Southern Section championship schedule

Halfway down this page:

SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Wednesday, at Anaheim Convention Center

Girls' Division 6A: #1 Rolling Hills Prep vs. #2 Redlands Adventist, 3 p.m.

Girls' Division 4AA: #1 Windward vs. #2 Bishop Montgomery, 4:45 p.m.

Girls' Division 3A: #1 Orange Lutheran vs. #2 Bonita, 8:15 p.m.

Thursday, at Anaheim Convention Center

Girls' Division 6AA: #1 Mesa Grande Academy vs. #2 Rio Hondo Prep, 3 p.m.

Girls' Division 2A: #1 Harvard-Westlake vs. #2 Anaheim Canyon, 6:30 p.m.

Girls' Division 1A: #1 Edison vs. #2 Troy, 8:15 p.m.

Friday, at Anaheim Convention Center

Girls' Division 4A: #1 Oaks Christian vs. #2 St. Anthony, 3:30 p.m.

Girls' Division 3AA: #1 Santa Maria St. Joseph vs. #2 Serra, 5:15 p.m.

Girls' Division 2AA: #1 Rialto vs. #2 Buena, 7 p.m.

Girls' Division 1AA: Canyon Springs/Brea Olinda winner vs. Santa Monica/Mater Dei winner, 8:45 p.m.

Saturday, at Mater Dei

Girls' Division 5A: #1 Pasadena Poly vs. #2 Chadwick, 2 p.m.

Girls' Division 5AA: #1 St. Bernard vs. #2 Santa Clara, 4 p.m.

Brackets and award time

The Big Ten basketball bracket was announced yesterday. The tournament is this weekend in Indianapolis.

The Big East's bracket has also been set, and they play this weekend too.

In the meantime, the Big Ten has named its top players of the year: "Michigan State's Kalisha Keane was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year by the conference coaches, while Ohio State's Jantel Lavender earned top billing from the media."

Over in the Big 12, Texas A&M's Danielle Adams and Baylor's Odyssey Sims were named Players of the Week.

The Pac-10's Player of the Week is Darxia Morris of UCLA.

The Illinois State women quietly racked up an undefeated record at home this season.

WNBA bonus: the Atlanta Dream will be the first WNBA team to play in Europe. They'll play in England May 29.

California Southern Section semifinal results; Washington state finals

Last night's Southern Section results:

DIVISION 1A

Semifinals, Saturday

Edison 74, Rancho Cucamonga 63

Troy 62, Woodbridge 32

DIVISION 2AA

Semifinals, Saturday

Rialto 59, Inglewood 56

Buena 60, Canyon Country Canyon 53

DIVISION 2A

Semifinals, Saturday

Harvard-Westlake 66, Indio 43

Anaheim Canyon 53, Keppel 48

DIVISION 3AA

Semifinals, Saturday

Santa Maria St. Joseph 60, Sonora 40

Serra 82, Diamond Ranch 70 (OT)

DIVISION 3A

Semifinals, Saturday

Orange Lutheran 43, Bell-Jeff 40

Bonita 65, Bishop Amat 53

DIVISION 4AA

Semifinals, Saturday

Windward 74, Rosary 38

Bishop Montgomery 58, Chaminade 56

DIVISION 4A

Semifinals, Saturday

Oaks Christian 54, Cerritos Valley Christian 49

St. Anthony 78, JSerra 63

DIVISION 5AA

Semifinals, Saturday

St. Bernard 70, St. Paul 52

Santa Clara 62, Montclair Prep 51

DIVISION 5A

Semifinals, Saturday

Pasadena Poly 53, Holy Martyrs 27

Chadwick 37, Bishop Diego 26

DIVISION 6AA

Semifinals, Saturday

Mesa Grande Academy 60, Lone Pine 33

Rio Hondo Prep 52, Los Angeles Adventist 35

DIVISION 6A

Semifinals, Saturday

Rolling Hills Prep 62, Santa Maria Valley Christian 40

Redlands Adventist 41, Calvary Baptist 36

In the meantime, the finals are set for next weekend in Washington state, where there are far less people:

Class 3A

Thursday

9 a.m. -- Glacier Peak vs.Kamiakin
10:30 a.m. -- Prairie vs. Kennedy Catholic
12:15 p.m. -- Holy Names vs. Lakeside
2 p.m. -- North Central vs. Auburn Mountainview

Class 4A

Thursday

3:45 p.m. -- Lake Stevens vs.Chiawana
5:30 p.m. -- Federal Way vs. Mount Rainier
7:15 p.m. -- Woodinville vs. Bellarmine Prep
9 p.m. -- Lewis and Clark vs. Edmonds-Woodway

Regular season winding down

Stanford beat Oregon last night to claim the Pac-10 title.

The 20th conference title is only the beginning for the Cardinal.

Also last night, Rutgers ralled to beat #19 West Virginia.

Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund begins to say goodbye. Awwww......

Duh: Baylor's Brittney Griner has changed the game.

The University of Dayton's Ebony Gainey is not "plain."

UConn's Maya Moore is pretty tight with her mother Kathryn.

LA City Section finals decided

Most of my favorite LA City Section teams lost last night, and I'm bummed:

CITY GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS

DIVISION I

Semifinals, Friday

Narbonne 76, Washington 48

Carson 65, Fairfax 52

Championship, Mar. 5, 11 a.m. at Galen Center (USC)

#1 Narbonne vs. #2 Carson

DIVISION II

Semifinals, Friday

Palisades 58, Granada Hills 39

South East 65. Los Angeles Jordan 58

Championship, Mar. 4, 6 p.m. at Roybal

#1 Palisades vs. #6 South East

DIVISION III

Semifinals, Friday

Monroe 58, Garfield 41

Reseda 70, Eagle Rock 63

Championship, Mar. 5, 6 p.m. at Roybal

#1 Monroe vs. #2 Reseda

SMALL SCHOOLS

Semifinals, Friday

View Park 102, Downtown Magnets 28

Los Angeles CES 72, Elizabeth 28

Championship, Thursday, 6 p.m. at Roybal

#1 View Park vs. #2 Los Angeles CES

In Division I, it will be a re-match of last year's City Championship: Carson vs. Narbonne. Carson took the title last season, but some say Narbonne will win this year. It will be interesting, to say the least.

Another sell out

My kinda universe: the North Carolina/Duke game tomorrow is sold the heck out.

Missouri reflects on Colorado's departure for the Pac-10.....something that I still can't wrap my head around.

Seimone Augustus is among the six elected to the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Oklahoma and Baylor will meet once more.

Mechelle Voepel discusses this year's mighty freshman class.

Who is Pac-10 player and coach of the year?

Florida beat Vanderbilt in Nashville tonight for the first time since 2004.

#21 Marist has extended their winning streak to 22 games.

Look who's fighting now: Rutgers and the University of South Florida. USF's Porche Grant has been suspended for two games.

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is making great strides at UNCW.

Sports Illustrated has noticed that young guards are making an impact in the NCAA this year.

The Georgetown women are making a name for themselves.

Left coast hoops thinks Jeannette Pohlen of Stanford should be Pac-10 player of the year, and conference coach of the year should go to OSU's Scott Rueck. I haven't made up my mind on my player pick yet, but I've thought Rueck should win for a long time. He has my vote.

Southern Section, LA City Section semifinal games schedule

Saturday's California Southern Section semifinals schedule, for all six divisions is here.

LA City Section Wednesday scores and semifinal pairings for tomorrow night are here.

Another big news night

Whoa: Ohio State edged #10 Michigan State 54-53. The Spartans didn't get to celebrate their Big Ten title until later, when they found out that Penn State lost to Purdue.

__________

When North Carolina messes up, they continue to slide. Latest evidence: losing tonight to Georgia Tech - their third consecutive loss.

__________

With Wisconsin-Green Bay's victory over Valparaiso, they are Horizon League champions.

__________

The Tennessee and Ole Miss game was called tonight at 5:24 to go in the second half, as rain from an ongoing storm poured on to the court. Final score was 66-39:

Brian Russell, an assistant director of event operations at Ole Miss, said high winds during the storms caused rain to fly sideways through air vents in the roof.

Russell said the game officials called to get approval from the Southeastern Conference before calling the game.

Tennessee writer Maria M. Cornelius reported that this was a first for Vol Coach Pat Summitt, who has been at Tennessee for 37 years.

__________

Pac-10 action: #11 UCLA held off Arizona, 74-70.

Oregon beat Cal 60-46, ending a seven-game losing streak. The former club coach of three of the Ducks and one Bear - Sean Chambers - was excited to see Oregon play tonight in Berkeley, and will also be on hand at the Stanford game this weekend. (I met Chambers at a Mater Dei tournament in 2009, when some of these girls were still playing for him, and he is very passionate for his kids).

__________

Maya Moore said turning down Pat Summitt four years ago was difficult.

