West Coast Jamboree: Nation's largest girls hoop tourney starts 16th year

Many didn't believe a girls basketball tournament of this size would ever make it — not for an extended period — but the West Coast Jamboree has passed the test of time.

See complete tournament brackets

Tournament director Clay Kallam, who is also the MaxPreps girls basketball editor, along with associate executive director Harold Abend and countless workers and volunteers celebrate the massive tourney's 16th anniversary this season.

The 128-team, 16-division tournament, co-sponsored by MaxPreps, begins Monday and runs through Thursday at nine venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Las Positas Junior College in Livermore, site of the eight-team Platinum Division, which brings together some of California's elite and other recognizable national programs.

"We do not have as many of the nationally-ranked teams of some years past," Abend said. "But it should be one of the more competitive fields in the 16-year history of the tournament."

The favorite of the Platinum isn't overwhelmingly clear, but Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.), despite a 5-3 record, is probably the front-runner. 

The Jackrabbits were missing standout Ayanna Clark for two weeks with a concussion, but she should be back.

Poly returns to the tournament after a five-year absence and are led by last year's second- and third-leading scorers Eliza Matthews (12.6 points per game) and Danae Miller (10.4). A knee injury, however, may keep Matthews out for much of the season.

Clemson-bound Siana Fields, Da'Jah Jackson and Kathryn Headspeth are other key returners. As usual, Buggs will utilize great quickness, defense and depth. Poly lost just two players off its 17-person roster from last year but returns 6-foot-3 post Clark, a 5-star junior who has already committed to USC. She was the team's leading scorer as a freshman and ranked the No. 8 player in her class nationally by HoopGurlz.

Among the top local teams are defending CIF D3 state champion Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and defending CIF Central Coast Section Open champion Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco, Calif.). O'Dowd, led by Myah Pace, finished second in the Iolani Classic earlier this season.

Other strong threats in the Platinum are Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.), led by Washington State commit Katie Campbell (18.6 points per game); Salesian College Preparatory (Richmond, Calif.), led by USC-signee Minyon Moore (20 points, 6.5 steals, 4.8 assists per game); 2015 state D4 runner-up Brookside Christian (Stockton, Calif.), led by Washington-signee Aarion McDonald (21.9 ppg); Sacramento (Calif.), led by UCSB-signeee Aliceah Hernandez; and defending Washington 3A state champion Lynnwood (Bothell, Wash.).

Opening-day games are Lynwood versus Sacred Heart Cathedral (12:30 p.m.), Oaks Christian versus Bishop O'Dowd (2 p.m.), Sacramento versus Salesian (6:30 p.m.) and Long Beach Poly and Brookside Christian (8 p.m.).