered to those who were there was a dazzling performance by a future WNBA star.

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One coach had wandered in late from his own game at another site, and was dazzled by Jones – and said innocently, "She's got to be the best player here, right?"

In concert, the reply was "No." Despite Jones' tremendous level of play, she was a distant second to the marvelous, UConn-bound Breanna Stewart, who led Cicero-North Syracuse (N.Y.) to a decisive, and stunning, 48-28 win over previous No. 9 Dr. Phillips of Florida.

Stewart, a 6-foot-3 wing with the wingspan of someone 6-10, scored 29 points all by herself, thus beating Dr. Phillips by one, and simply dominated a game in which her teammates needed only to be average high school varsity players for the Northstars to win. They were more than that, and after Cicero-North slipped past Bolingbrook of Illinois in round one, the Northstars are now in the Nike TOC semifinals against No. 2 St. Mary's (Phoenix).

Everyone expects the sleigh ride to end Wednesday, but then again, everyone didn't think it would even get started. Stay tuned as Stewart and the Cinderellas go for a third-straight win over a Top 10 team.



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Speaking of stars, 6-7 Windward junior Imani Stafford spent most of the last six months unable to do much of anything physical due to a pelvic fracture. About three weeks ago, she finally was cleared to begin exercising, and after a somewhat erratic performance in round one, the Southern California daughter of Olympian Pam McGee finished with 22 points in a 53-37 win for Windward (Los Angeles) over Marion County of Kentucky.

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You want illustrious parents? Will an illustrious guardian do?

Nirra Fields of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) is at her third high school in three years, and was just cleared to start practicing last week. But she can learn plenty at home, as her guardian is Mike Brown, the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. And up until about a week ago, he didn't have much to do except work with Fields, who is one of the most electrifying offensive talents in the country.

The Monarchs lost to No. 1 Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and its host of Division I prospects, 56-46.



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Today's historical note: Back in 1999, when the TOC was in Santa Barbara, Calif., Diana Taurasi hit game-winning, buzzer-beating shots in three-straight games for Don Lugo High School.

The seeds of what has become a legendary career were planted at that TOC – and the same thing could be happening to Alexis Jones and Breanna Stewart in 2011.