__________

WNBA: Diana Taurasi talks about the Euroleague and the upcoming WNBA season.

Transaction shakeup: Phoenix signed Marie Ferdinand-Harris and Nakia Sanford today.

Capital One Academic All-America Teams

Several colleges dropped news releases today about their athletes being named to the Capital One Academic All-America Team (name is trademarked). That's why UConn's Maya Moore got so much press.

But the list of winners was released THREE weeks ago. Why did it take so long to leak? Maybe because the list is so long. There are eight districts representing the areas of the country. Each district has both a University division and a College division, and within each of those categories are a first, second and third team.

That's a lot of athletes who are getting it done in the classroom. Big, big ups to them - that's what it's all about. And no disrespect to Moore, but there are plenty of other athletes who are also deserving of a news release about them.

Check out all the 4.0 and above ballers:

Aimee Kellicut, Potsdam State
Kristen Kush, William Smith
Tori Hansen, West Liberty State
Lindsey Kentner, Charleston
Brittany Sedlock, Saint Vincent
Ali Tobias, Charleston
Katie White, Coastal Carolina
Kelly Ellison, Shorter
Maggie Hennegan, Bowling Green State
Julie Janish, Davenport
Chelsea Tolliver, Thomas More
Allison Long, Thomas More
Joanna Snyder, Ohio Northern
Kelsie Cooley, Indiana State
Chelsea Jones, Purdue
Laura Kramer, Southwest Minnesota State
Katie Wolf, Winona State
Amanda Best, New Mexico
Lauren Taylor, New Mexico
Katy Clift, Oklahoma Christian
Whitney Wehmeyer, Lubbock Christian
Lacey Boshe, Missouri State
Jacqui Kalin, Northern Iowa
Ashley Eide, South Dakota State
Mikayla Barondeau, Northern State
Jennifer Jorgensen, Grand View
Danielle Ballard, Grand View
Dani Hoover, Washington MO
Jessica Vargas, Loyola Marymount
Rebecca Dew, Hawaii

Outstanding job.

There are some interesting majors on the list, too. But I have to give it up to Blanche Alverson of Auburn, Sharwil Bell of Rhodes and JuliAnne Chisholm of Kansas State for making the academic team with pre-med studies - that's amazing.

Congrats to all the academic all-Americans.

Fun stuff, tough stuff

Louisville upset #7 DePaul.

Oklahoma Coach Sherri Coale's office.

Vanderbilt freshman center Kayci Ferriss has withdrawn from the university. How curious.

Swin Cash talks about her recent tough times.

Maryland learns that little things add up.

Mark Lewis talks about the seeming carousel of coaching in the NCAA.

Long Beach Poly upset!

In what is easily the stunner of the year, Long Beach Poly lost in the Southern California 1AA quarterfinals tonight to Santa Monica, 57-56.

The Jackrabbits won the state title three consecutive years from 2007-2009, and were runners-up last year. They have been ranked second in the nation for the entire season this year.

If they had won, Poly would have faced Mater Dei in the semifinals Saturday night - a matchup many had already planned for and anticipated.

For seniors Ariya Crook-Williams - a McDonald's All-American who is headed to USC - and Sheila Boykin, who will play at UCLA, it's an unexpected and abrupt ending to their high school careers.

This week's NJCAA rankings

Iowa Western, Salt Lake and Arizona Western take huge jumps this week:

Rank College Region Record Points 1st Pl Votes Last Week

1 Pensacola State College 8 29-0 200 8 1
2 Vincennes University 12 24-2 192 0 2
3 Trinity Valley Community College 14 26-2 167 0 3
3 Iowa Western Community College 11 26-2 167 0 11
5 Hutchinson Community College 6 26-2 166 0 9
6 Salt Lake Community College 18 22-4 159 0 10
7 Arizona Western College 1 27-1 140 0 13
8 Northwest Florida State College 8 22-6 137 0 7
9 State Fair Community College 16 23-3 135 0 4
10 Wabash Valley College 24 24-4 134 0 12
11 Midland College 5 23-5 128 0 15
12 Grayson County College 5 24-3 107 0 6
13 Copiah-Lincoln Community College 23 19-2 104 0 8
14 Georgia Perimeter College 17 24-5 95 0 16
15 North Idaho College 18 24-3 93 0 17
16 Northern Oklahoma College-Enid 2 24-3 90 0 18
17 Northeastern Junior College 9 23-2 66 0 14
18 Central Arizona College 1 24-4 63 0 19
19 Western Nebraska Community College 9 25-3 52 0 21
20 South Georgia Technical College 17 27-3 51 0 20
21 Monroe Community College 3 17-6 45 0 25
22 Cowley County Community College 6 21-7 33 0 NR
23 Independence Community College 6 26-2 21 0 5
24 Tyler Junior College 14 21-6 15 0 NR
25 Chattanooga State Community College 7 18-6 12 0 9

A few more items

Who leads the NCAA in scoring and steals? Not Maya Moore, but Oral Roberts University's Kevi Luper.

Ben York says Candace Parker is the WNBA's fifth-best player.

Penn State Coach Coquese Washington wants it all.

Nebraska snapped its six-game losing streak tonight by blowing out Missouri.

Powerade Fab 50 - week 12

Unlike the NCAA rankings, not much movement going on here:

Rank School (City, State) Record Prev

1 Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 27-0 1
2 Polytechnic (Long Beach, Calif. 25-2 2
3 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 26-1 3
4 Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 25-2 4
5 Potter's House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 27-1 5
6 St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) 20-2 7
7 Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 25-0 8
8 Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 26-4 9
9 Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 25-0 12
10 Westbury Christian (Houston, Texas) 36-1 11
11 Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 22-2 13
12 North Little Rock (North Little Rock, Ark.) 23-0 14
13 Spring Valley (Spring Valley, S.C.) 26-0 15
14 Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 28-1 6
15 Neptune (Neptune, N.J.) 20-1 16
16 Monarch (Louisville, Colo.) 20-3 17
17 St. Mary's (Phoenix Ariz.) 24-2 18
18 Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) 25-1 19
19 St. John's (D.C.) 26-2 20
20 Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 30-3 21
21 Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 27-0 22
22 Wesleyan (Norcross, Ga.) 26-2 23
23 Goose Creek (Goose Creek, S.C.) 27-2 24
24 Start (Toledo, Ohio) 15-2 25
25 Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.) 29-1 26
26 Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 20-3 27
27 Nazareth Regional (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 21-3 28
28 Twinsburg (Twinsburg, Ohio) 20-0 29
29 Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) 17-0 30
30 Clarksville (Clarksville, Tenn.) 26-3 31
31 Cypress Falls (Houston, Texas) 34-1 32
32 MacArthur (Irving, Texas) 31-2 33
33 Troy (Fullerton, Calif.) 25-3 34
34 Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 24-3 42
35 Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.)* 23-1 10
36 Inkster (Inkster, Mich.) 16-2 35
37 Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa) 20-1 36
38 Midwest City (Midwest City, Okla.) 22-0 38
39 Hollywood Christian (Hollywood, Fla.) 29-1 37
40 Webb City (Webb City, Mo.) 23-2 43
41 Montini Catholic (Lombard, Ill.) 30-1 40
42 Madison Academy (Madison, Ala.) 32-3 43
43 St. John Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.) 20-2 44
44 Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) 24-2 46
45 Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 23-1 49
46 Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) 25-3 41
47 Holy Cross (Kensington, Md.) 22-5 47
48 Heights (Wichita, Kan.) 18-0 50
49 Lake Mary (Lake Mary, Fla.) 27-2 NR
50 Berkeley (Berkeley, Calif.) 23-1 NR

Regional rankings.

More WNBA fit at Jam Session

Yesterday's clinic was hosted by Tina Thompson and Katie Smith. Here's the slideshow.

That lonely picture of Thompson's son Dyllan is a result of her knocking out her own child in the "knockout" game.

"Gotta start learning the hard way," the Sparks emcee said.

Funny. And he didn't seem bothered by it at all.

Shake up in AP poll

Nothing surprising, given last week. It's just interesting to see all the movement.

RK TEAM RECORD PTS

1 Connecticut (37) 26-1 997
2 Stanford (3) 24-2 953
3 Baylor 24-2 914
4 Tennessee 25-2 892
5 Texas A&M 22-3 819
6 Xavier 23-2 808
7 DePaul 25-3 705
8 Notre Dame 22-5 688
9 Duke 24-3 681
10 Michigan State 24-3 652
11 UCLA 22-3 631
12 Miami (FL) 23-3 539
13 North Carolina 22-4 534
14 Florida State 22-5 482
15 Maryland 21-6 404
16 Oklahoma 19-7 397
17 Green Bay 25-1 370
18 Georgetown 20-7 255
19 West Virginia 21-6 236
20 Kentucky 20-7 214
21 Marist 24-2 130
22 Georgia 20-6 108
23 Gonzaga 24-4 95
24 Marquette 20-6 90
25 Iowa State 18-8 76

Who will be at the Final Four this year?

