In other tournament action, St. Mary’s of Stockton defeated St. Joseph’s Academy of St. Louis, MO in the Joe Smith Division behind the strong play of Afure Jemerigbe. St Mary’s will face Cardinal O’Hara tomorrow. O'Hara advances after beating Dallas Lincoln who is missing their star player for the remainder of the seasondue to a torn miniscus. O’Hara was led by Vanderbilt signee, 6’4’’ Stephanie Holzer.
Regis Jesuit avenged a poor performance at last week's Nike Northwest Invitational with a big win over Virginia bound Erinn Thompson’s Bishop McGuiness team. Regis will face Georgia signee Anne Marie Armstrong of Wesleyan (Norcross, Georgia) who defeated Brea Olinda in a tight evening game.
On the other side of the bracket, which looks to be significantly tougher, Oak Ridge, TN, defeated Christ the King in a low scoring game, 38-33, behind the stellar play of MTSU-bound Kortni Jones and the excellent coaching of Jill Prudden who is in her 29th year at Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge is now 11-0 for their season (not 4-1, as FCP misreported in mistaken reliance on schedule and results records still being posted by Max Preps. The 40-point "loss" appears to have been a reversal of the score of what was actually an Oak Ridge victory. Coach Prudden says she doesn't know how MaxPreps got the record wrong, but added, "We don't report our results to MaxPreps. They're a scouting operation and we don't scout." She did, however, agree to e-mail Full Court her team's results in the future to ensure accuracy in calculation of our national rankings. And she was most gracious in accepting our apology over the mix-up.)
Christ the King struggled with super-soph guard Bria Smith struggling with an ankle injury. CK fouled out their top 3 players in the loss, including USF-bound Tahira Johnson who carried much of the offensive load for the Royals.
Oak Ridge will face H. D. Woodson of Washington, DC, tomorrow after Woodson survived without star center Jenice Johnson who is likely to return tomorrow from an ankle injury, according to head coach Frank Oliver Jr. H. D. Woodson has one of the top backcourts in the country with Ronicka Ransford and Bernisha Pinkett. Pinkett and Jenice Johnson are still unsigned and open, said Oliver.
Finally, Bolingbrook of Illinois beat Riverdale Baptist behind the strong play of sophomore point guard Ariel Massengale and freshman forward Morgan Tuck. Bolingbrook moves on to face Chaminade.
In the Mike Despert bracket Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, VA, and Mater Dei of Anaheim Hills, CA, both advanced after convincing wins in the first round. Oak Hill has at least six Division 1-quality players and looks to be as talented as anyone in the field this year. Oak Hill dealt H. D. Woodson the latter's only loss of the season last week but looks to a big Saturday match up with Mater Dei who looks to be the top team in Southern California with Poly falling today. Mater Dei has one of the top young teams in the country with Kaleena Lewis who is arguably the top player in the entire event although she is just a sophomore and super frosh Jordan Adams who looks to be a national top 10 recruit. Mater Dei also has Alexyz Vaioletama who is a versatile 2011 wing player who can do some damage on both ends of the floor.
Some of today’s top players by class...
2009 Fab 5
Tahira Johnson, 6’2’’ F, Christ the King (NY);
Kortni Jones, 5’9’’ G, Oak Ridge (TN);
Lakeesa Daniel, 6’4’’ G, Oak Hill (VA);
Davellyn Whyte, 5’10’’ G, St. Mary’s (CA);
Alyssa Bennett, 5’9’’ G, Oak Hill (VA).
2010 Fab 5
Aaryn Ellenberg, 5’7’’ G, Bishop Gorman (NV);
Janae Coffee, 6’3’’ C, Clovis West (CA);
Orsi Szeci, 6’3’’ G/F, Oak Hill (VA);
Ondrea Shaw, 6’4’’ F/C, Oak Hill (VA);
Afure Jemerigbe, 5’10’’ G, St. Mary’s (CA).
2011 Fab 5
Ariel Massengale, 5’7’’ PG, Bolingbrook (IL);
Bonnie Samuelson, 6’2’’ G, Edison (CA);
Krystal Forthan, 6’4’’ C, Jefferson (OR);
Kaleena Lewis, 6’1’’ G, Mater Dei (CA);
Ali Gibson, 5’10’’ G, St. Mary’s (CA).
2012 Fab 5
Morgan Tuck, 6’2’’ F, Bolingbrook (IL);
Jordan Adams, 6’1’’ G, Mater Dei (CA);
Morgan Stock, 6’1’’ G, St. Joseph’s Academy (MO);
Maddie Stock, 6’1’’ G, St. Joseph’s Academy (MO);
Cortnee Walton, 6’2’’ F, St. Mary’s (AZ).