PHOENIX -- There are 10 undefeated teams remaining at the Nike Tournament of Champions. Five will be crowned champions on Thursday. First, a look back at some of the stars and showdowns from Wednesday.
Game of the day
Day 3 was full of drama at the Nike Tournament of Champions, but the Joe Smith bracket semifinal between Miami Country Day (Florida) and Grandview (Aurora, Colorado) takes the crown in this category.
The stars delivered for both teams, and Miami Country Day found its way into the finals with a 66-60 overtime thriller.
The back-and-forth game was tight throughout the first half, with Miami Country Day holding a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and Grandview up 25-24 at the half.
On the shoulders of UCLA recruit Michaela Onyenwere, Grandview seemed to take control with a dominant third quarter and opened up a 44-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The lead grew to 48-39 on an Onyenwere basket with 6:44 to go.
Miami Country Day countered with sophomore Maria Alvarez. The undeclared 5-foot-8 shooting guard hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to six at the 6:22 mark, and then hit another 3 with 2:18 to go to tie the score at 53-53.
But Grandview answered with a driving layup from senior Kennede Brown to take a 57-55 lead. After a Miami Country Day timeout with 38 seconds to go, a scramble for a loose ball became the turning point of the game. Onyenwere, who had been a force on the glass as well as a defensive stopper, was injured in the scrum and sat out the remainder of the game.
With 2.2 seconds to go and Miami Country Day still trailing by two, Illinois signee Channise Lewis was fouled. She hit two clutch free throws to tie the game 57-57 and send it into overtime.
Alvarez stepped up again and hit a 3-pointer to give Miami Country Day a 60-57 lead, and the Spartans pulled away from there.
In the final, Miami Country Day takes on Clovis West (Fresno, California), which knocked out defending champion St. Mary's (Stockton, California) 63-58 in the other semifinal. In a game that featured tremendous defensive pressure from both squads, Clovis West was paced by Boise State signee Tess Amundsen, who scored all of her 14 points in the second half, and UC Santa Barbara signee Sarah Bates, who had 13 points. St. Mary's junior Aquira DeCosta led all scorers with 25.
Stars of the day
Shaylee Gonzales, Mesquite (Gilbert, Arizona): Playing on her home court, the 5-foot-9 junior point guard and BYU recruit scored 22 points in a 65-41 win over Christ the King (Middle Village, New York) that sent Mesquite to the final of the John Anderson bracket. Playing for her mom, head coach Candice Gonzales, Shaylee is smooth off the dribble with range from the rim to the arc. In the final, Mesquite will take on Immaculate Word (St. Louis, Missouri), which topped Brentwood Academy (Tennessee) 51-43. Immaculate Word is the old stomping grounds of Connecticut sophomore Napheesa Collier.
Caitlin Bickle, Cactus Shadows (Arizona): Her team fell 63-57 to Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, California) in the semifinals of the Mike Desper bracket, but the junior was simply superb. The undeclared forward was physical and tenacious on defense and prosperous on offense. She scored 24 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in defeat.
Aquira DeCosta, St. Mary's (Stockton, California): You already got a taste of the kind of day the 6-2 undeclared DeCosta had in St. Mary's loss to Clovis West, but the junior's game caused more of a gulp. Among the most athletic prospects in any class (click here for visual proof), DeCosta was more than just a scoring machine; she also was a force on the glass. She finished with a double-double of 25 points and 15 rebounds.
Statement of the day
Mesquite (Gilbert, Arizona), currently ranked second behind Seton Catholic (Chandler, Arizona) in the state polls, is making the most of its Nike Tournament of Champions opportunity.
Gonzales and Lindsay Van Allen combined for 41 points for Mesquite in the win over Christ the King, but this statement is more about the team. And maybe even the state.
"Playing in the TOC is important to our development as a team," coach Candice Gonzales said. "The opportunity to play on our home court, having our fans support us, only adds to our season. This is a big deal for us, having the chance to be challenged each day by teams from across the country. This only can help us get better."
Seton Catholic also is helping keep Arizona basketball on the map. The state's top-ranked team, led by the Gonzaga-bound Wirth twins, is 2-1 so far in the Joe Smith bracket, sandwiching wins over St. Francis (Alpharetta, Georgia) and Long Beach Poly (California) around a two-point loss to Grandview. Seton Catholic plays Centennial (Las Vegas) for fifth place.
Day 4 outlook
Happy finals day! Champions will be crowned in each of the five divisions on Thursday.
The marquee matchup, of course, is in the Joe Smith division, where Miami Country Day, ranked 13th in the espnW 25 Power Rankings, plays No. 8 Clovis West. It is a battle of one of the most elite backcourts in all of high school basketball, Kelsey Marshall and Lewis, versus a trapping pressure defense and a balanced offensive attack from Clovis West. All together, there will be seven Division I signees on the court today.