Insane amount of significant news

Let's start with the upset: North Carolina State beat #13 North Carolina, 88-72. Wow!

Remember Kye Allums, the first transgender athlete to play basketball? His mother claims George Washington University has prevented him from playing, and from speaking out.

#4 Tennessee beat Georgia tonight and takes the SEC title.

#25 Iowa State survived overtime to beat Texas.

Oregon State senior forward El Sara Greer was named Pac-10 Player of the Week today for leading the Beavers out of a 20-point deficit Saturday. Greer was one of only two players who stayed after most decided to leave last spring and summer when former coach LaVonda Wagner was fired.

Kansas senior guard Marisha Brown has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

And remember Erica McCall, who debuted at FILA Nationals last summer, just out of her freshman year of high school? You know, DeWanna Bonner's sister? She's taken over Bakersfield, according to a local TV station. Gwan, girl.

WNBA fit clinic slideshow

Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Alana Beard and Candice Wiggins ran a "fit clinic" at the NBA All-Star Jam Session Saturday. Here's the slideshow.

More from yesterday's games

It's conference title time:

#12 Florida State put away #17 Maryland, and the ACC crown is almost theirs.

Xavier took care of Duquesne and is now in a tie for the A-10 title.

Michigan State's win over Illinois gives them a share of the Big Ten title.

No title here, but a big moment: Kentucky won at Vanderbilt for the first time in 25 years. Wow.

More on Stanford at UCLA: "Every disappointment is a blessing." Indeed.

Bonuses:

The recent death of Melissa McCray-Dukes makes today's Pink Zone breast cancer awareness game even more pertinent for Tennessee. Angie Bjorklund, who has been dealing with a foot injury, is expected to be back today.

SLAM checks in with Seattle Storm Coach Brian Agler.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin, recently signed by the Minnesota Lynx, discusses the franchise's chances of getting Maya Moore in the WNBA draft.

Swoopes, Thompson, Leslie recognized at game

The WNBA tweeted this evening that basketball legends Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Lisa Leslie - pictured here - were recognized during tonight's NBA All-Star game. I don't know whether it was at a timeout or halftime, but I hope it was for a very long time - especially in the case of Swoopes, who has never received a proper retirement acknowledgement since being cut by the Seattle Storm two years ago.

I appreciate that the NBA did this. These players deserve it.

Stanford 67, UCLA 53

Chiney and Nnemkadi Ogwumike walk out of the locker room just before the second half. Nneka was talking emphatically to her younger sister....and Chiney had a big second half.

_______________________

It was an exciting game for the first half and some change. Both UCLA and Stanford were trying to out-defend each other, and it was working late into the period as the score hovered in the early 20's. At the half, they were knotted at 28 points a piece.

Then freshmen Chiney Ogwumike lead Stanford upward and through the two more gears that seem to separate them and the other top four teams in the country from everyone else. She put up 13 of her 18 points in the second half, and was aided by another freshman - Toni Kokenis - who had 13. The Cardinal had to do it, as the Bruins had taken Jeannette Pohlen and Kayla Pedersen out of their normal rhythms. Graham Hays has it: the freshmen came through for Stanford......

Perhaps the gap is closing with a program on the rise in Westwood, but Stanford is still more than any one player. And it's still better than the rest of the conference by a margin greater than the skills of any individual, even one of the nation's best players.

"Once it was clear she wasn't going to play, I was excited to see what different people would do," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "I told our team that before the game, I just said, 'I'm going to learn a lot about our competitiveness. I'm going to learn a lot about who really wants to be out there.'"

Freshmen Chiney Ogwumike, Nnemkadi's younger sister, and Toni Kokenis really want to be out there.

Both established new career highs by playing 37 minutes against UCLA. Chiney led all players with 18 points and 15 rebounds, the latter a new personal best, while Kokenis finished with 13 points, 2 assists, 3 steals and invaluable backcourt minutes against UCLA's tenacious trapping pressure defense.

"We affectionately call our freshmen 'babies.' Our babies grew up today," VanDerveer said. "Toni and Chiney had just fabulous games, really just so poised making big free throws, making big plays all game long."

Nicely-put, and well-said by Tara VanDerveer. The longtime Stanford coach had beseeched Chiney at halftime to step it up, as her older sister sat out with an ankle injury from Friday night's USC matchup.

The stats are interesting. The two teams were dead even in assists and turnovers, and only one different in rebounds. The main difference was the shooting, as the Cardinal was 43.5 in the second half and 42 on the game, while the Bruins were a respective 28.1 and 31.1.

Game photos HERE.

One of the day's highlights was the 6,725 that showed up at Pauley Pavilion. I haven't seen that large of a crowd for a game in a long time.

I think the gap between Stanford and the rest of the Pac-10 is indeed closing. But like the rebounding of the economy, it's not happening fast enough.

LA Southern Section Saturday results

Last night was round two, and here's how the top divisions fared:

DIVISION 1AA

Second round, Saturday

Brea Olinda 67, Mira Costa 53

Corona Santiago 65, Summit 61

Cajon 53, Colony 49

Canyon Springs 72, Lynwood 46

Mater Dei 76, Warren 24

Etiwanda 45, Redondo 42

Santa Monica 59, Laguna Hills 47

Long Beach Poly 62, Silverado 25

DIVISION 1A

Second round, Saturday

Edison 54, Arcadia 46

Corona 60, Valencia 48

Villa Park 54, Riverside Poly 45

Rancho Cucamonga 53, Capistrano Valley 39

Woodbridge 50, Los Alamitos 29

Corona Centennial 75, California 27

Chino Hills 52, Ventura 35

Troy 63, Marlborough 19

DIVISION 2AA

Second round, Saturday

Rialto 90, West Ranch 63

Norco 65, Royal 55

Inglewood 71, Newbury Park 53

Burbank Burroughs 52, Saugus 34

Huntington Beach 43, Esperanza 37

Canyon Country Canyon 59, Sultana 22

Murrieta Valley 59, Foothill 56

Buena 64, Thousand Oaks 53

DIVISION 2A

Second round, Saturday

Harvard-Westlake 74, Dos Pueblos 46

Cypress 67, San Gabriel 28

Santa Barbara 58, Segerstrom 43

Indio 64, Chino 63

Keppel 60, Sunny Hills 40

Mayfair 46, Elsinore 37

Eisenhower 54, Beverly Hills 42

Anaheim Canyon 72, Temecula Valley 50

DIVISION 3AA

Second round, Saturday

Santa Maria St. Joseph 68, Hart 52

Torrance 69, West Torrance 66

Sonora 47, Pasadena 30

Agoura 74, Camarillo 57

Arroyo Grande 44, Peninsula 40

Diamond Ranch 55, North Torrance 43

Muir 59, Righetti 48

Serra 54, Gahr 44

DIVISION 3A

Second round, Saturday

Orange Lutheran 68, Northview 31

Alemany 61, Calabasas 45

Antelope Valley 66, Monrovia 53

Bell-Jeff 72, Northwood 29

Bishop Amat 40, Irvine 38

Temescal Canyon 61, Hacienda Heights Wilson 38

Palos Verdes 54, Citrus Hill 50

Bonita 77, Jurupa Valley 38


I'm sad to see some of those scores. It's the crying season again.........

Across the country, the final rounds in Florida are just about set.

Fake caring

Supposedly, the NBA cares - according to their campaign, that is. But they obviously don't care too much.

I stopped by the "jam session" today at the NBA All-Star Weekend shindig at the LA Convention Center. I went right to the WNBA area to cover an event. On hand were Tamika Catchings, Candice Wiggins, Alana Beard and Swin Cash. The male emcee was going around to each player to interview her in front of the crowd while kids in their respective "stations" exercised. I approached just as he got to Beard.

"So," - he said as a lead-in statement - "you went to Stanford."

Several people in the crowd groaned, as Beard had that look on her face that people do when they're shocked but are smiling anyway. She said something to him that was inaudible to us, and he said, "Duke!" Beard put her arms up over her head, fists clenched, as emcee dude added, "how many Duke fans in the audience?"

It's well-known that media regularly send reporters to cover and write about women's basketball that have little to no knowledge about it. But the creators of the WNBA? They can't even get one person who knows four of the biggest players in the league to do on-spot interviews for 15 minutes? That's pathetic.

When Alana Beard was in college, she was one of my top three favorite players. I used to love to watch her do her thing, and I regard her "almosts" at the two Final Fours of her college years with wistfulness. She came so close.

I was at World Gym the night her college career ended, in 2004. I had stopped my workout and stood staring at the TV with a couple other male diehard hoopaholic friends of mine. As the game ticked to a close and it was obvious the Blue Devils were going to lose again, Gail Goestenkors took her star out. Beard did something I'd never seen her do, which was to walk up the sideline to her coach and start crying on her shoulder. Goestenkors stopped coaching and wrapped her up in a hug. It was unnerving, but I was glad Beard got it out.

