High School

Nike Tournament of Champions girls basketball primer: 8 of Top 25 teams in country featured in Phoenix clash

Six squads, including preseason No. 3 Ontario Christian, No. 5 Bishop McNamara and No. 6 Mitty in the top Vincent Cannizzaro Division

Mitch Stephens

Emily Skinner leads Ridgeline (Millville, Utah) in the Nike Tournament of Champions, considered the best girls basketball tournament in the country.
Emily Skinner leads Ridgeline (Millville, Utah) in the Nike Tournament of Champions, considered the best girls basketball tournament in the country. / Courtesy photo: Ridgeline X

While Major League Baseball and the PGA rule the spring in Phoenix, girls basketball is the sport that largely dominates the sporting scene regionally just around the winter time.

Generally regarded as the sport's most prestigious tournament, the Nike Tournament of Champions starts Wednesday and last four days at eight different venues. With 124 teams, the tournament is not only massive but features many of the nation's top teams, including eight from SBLive's/High School on SI's most current Top 25 rankings.

TOP TEAMS AT NIKE TOC

In the top 16-team Vincent Canizzaro Division, Ontario Christian appears the favorite after the Knights open the season with nine straight victories, including the championship of the Troy Classic.

Ontario Christian is led by preseason All-American Kaleena Smith, the SBLive Freshman of the Year in 2023-24, but she got two big reinforcements from last season in freshmen Sydney Douglas, a 6-6 post, and 5-11 wing Tatianna Griffin.

It was Griffin, who earned Tournament MVP at Troy, not Douglas or Smith, who has transitioned into more of a facilitator than a sheer scorer as she was a freshman when she averaged 34.9 points per game.

She's still the team's leading scorer at 22.3 per night, but she's averaging 8.4 assists to go along with 4.3 steals per game. That's allowed Douglas (16.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and Griffin (17.5, 8.7) to find their footing earlier than expected.

On the other side of the bracket is another California team, Mitty, which is coming off the championship of the La Jolla Country Day Sweet 16. The Monarchs have been on the short end of the CIF Open Division championship to Etiwanda and are the clear favorite to get back to the finals, but to perhaps meet Ontario Christian instead of Etiwanda.

The Knights already have a win over Etiwanda this season, 74-66, but that was in November. All that matters is in March.

Mitty is led by one of the six to make it on the SBLive All-American list, McKenna Woliczki, who was MVP of the Sweet 16. She and Smith are just two of a handful of players at TOC who are the current SBLive National Player of the Year Watchlist. The complete list:

G/F Darianna "Dee" Alexander, Purcell Marian — The 6-1 wing is a 5-star prospect who averaged 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.5 steals last season.

C Sienna Betts, Grandview (Aurora, Colo.) — The 6-4 UCLA signee is averaging 23.5 points, 18.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.5 steals and 4.5 blocks in the early going for the 4-0 Wolves.

F Jazzy Davidson, Clackamas (Ore.) — The 6-1 senior southpaw is a USC commit whoe averages 26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.6 assists per game.

Jazzy Davidson is the No. 2 recruit in the nation in the class of 2025, according to ESPN.
Jazzy Davidson is the No. 2 recruit in the nation in the class of 2025, according to ESPN. / Taylor Balkom

G Emilee Skinner, Ridgeline (Millville, Utah) — Ranked the No. 7 senior in the country, the 6-foot-point guard led Ridgeline squad to a second concecutive state title by averaging 24.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.6 steals per game last season. She has the Riverhawks off to an 8-0 start.

PG Kaleena Smith, Ontario Christian (Calif.) — The SBLive Freshman of the Year in 2023-24 is much more than a scorer. One of the most exciting players not only in this tournament, but the country, 24-7.

Olivia Vukosa, Christi the King (NY) — The 6-4 junior is college-ready after leading the Royals to a 29-3 season last year while averaging 17.5 points, 18.8 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game.

McKenna Woliczko, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) — The SBLive Freshman and Sophomore of the Year, the last two years, the 6-2 junior leads the No. 6 team in the country after she won MVP honors at the La Jolla Country Day Sweet 16 tournament. Has turned herself into a legitimate 3-level scorer.

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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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