It's too bad the male emcee today was ignorant of all of that. He probably doesn't know about the Mystics star guard/forward's recent Achilles tendon injury, either.

The NBA should have let me, or someone else who has knowledge of women's basketball, do the honors today. They could have saved themselves from looking uncaring and stupid.

LA City Section round one scores

From last night:

DIVISION I

First round, Friday

Narbonne 70, Los Angeles 15

Crenshaw 56, King-Drew 25

Chatsworth 69, Gardena 29

Los Angeles University at Washington, score not reported (Sue's note - Washington won, I just don't know the score)

Fairfax 58, Cleveland 37

Taft 51, Granada Hills Kennedy 46

Dorsey 71, Los Angeles Wilson 63

Carson 61, Westchester 23

DIVISION II

First round, Friday

Palisades 102, Maywood 30

North Hollywood 61, Jefferson 47

Granada Hills 48, West Adams 31

Los Angeles Roosevelt 56, Panorama 32

El Camino Real 67, Belmont 23

South East 71, Contreras 34

Wilmington Banning 58, Bravo 14

Los Angeles Jordan 67, Birmingham 17

DIVISION III

First round, Friday

Monroe 66, Santee 17

Huntington Park 52, Los Angeles Marshall 46

Garfield 61, Manual Arts 16

Hollywood 53, Locke 46

Eagle Rock 49, Bell 40

Sylmar 56, Grant 29

Franklin at Sun Valley Poly, score not reported

Reseda 76, Arleta 41

SMALL SCHOOLS

First round, Friday

View Park 91, Foshay 21

Huntington Park College Ready 54, Northridge 45

Downtown Magnets 38, Annenberg 32

Camino Nuevo 34, Fulton 22

Douglass at Sherman Oaks CES, score not reported

Elizabeth 48, Orthopaedic 44

Port of Los Angeles 51, Vaughn 27

Los Angeles CES 65, Animo Venice 9

Some typically lopsided first-round scores. I wish the Southern Section scores were as easy to get as the City Section numbers.

Bonus - more on Texas Tech's defeat of Baylor: Tech was pumped up, while the Bears were flat.

Baylor upset

Texas Tech has snapped the Bears' 21-game winning streak and will probably drop to second in next week's poll.

Nice Sheryl Swoopes interview by my friend Donald Barnat.

Nebraska still has a chance at the post-season, believe it or not.

Pro thinking

The WNBA's 2011 season promo slogan is "basketball is basketball."

Q has chosen some WNBA draft prospects to watch out for this year, from majors, mid-majors, independent colleges and NAIAs.

Teresa Edwards and Tara VanDerveer have made the final cut of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame awards.

The former Turkish team of Diana Taurasi is going to sue the lab that gave her the false positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Love it.

UCLA beat Cal tonight while Stanford defeated USC. Which means that it's Stanford vs. UCLA on Sunday - noon, at Pauley Pavilion. Could the Bruins stake a claim on a Pac-10 title?

End-of-a-long-day quickies

It's late in the season and you know what that means.....news on the run......

Remember that on-court, during-game brawl Monday between Bethune-Cookman and Maryland-Eastern Shore? Nine players have been suspended.

Fresh off my ponderings of the other day and the Cal analysis last night comes a thought-provoking piece on Oregon's tough season this year. Why is Coach Paul Westhead only required to live in Eugene seven months of the year?

Imagine beating a conference opponent 40 consecutive times. And then that 40th win helps you clinch a tie for the SEC title.

This week's NJCAA rankings

This week's top 25 (actually 26, as two teams are tied for 25th):

Rank College Region Record Points 1st Pl Votes Last Week

1 Pensacola State College 8 27-0 200 8 1
2 Vincennes University 12 22-2 192 0 2
3 Trinity Valley Community College 14 25-1 183 0 3
4 State Fair Community College 16 22-2 172 0 4
5 Independence Community College 6 25-1 168 0 6
6 Grayson County College 5 22-2 151 0 8
7 Northwest Florida State College 8 20-5 143 0 7
8 Copiah-Lincoln Community College 23 18-1 142 0 9
9 Hutchinson Community College 6 24-2 129 0 12
10 Salt Lake Community College 18 20-4 126 0 15
11 Iowa Western Community College 11 24-2 120 0 14
12 Wabash Valley College 24 21-4 115 0 13
13 Arizona Western College 1 25-1 107 0 22
14 Northeastern Junior College 9 22-1 90 0 16
15 Midland College 5 22-5 84 0 17
16 Georgia Perimeter College 17 20-5 73 0 24
17 North Idaho College 18 23-3 70 0 10
18 Northern Oklahoma College-Enid 2 22-3 66 0 19
19 Central Arizona College 1 22-4 60 0 5
20 South Georgia Technical College 17 25-3 47 0 11
21 Western Nebraska Community College 9 22-3 44 0 18
22 Walters State Community College 7 19-4 35 0 NR
23 Kilgore College 14 19-3 27 0 NR
24 Chipola College 8 18-9 24 0 21
25 Monroe Community College 3 15-6 12 0 NR
25 College of Southern Idaho 18 20-7 12 0 23

What's up with Cal? and other odds and ends

Interesting analysis on the struggles of the Cal Bears this season. Theories advanced by the writer: trouble with a continuity offense, no true point guard, and lack of depth. You be the judge.

Diana Taurasi speaks after being cleared of doping allegations this morning. She is training hard in Phoenix for the upcoming WNBA season, and I bet she never goes to Turkey again.

South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley and her team are on the rise, despite transfers this year and last.

ESPN's Graham Hays has new mid-major rankings.

Katie Smith and the U.S. Department of Education are going to India.

ESPN admits that the "Maya cam" the other night had its shortcomings.

Inspirational: a torn ACL hasn't stopped Swarthmore's high-scoring Ceylan Bodur.

Turkish basketball federation lifts provisional ban on Diana Taurasi

Things are looking up for Diana Lorena Taurasi today.

Naismith Trophy mid-season list announced

Look at all the fine players on the list:

2010-11 Naismith Trophy Midseason 30

Danielle Adams, Texas A&M, Forward/Center, Senior
Kachine Alexander, Iowa, Guard, Senior
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee, Guard/Forward, Senior
Jessica Breland, North Carolina, Forward, Senior
Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame, Guard, Sophomore
Jasmine Dixon, UCLA, Forward, Junior
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky, Forward, Senior
Dawn Evans, James Madison, Guard, Senior
Brittney Griner, Baylor, Power Forward, Sophomore
Keisha Hampton, DePaul, Forward, Junior
Amber Harris, Xavier, Forward, Senior
Tiffany Hayes, Connecticut, Guard, Junior
Courtney Hurt, VCU, Forward, Junior
Amy Jaeschke, Northwestern, Center, Senior
Shenise Johnson, Miami (Florida), Guard, Junior
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State, Center, Senior
Italee Lucas, North Carolina, Guard, Senior
Maya Moore, Connecticut, Forward, Senior
Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford, Forward, Junior
Kayla Pedersen, Stanford, Forward, Senior
Ta’Shia Phillips, Xavier, Center, Senior
Jeanette Pohlen, Stanford, Guard, Senior
Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green, Guard/Forward, Senior
Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma, Guard, Senior
Ta’Shauna Rodgers, Georgetown, Guard, Sophomore
Meighan Simmons, Tennessee, Guard, Freshman
Carolyn Swords, Boston College, Center, Senior
Jasmine Thomas, Duke, Guard, Senior
Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga, Guard, Senior
Riquna Williams, Miami (Florida), Guard, Junior

Focus on retro

There's still backlash after ESPN's "Maya cam" last night. Berry Tramel said the split screen made a mockery of the UConn-OU game.

Hoopfeed has a fantastic slideshow and story on last night's big Baylor-Texas A&M matchup. Kim Mulkey is worth the entertainment dollar, and more.

Leta Andrews - the Texas high school coach who broke the national record for wins two months ago - isn't going to retire anytime soon. Andrews, 73, is in her 49th year as coach at Granbury High School.

“I’m not ready to turn this over to these younger coaches,” Andrews told her husband recently. “They just don’t demand enough.”

Indeed.

Check out number 18 on this "defining moments in Los Angeles basketball" list: Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie each score 100 points in a high school game.

WBCA rosters announced

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association has selected 20 players to participate in the annual high school East-West matchup two days before the Final Four:

Name (School/ Hometown) Signed

Cierra Burdick (Butler HS/ Matthews, N.C.) Tennessee
Briyona Canty (Trenton Catholic Academy/ Willingboro, N.J.) Rutgers
Ariya Crook-Williams (L.B. Polytechnic HS/ Los Angeles, Calif.) Southern Cal
Krystal Forthan (Georgetown HS/ Georgetown, Texas) Louisiana State
Bria Goss (Ben Davis HS/ Indianapolis, Ind.) Kentucky
Taylor Greenfield (Ballard HS/ Huxley, Iowa) Stanford
Justine Hartman (Brea Olinda HS/ Fullerton, Calif.) UCLA
Amber Henson (Sickles HS/ Odessa, Fla.) Duke
Morgan Jones (Lake Mary HS/ Altamonte Springs, Fla.) Northwestern
Betnijah Laney (Smyrna HS/ Clayton, Del.) Undecided
Samantha Logic (Racine J.I. Case HS/ Racine, Wisc.) Iowa
Ariel Massengale (Bolingbrook HS/Bolingbrook, Ill.) Tennessee
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Mater Dei HS/ Anaheim, Calif.) Connecticut
Eliza Normen (Monarch HS/ Louisville, Colo.) Arizona State
Amber Orrange (Westbury Christian HS/Missouri City, Texas) Stanford
Shakena Richardson (Neptune HS/ Neptune, N.J.) Rutgers
Bria Smith (Christ the King HS/ Massapequa, N.Y.) Virginia
Kiah Stokes (Linn-Mar HS/ Marion, Iowa) Connecticut
Alexyz Vaioletama (Mater Dei HS/ Fountain Valley, Calif.) Southern Cal
Elizabeth Williams (Princess Anne HS/ Virginia Beach, Va.) Duke

Powerade Fab 50 rankings, week 11

A couple of the top tens fell out, and there are some new entries at the end. But no major shake-ups in week 11:

Rank School (City, State) Record Prev

1 Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 25-0 1
2 Polytechnic (Long Beach, Calif. 23-2 2
3 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 24-1 3
4 Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 22-2 4
5 Potter's House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 26-1 5
6 Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 27-0 6
7 St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) 18-2 8
8 Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 22-0 10
9 Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 24-4 11
10 Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) 22-0 7
11 Westbury Christian (Houston, Texas) 35-1 9
12 Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 20-0 12
13 Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 20-2 13
14 North Little Rock (North Little Rock, Ark.) 21-0 15
15 Spring Valley (Spring Valley, S.C.) 24-0 21
16 Neptune (Neptune, N.J.) 17-1 14
17 Monarch (Louisville, Colo.) 17-3 16
18 St. Mary's (Phoenix Ariz.) 24-2 17
19 Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) 22-1 22
20 St. John's (D.C.) 23-2 19
21 Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 29-3 25
22 Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 24-0 24
23 Wesleyan (Norcross, Ga.) 23-2 29
24 Goose Creek (Goose Creek, S.C.) 25-2 26
25 Start (Toledo, Ohio) 15-2 27
26 Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.) 27-1 28
27 Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 17-3 30
28 Nazareth Regional (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 20-3 31
29 Twinsburg (Twinsburg, Ohio) 19-0 33
30 Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) 15-0 48
31 Clarksville (Clarksville, Tenn.) 25-3 34
32 Cypress Falls (Houston, Texas) 34-1 35
33 MacArthur (Irving, Texas) 29-2 36
34 Troy (Fullerton, Calif.) 24-3 37
35 Inkster (Inkster, Mich.) 16-2 32
36 Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa) 19-1 39
37 Hollywood Christian (Hollywood, Fla.) 27-1 40
38 Midwest City (Midwest City, Okla.) 19-0 41
39 Webb City (Webb City, Mo.) 20-2 43
40 Montini Catholic (Lombard, Ill.) 28-1 45
41 Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) 24-2 44
42 Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 21-3 20
43 Madison Academy (Madison, Ala.) 30-3 18
44 St. John Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.) 20-2 49
45 Eden Prairie (Eden Prairie, Minn.) 20-2 50
46 Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) 21-2 NR
47 Holy Cross (Kensington, Md.) 21-5 46
48 Chamblee (Chamblee, Ga.) 20-0 NR
49 Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 22-1 NR
50 Heights (Wichita, Kan.) 16-0 NR

Regional rankings.

Maya Moore, Baylor make for a big evening

Maya Moore became the Big East's all-time scoring leader tonight, as UConn routed Oklahoma 86-45. Moore put up 27 points to pass Angel McCoughtry's two-year-old record of 2,779 points.

TV viewers were largely annoyed at ESPN for splitting the screen between game coverage and a camera pointed solely at Moore. Though there was general agreement that Moore is an outstanding player, comments on social networking media were that the split screen was distracting.

Across the country, Baylor was sleepwalking through their game against Texas A&M - and yes, that included star center Brittney Griner, who had only three points in the first half. But the second period belonged to the Bears and Griner, both of whom woke up to take the win, 67-58. Griner finished with 26. And she's currently trending on twitter! Love it.

Other significant items:

Shhhhh.....Marist's win tonight puts their winning streak at 19.

The Bethune-Cookman vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore game was suspended early in the second half when players from both sides began brawling on-court. Yikes.

Tamika Catchings is bringing her Catch the Stars Foundation, Inc. to Knoxville, where she aims to help at-risk kids there finish their education.

The Lady Vols have their first verbal committment of the class of 2012.

Things are coming along at Cal State Northridge, where junior Jasmine Erving broke the 1,000-point mark over the weekend. Her 35 points helped the Matadors beat Cal State Fullerton, and earned her Big West Conference Player of the Week honors this week.

Nikki Caldwell makes Bruin history

Best season start in UCLA history with this weekend's defeat of Oregon State:

The previous 20-2 record to start a season went back 34 years, while the previous 10-1 record to start conference play was performed in the late 90s. Granted the Pac-10 appears to be not as competitive this year as last year, but the fact that in just 3 seasons Nikki Caldwell has taken a UCLA team languishing in mediocrity to national recognition (#9 in both polls) and breaking UCLA records left and right, is nothing short of amazing.

Games, a record, and ponderings

OOO, upsets:

Virginia stunned #12 Maryland, 60-57.

Louisville beat #17 West Virginia - a team that seems in a slump lately.

#25 St. John's took out #16 Georgetown, 75-71 in OT.

Arizona beat Arizona State for the first time since 2005.

It's fun having so much uncertainty this year. No one is guaranteed a thing - not even UConn.

In other news:

Congrats to Jantel Lavender, who surpassed Katie Smith's scoring record in Ohio State's win over Minnesota today. Lavender put up 29 today, giving her 2,587 career points.

Tennessee had to rally to beat Vanderbilt, and then security for VU tried to hustle the Vols off the court after the game. Sore losers.

Virginia Tech is struggling.

Stopping to contemplate the current Pac-10 standings, there are surprises this year:

Stanford
UCLA
USC
Arizona State
Cal
Washington State
Washington
Arizona
Oregon
Oregon State

Which brings up some questions:

1. Cal tied for fifth?
2. Washington State tied for fifth?
3. Why are Arizona and Oregon each having such a tough time this year?
4. Why is there such a steep drop between Stanford and UCLA and the rest of the conference?
5. Will Tia Jackson stay for the final year of her contract next year after all?
6. How did Nikki Caldwell do it?
7. How does Tara VanDerveer keep doing it?
8. Will Oregon State win anymore conference games?

Southern Section playoffs, round 1

Just announced, the pairings and schedules. Here are the top two divisions:

SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS BASKETBALL

DIVISION 1AA

First round, Thursday, 7 p.m.

San Clemente at #1 Brea Olinda

#15 Long Beach Jordan at Mira Costa

Great Oak at #9 Corona Santiago

Knight at #8 Summit

Ayala at #5 Cajon

#12 Chaparral at Colony

#13 Lynwood at Oxnard Pacifica

Long Beach Wilson at #4 Canyon Springs

King at #3 Mater Dei

Schurr at #14 Warren

Millikan at #11 Redondo

Perris at #6 Etiwanda

Rancho Verde at #7 Santa Monica

Palmdale at #10 Laguna Hills

#16 Corona Roosevelt at Silverado

Los Osos at #2 Long Beach Poly

Notes: Second round, Saturday; quarterfinals, Feb. 23; semifinals, Mar. 1. Championships, Mar. 2-5 at Anaheim Convention Center.

DIVISION 1A

First round, Thursday, 7 p.m.

#1 Edison, bye

#16 Arcadia at Santa Fe

Corona at #9 El Toro

Diamond Bar at #8 Valencia

#5 Villa Park at Montclair

#12 Riverside Poly at Redlands

#13 Capistrano Valley, bye

Fountain Valley at #4 Rancho Cucamonga

#3 Woodbridge, bye

#14 Los Alamitos at Walnut

#11 Dana Hills at California

Trabuco Hills at #6 Corona Centennial

Redlands East Valley at #7 Chino Hills

Arroyo Valley at #10 Ventura

Crescenta Valley at #15 Marlborough

#2 Troy, bye

Notes: Second round, Saturday; quarterfinals, Feb. 23; semifinals, Feb. 26. Championships, Mar. 2-5 at Anaheim Convention Center.

DIVISION 2AA

First round, Thursday, 7 p.m.

Santa Margarita at #1 Rialto

#14 West Ranch at Whittier

Burbank at #9 Royal

#8 Norco at Tesoro

West Covina at #6 Inglewood

#12 Newbury Park at Aliso Niguel

Marina at #13 Saugus

Mission Viejo at #4 Burbank Burroughs

Placentia Valencia at #3 Huntington Beach

#15 Esperanza at Katella

Victor Valley at #11 Sultana

Valley View at #5 Canyon Country Canyon

La Quinta at #10 Murrieta Valley

Savanna at #7 Foothill

#16 Thousand Oaks at Irvine University

Glendale at #2 Buena

Notes: Second round, Saturday; quarterfinals, Feb. 23; semifinals, Feb. 26. Championships, Mar. 2-5 at Anaheim Convention Center.

DIVISION 2A

First round, Thursday, 7 p.m.

Moorpark at #1 Harvard-Westlake

#16 Dos Pueblos at St. Mary's Academy

San Gabriel at #9 Culver City

Yucaipa at #8 Cypress

#5 Santa Barbara at La Palma Kennedy

Don Lugo at #12 Segerstrom

Serrano at #13 Chino

Riverside North at #4 Indio

Whittier Christian at #3 Keppel

#14 Sunny Hills at Lancaster

Elsinore at #11 Patriot

El Dorado at #6 Mayfair

Newport Harbor at #7 Eisenhower

#10 Beverly Hills at Arroyo

#15 Temecula Valley at Westminster

San Bernardino at #2 Anaheim Canyon

Notes: Second round, Saturday; quarterfinals, Feb. 23; semifinals, Feb. 26. Championships, Mar. 2-5 at Anaheim Convention Center.

It's February Madness, baby!!

Weekend wrap-ups

Every great team has an off-day, and for Stanford, that day was yesterday. They hung on to beat Washington, of all teams.

Elsewhere in the Pac-10, Washington State beat Cal for the second time this season. How many thousands of years has it been since WSU swept Cal? And what is going on at Cal this year?

Texas Tech finally broke their losing streak.

The North Carolina State Wolfpack has had a really tough season, but they're focusing on the positive.

Shoni Shimmel took forever to decide on a college. But it's taken her no time to adjust to college play.

The Tennessee Vols "aren't obsessed enough yet," says assistant coach Dean Lockwood. They play Vanderbilt today.

LA City Section playoff brackets announced

First round begins at 7 p.m. Friday:

DIVISION I

#16 Los Angeles (2nd in Southern, 10-7) @ #1 Narbonne (1st in Marine, 26-3)

#9 King Drew (4th in Marine, 15-10) @ #8 Crenshaw (3rd in Coliseum, 17-9)

#12 Gardena (5th in Marine, 15-12) @ #5 Chatsworth (1st in West Valley, 16-10)

#13 University (T-4th in Western, 14-12) @ #4 Washington (3rd in Marine, 16-7)

#14 Cleveland (5th in West Valley, 11-10) @ #3 Fairfax (1st in Western, 23-8)

#11 Taft (4th in West Valley, 7-15) @ #6 Kennedy (1st in Valley Mission, 23-4)

#7 Dorsey (2nd in Coliseum, 16-5) @ #10 Wilson (1st in Northern, 15-6)

#15 Westchester (T-4th in Western, 7-17) @ #2 Carson (2nd in Marine, 15-10)

Note: Quarterfinals Feb. 23, 7 p.m. @ Home sites; Semifinals Feb. 25 @ Home sites; Finals March 5, 11 a.m. @ Galen Center

DIVISION II

#16 Maywood (6th in Southern, 1-13) @ #1 Palisades (2nd in Western, 20-9)

#9 North Hollywood (3rd in East Valley, 11-8) @ #8 Jefferson (1st in Coliseum, 14-3)

#12 West Adams (5th in Coliseum, 7-10) @ #5 Granada Hills (3rd in West Valley, 19-11)

#13 Panorama (3rd in Valley Mission, 13-12) @ #4 Roosevelt (3rd in Eastern, 16-6)

#14 Belmont (4th in Central, 8-11) @ #3 El Camino Real (2nd in West Valley, 14-11)

#11 Miguel Contreras (2nd in Central, 10-3) @ #6 South East (2nd in Eastern, 20-11)

#10 Bravo Medical (3rd in Southern, 9-4) @ #7 Banning (6th in Marine, 9-12)

#15 Birmingham (6th in West Valley, 7-14) @ #2 Jordan (1st in Eastern, 25-4)

Note: Quarterfinals Feb. 23, 7 p.m. @ Home sites; Semifinals Feb. 25, 7 p.m. @ Home sites; Finals March 4, 6 p.m. @ Roybal Learning Center

DIVISION III

#16 Santee (5th in Southern, 4-10) @ #1 Monroe (1st in East Valley, 19-8)

#9 Huntington Park (5th in Eastern, 7-21) @ #8 Marshall (2nd in Northern, 10-3)

#12 Manual Arts (4th in Coliseum, 7-13) @ #5 Garfield (4th in Eastern, 15-12)

#13 Locke (6th in Coliseum, 7-17) @ #4 Hollywood (1st in Central, 17-6)

#14 Bell (6th in Eastern, 9-20) @ #3 Eagle Rock (3rd in Northern, 18-7)

#11 Grant (4th in East Valley, 12-11) @ #6 Sylmar (4th in Valley Mission, 12-13)

#10 Franklin (4th in Northern, 16-7) @ #7 Poly (2nd in East Valley, 13-15)

#15 Arleta (5th in East Valley, 7-11) at #2 Reseda (2nd in Valley Mission, 16-7)

Narbonne is seeded first in the city, in the top division.

The Southern Section brackets will be seeded tomorrow.

Just another basketball day

Strange case at Seattle University: senior Breanna Salley has been a member of the team, practicing diligently, while not being allowed to play.

It seems that success was fleeting for Nebraska.

The Texas Tech Raiders are trying to stay positive during a losing streak.

Speaking of slumps, Cal is in one. They lost to Washington Thursday night.

Seattle Storm news: Sheryl Swoopes, A-Rob, Katie Gearlds.

Playing catch up

Wow, this week felt like it was 15 days long.

South Carolina beat Kentucky last night, 66-61. What?

Also last evening, North Carolina State lost in quadruple overtime to Virginia. The most I've ever been through is three overtimes.....four makes me cringe.

Once again this month, ESPN will cover the "February Frenzy" to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Stanford has a 49-game win streak in the Pac-10 going on.

In the meantime, UCLA has tied its best start in 34 years.

McDonald's All-American teams announced!!!!!

BAM!!!!!

2011 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Team
Girls Alphabetical Roster

EAST TEAM

Name Pos Hgt High School (Hometown) College

Cierra Burdick F 6-2 Butler, NC (Matthews, NC) Tennessee
Briyona Canty G 5-10 Trenton Catholic Academy, NJ (Hamilton, NJ) Rutgers
Temi Fagbenle C 6-4 Blair Academy, NJ (Blairstown, NJ) Harvard
Bria Goss G 5-11 Ben Davis, IN (Indianapolis, IN) Kentucky
Sara Hammond F 6-2 Rockcastle County, KY (Mouth Vernon, KY) Louisville
Amber Henson C 6-4 Sickles, FL (Tampa, FL) Duke
Betnijah Laney G 6-0 Smyrna, DE (Smyrna, DE) Undecided
Samantha Logic G 6-0 Racine J.I. Case, WI (Racine, WI) Iowa
Allyson Malott F 6-2 Madison, OH (Middletown, OH) Dayton
Ariel Massengale G 5-6 Bolingbrook, IL (Bolingbrook, IL) Tennessee
Bria Smith G 5-10 Christ the King, NY (Middle Village, NY) Virginia
Elizabeth Williams F 6-3 Princess Anne, VA (Virginia Beach, VA) Duke

Head Coach: Mary Coyle Klinger, Somerset, NJ (Rutgers Preparatory School)
Asst. Coach: Anthony Pappas, Waterloo, IA (Waterloo West High School)
Asst. Coach: Teri Morison, Grapevine, TX (Southlake Carroll High School)

WEST TEAM

Name Pos Hgt High School (Hometown) College

Brianna Banks G 5-9 Fayette County, GA (Fayetteville, GA) Connecticut
Ariya Crook-Williams G 5-7 Long Beach Poly, CA (Long Beach, CA) USC
Krystal Forthan C 6-4 Georgetown, TX (Georgetown, TX) LSU
Reshanda Gray F 6-3 Washington Prep, CA (Los Angeles, CA) California
Justine Hartman C 6-3 Brea Olinda, CA (Brea, CA) UCLA
Morgan Jones F 6-2 Lake Mary, FL (Lake Mary, FL) Northwestern
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis G 6-0 Mater Dei, CA (Santa Ana, CA) Connecticut
Amber Orrange G 5-8 Westbury Christian, TX (Houston, TX) Stanford
Cassie Peoples G 5-7 Cy-Fair, TX (Cypress, TX) Texas
Bonnie Samuelson F 6-3 Edison, CA (Huntington Beach, CA) Stanford
Kiah Stokes F 6-3 Linn-Mar, IA (Marion, IA) Connecticut
Alexyz Vaioletama G 6-0 Mater Dei, CA (Santa Ana, CA) USC

Head Coach: Dorothy Gaters, Chicago, IL (Marshall High School)
Asst. Coach: Gwen Howard, Chicago, IL (Marshall High School)
Asst. Coach: Courtney Hargrays, Chicago, IL (Marshall High School)

CONGRATULATIONS, TOO TALL!!!!! So proud of you, girl.



McDonald's All-American Reshanda "Too Tall" Gray, center, during Washington Prep's league game against Banning last night.



Too Tall, still smiling after one of the cheerleaders was giving her a bad time, made the free throw anyway.

Congrats to all. California is well-represented!!

'Round the world

College games:

Kansas got a lift tonight, upsetting #22 Iowa State. Jayhawk Carolyn Davis matched her career high of 31 points.

Hard times for Oklahoma continue, as Texas A&M pounded them 92-71.

Xavier senior Amber Harris scored her 2,000th point in her team's win over Richmond.

College news:

Auburn senior forward Jordan Greenleaf has been dismissed from the team for "personal reasons." The Tigers have been struggling, and Greenleaf was one of their key players. Coach Nell Fortner declined comment.

The impact of Meighan Simmons and Kamiko Williams on their Tennessee team can't be denied.

Geno Auriemma talks about independent basketball training and its effect on young players.

Pro items:

The Storm have signed Australian vets Belinda Snell and Erin Phillips.

Kelly and Coco Miller talk about what they've been up to in the off-season.

Candace Parker has a new shoe.

Slow side Tuesday

In tonight's marquee matchup, #2 UConn rallied from behind to beat # 19 West Virginia, 57-51.

Here's that Kentucky-Tennessee story we all expected. Because the game was a classic.

In the meantime, Tennessee at Vanderbilt this Sunday is sold out.

On the tough times side:

Oklahoma Coach Sherri Coale said her Sooners are in the midst of the most difficult three weeks of games that she's had in her 15 years there.

Shining last season, Nebraska is struggling this year.

And earlier today, the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks announced the signings of center Courtney Paris and forward Chanel Mokango. They seem to be trying to get bigs, but color me not excited.

Paris was cut in the pre-season last year, and does she still have extra pounds that impede her speed? On the flip side, Mokango is so light I could bench press her easily. She played so little last year that she isn't even on the stat sheet.

Powerade Fab 50 rankings, week 10

This week's rankings came early. They're trying to give Northern California schools some play, since all the focus has been on "the big three" of Southern California. But those three are still on top. A few newcomers at the bottom, too:

Rank School (City, State) Record Prev

1 Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 23-0 1
2 Polytechnic (Long Beach, Calif. 21-2 2
3 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 23-1 3
4 Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 20-2 4
5 Potter's House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 23-1 5
6 Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 24-0 6
7 Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) 20-0 7
8 St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) 15-2 8
9 Westbury Christian (Houston, Texas) 33-1 9
10 Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 21-0 10
11 Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 23-4 12
12 Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 18-0 13
13 Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 19-2 14
14 Neptune (Neptune, N.J.) 15-1 15
15 North Little Rock (North Little Rock, Ark.) 21-0 16
16 Monarch (Louisville, Colo.) 15-3 17
17 St. Mary's (Phoenix Ariz.) 22-2 18
18 Madison Academy (Madison, Ala.) 29-2 19
19 St. John's (D.C.) 21-1 11
20 Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 20-2 20
21 Spring Valley (Spring Valley, S.C.) 22-0 21
22 Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) 19-1 23
23 Buford (Buford, Ga.) 19-2 24
24 Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 22-0 25
25 Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 26-3 26
26 Goose Creek (Goose Creek, S.C.) 23-2 27
27 Start (Toledo, Ohio) 13-2 28
28 Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.) 26-1 29
29 Wesleyan (Norcross, Ga.) 21-2 30
30 Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 15-3 31
31 Nazareth Regional (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 18-3 22
32 Inkster (Inkster, Mich.) 15-0 32
33 Twinsburg (Twinsburg, Ohio) 17-0 33
34 Clarksville (Clarksville, Tenn.) 23-3 34
35 Cypress Falls (Houston, Texas) 33-1 35
36 MacArthur (Irving, Texas) 27-2 36
37 Troy (Fullerton, Calif.) 22-3 37
38 Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.) 18-3 38
39 Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa) 19-1 39
40 Hollywood Christian (Hollywood, Fla.) 26-1 40
41 Midwest City (Midwest City, Okla.) 17-0 41
42 Memphis Central (Memphis, Tenn.) 18-8 42
43 Webb City (Webb City, Mo.) 17-2 43
44 Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) 23-1 44
45 Montini Catholic (Lombard, Ill.) 27-1 45
46 Holy Cross (Kensington, Md.) 18-4 NR
47 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 13-3 47
48 Detroit Country Day (Detroit, Mich.) 13-0 48
49 St. John Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.) 18-2 49
50 Eden Prairie (Eden Prairie, Minn.) 17-2 NR

Regional rankings.

McDonald's All-American teams to be narrowed down Thursday

The 2011 McDonald’s All American Games Final Team (24 girls and 24 boys) will be announced via an ESPNU selection show on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m. CST, according to a spokeswoman for http://www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com

The list of nominees is long.

Big Monday, and polls

Tennessee just hung in there to beat Kentucky, 73-67, moments ago. UK was up 33-30 at the half and forced the Vols to bring out every weapon they have. No link yet, but they'll be talking about this one.

#13 North Carolina beat #5 Duke, 62-60!

Duke took a dive after last week's loss, but everything else in the top 10 of the AP top 25 is still pretty much the same. Well, until next week.

Marist is back in the top 25 after two years.

Oregon State celebrated their first Pac-10 win Saturday "like they'd won the NCAA Tournament."

Florida suffered yet another close loss yesterday.

Kara Lawson has a new website.

Ahhh....this explains my mental toughness. Does it explain yours?

Two VERY interesting items!

Bad blood between Louisiana Tech and Fresno State? It seems so, looking at this video taken of both teams going through the handshake line after the other night's game. And FSU Coach Adrian Wiggins telling LT Coach Teresa Weatherspoon to "have some class," and her getting in his face?

Lordy, lordy.

For the first time in my life, I agree with UConn Coach Geno Auriemma on everything he says, in the Hartford Courant piece "Kids These Days." Everything. I can't even pull out a quote. Just read it from beginning to end, kids. Every word.

UCLA 74, USC 67

I gotta go to bed, so this will be brief.

Nice turnout at Galen Center on the USC campus today for the rematch between the Trojans and UCLA. SC fans might have been dismayed, though, because there were more Bruin fans present than those there for the home team. The blue-wearers were loud, too. But for such a historically-heated rivalry, everyone was on their best behavior.

It was an exciting game, especially to start. UCLA was playing their usual "stingy defense," but USC got into the act too and it seemed to be a press-fest on both sides. The lead changes three times and the score was tied four times in the first half. It wasn't until the second period that the Bruins began to pull away.

Game story.

Darxia Morris was hot from the two-point line, going 10-15. She finished with a team-high 24 points. Jasmine Dixon had 23 points and 14 rebounds - a high for her. She has grown her game to now be a threat both inside and outside the paint. It's exciting to see how much she's grown, and it bodes well for UCLA; the most dangerous team is the one that's a threat inside and out.

Jacki Gemelos lead the Trojans with 16 points, bless her knees. Ashley Corral and Cassie Harberts each added 13. I was impressed with Harberts - a freshman.

Box score.

Fab game pictures can be found HERE, and be sure and go to page two, as I had many photos today.

Bonus picture, from IM in OC: Alexyz Vaioletama of Mater Dei, who will be a freshman next year at USC, talks with Harberts in the lobby after the game. (The team signed autographs for fans).

Devastations, predicaments, memories, JCs

Missouri players are devastated after their overtime loss to Kansas State last night.

Cal isn't feeling too much better after ASU defeated them on a last-second bucket.

This is interesting/women are so tough:

Center Kali Bennett, who received treatment for pleurisy in the morning, combined with Tobin for 25 points and 11 rebounds, the majority of those in the second half.

Strange lead on this story, about how Ohio State needs to get off the pot and win.

Tennessee assistant coach Mickie DeMoss will face Kentucky tomorrow for the first time since leaving the university as head coach to return to the Vols.

There's only one undefeated junior college left this season, and that's Pensacola State College. The night this poll came out, #2 Trinity Valley lost a buzzer-beater to Blinn. They bounced back last night, thrashing Jacksonville 78-59. The momentum-changing three-shot belonged to Cardinal Kejuana Gardner - another fine Los Angeles product.

A monstrous performance, and a significant win

Leading the Montreat College Cavaliers of North Carolina over Virginia Intermont today was one of Los Angeles' finest, Mykiea Russell. The five-foot point guard had a career-high 37 points, which included 10 three-pointers. She also had 10 assists and seven rebounds.

HOT DAMN!

I'm not surprised. Mykiea starred in the best high school game I have ever seen. She was Los Angeles City Section First Team two years in a row, and captivated people around the region with the lion's heart she brought to every game. At Umpqua Community College in Oregon, she literally made new fans at each away contest for the same reason (I witnessed it in person). Mykiea was also a team leader at UCC. Since arriving at Montreat this year, she has broken the school assist record twice. Now this 37-point display.

Good job, Mykiea. You are an excellent reminder that anything is possible if you believe and work hard.

Significant win: Oregon State got its first Pac-10 victory tonight, beating Washington 51-46. Even though I'm a Duck, I can't help but pull for the Beavers......until they get really good ;-)

Mac Court merchandise - to wear or not to wear?

The yellow T-shirt was the one given free at the Oregon game Jan. 8 - the last in McArthur Court at UO. The green shirt was bought for me and has a picture of the old arena on it with the caption, "what a ball."

OK, I'd like some input.

My people in Eugene got me some Mac Court merchandise, commemorating the closing last month of McArthur Court after 90 years. There is one T-shirt that they gave out to fans as they entered, that says "Women's UO Basketball, 1974-2011." As if that wasn't cool enough, they also bought me a green shirt with a picture of Mac on it that says "what a ball." Also included in my package was a plastic cup noting all the significant dates in Mac Court history over the years.

Needless to say, the cup is on top of the bookcase with the Pat Summitt book, the personal Pat Summitt card to me, and (what's left of) my bobbleheads (since Lauren Jackson committed suicide last month by falling off and breaking her head open). I'm never drinking out of that cup. But I don't know what to do about the T-shirts.

On the one hand, I'd like to wear them. I love basketball history, and my obsession with basketball began at that arena 32 years ago. I'm proud to be a Mac Court product, as Oregon fans are some of the most passionate in the world.

The other hand says that the shirts are one-of-a-kind - especially the yellow one. So I should hang them or keep them in a case.

What would you do if you were me???? Wear or preserve??

For Allison Taka fans

I found her......she's a varsity assistant coach at Culver City High School this year.

As the basketball world turns

UCLA and USC's second and final showdown of the season is tomorrow at SC's Galen Center, and the 1 p.m. event is FREE. Can't beat that. The Daily Bruin is calling for its team to bring their shutdown defense in order to sweep the series. Both Bruins Coach Nikki Caldwell and Trojans Coach Michael Cooper have Los Angeles-area players staying close to home to play for them.

Delaware's Elena Delle Donne hit the 1,000-point mark the other night against Northeastern.

Indiana State tries to keep their road win streak alive tonight, as they take on Illinois State.

Fresh off of a loss, Oklahoma gets a chance to rebound as Iowa State comes to town today.

Tennessee guard Angie Bjorklund missed practice again yesterday for her right foot injury, and will likely miss Monday's game against Kentucky.

Geno Auriemma talks about Diana Taurasi's polygraph test.

Nike Extravaganza results

There were five games held at Mater Dei High School yesterday as part of the annual Nike Extravaganza.

Mater Dei vs. La Jolla Country Day

The headline games involved the #1 and #3 teams in the nation, Brea Olinda and Mater Dei, respectively. However, they didnt play each other. Brea played Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, and Mater Dei hosted La Jolla Country Day in the event's final game.

Mater Dei came in with a 20-1 record while La Jolla Country Day came in at 20-3. LJCD has a very athletic team led by the Hood twins, Maya and Malina, who are juniors. Sophomore point guard Kelsey Plum and senior Kaylah Miller are also big contributors.

This was an exciting game, with LJCD either hitting three-pointers by Plum (2) or Miller (5), or dishing off passes to Maya Hood under the basket. They shot just over 50 percent for the game, and held Mater Dei's Kaleena Mosequeda-Lewis to four first-half points, with both of the Hood sisters switching off guarding her. This gave LJCD a small 28-25 lead at the half.

The second half went back and forth, but Lewis was not going to be held down and she brought her "A" game to the court. She scored 24 points in the second half, including three three-point baskets, and she was three for three from the foul line to finish up with 28 points.

Super-sub Jessica Duarte, added 15 points, and Mater Dei finally wore down their opponents for a 68-54 win. There was a scary moment in the final seconds as Lewis went down under the offensive basket. I didn't see what happened, but Lewis was holding her face. She got up after a minute or two and was able to walk to the bench. I dont know if she got hit in the face or hit her head on another player or the floor. She appeared to be allright.

Brea Olinda vs. Bishop Gorman

I was hoping this would be a test for Brea, #1 in the nation, but it wasn't.
Brea led 16-3 at the end of the first quarter and and 38-12 at the half. The final score was 61-20. Bishop Gorman didnt have the size, the speed, or the shots to match Brea. The scoring was spread out on Brea, but Justine Hartman played a very strong game and finished with 19 points.

In the three other games, newly top 50-ranked Edison High School, who last week upset Troy, came out flat and played catch up all game but couldnt finish the job. They lost to Orange Lutheran High School, 58-51. Natalie Luzar led the way for OL with 24 points. The Samuelson sisters, Bonnie and Karlie, each had 17 points for Edison.

In the other games, Rosary topped Mission Viejo 50-34, and The Bishops School beat JSerra, 51-42.

- IM in OC



After a timeout, Coach Kevin Kiernan leaves the court while his three stars - Jordan Adams, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, and Alexyz Vaioletama - get ready to go.



Mosqueda-Lewis hit the floor at the end of the game with an apparent blow to the face, but she was able to get up a few moments later and walk to the locker room.



La Jolla Country Day defends the basket in the first half.



First time Brea is in black? The wore pink sneakers except Justine Hartman, who wore black shoes and pink socks.



Coach Jeff Sink giving his team "the look."

Pro items

Diana Taurasi took and passed a polygraph test, in which she maintained she never took performance-enhancing drugs.

The Indiana Fever have re-signed Jessica Davenport to a multi-year contact, and they signed Shyra Ely.

Five questions with new LA Spark Loree Moore.

Sheryl Swoopes discusses overcoming adversity at a Colgate University luncheon.

More on homophobic recruiting

ESPN looks at changing negative recruiting from the top:

"As far as negative recruiting, I can tell you, [from] working with coaches, that it very much does exist, and it's very harsh," Slater says. "It is probably more prevalent in some sports than others, but it's there, regardless of sport."

......

In "Finding Your Voice," a public speaking class that Slater teaches, here is one of the questions posed to the class: "A parent on a recruiting visit asks you, Do you allow lesbians on your team? If you do, how do you feel about that?" Slater says coaches have confirmed that this does happen, and they do get asked this question. Many coaches have shared that "they disagree with being asked this question ... and how much they look forward to the day when this is not an issue." Slater also said that sometimes "coaches are asked this question more and more because [the questioner's] child is gay, and they want to make sure it's a safe environment for the child. So it goes both ways. It's not always antagonistic."

Slater is particularly concerned with how all of this affects the players themselves. "The part that's missing in this whole dialogue is the student-athletes," Slater says. "I've heard coaches tell me, 'I feel badly that I want to be a positive role model for my gay student-athletes.' We forget a lot of this. We're forgetting about a lot of the student-athletes that are kind of in the mix here. What about them? How does this feel to them? How does this affect their world on a day-to-day basis? Because supposedly we're in the business because we care about student-athletes -- all student-athletes."

Wow.
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Very touching story about Northwestern University Coach Joe McKeown, and how he and his family have found a home at the school. His teenage son Joey is autistic.

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This brief notice of the cancellation of tonight's New Mexico State-Fresno State game due to weather puts into perspective the problems it's caused for games all over the effected U.S.:

“Using the power necessary to operate a game and placing the extra stress on the fragile power grid is not prudent when our community is faced with potential power outages at home. In consultation with President Couture, El Paso Electric, Special Events, and the WAC office, we have decided that cancelling tonight’s game is in the best interest of the community.”

Color me grateful.

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Three Tennessee players have been named to the Academic All-District Team: Angie Bjorklund, Glory Johnson and Taber Spani.

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Maybe it's the new arena, but the Oregon women are re-energized.

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The Conneticut Sun signed two today, as did San Antonio, and it looks like Ashley Walker will get another chance.