TOC in Arizona brings out Southland’s best in girls’ basketball
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Top-ranked Long Beach Poly, No. 8 Lynwood and No. 9 Narbonne are among the Southland teams in the marquee Black Division at the Tournament of Champions in Chandler, Ariz., which begins Wednesday and concludes Saturday.
The tournament annually attracts some of the nation’s top teams.
Poly (3-1) and Lynwood (3-1) are coming off losses in tournament championship games about 10 days ago. Poly lost to San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral, 74-58, and Lynwood was beaten, 50-41, by No. 11 Redondo.
Narbonne (7-1) won the Brea Olinda tournament earlier this season with a 57-56 victory over the host school, but lost in Hawaii last week to Honolulu (Ha.) Punahoe, 47-39. Punahoe is also in the Black Division and could match up with Poly in the second round.
Lynwood opens against the team currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, Middleburg (Va.) Notre Dame Academy. Narbonne faces Beaverton (Ore.) Southridge, and Poly plays Washington D.C. Woodson.
There’s no shortage of top Southland teams in Arizona this week.
In the second-tier Blue Division are No. 3. San Clemente (5-1), No. 5 Brea (3-1) and No. 13 Marlborough (3-5). San Clemente plays Thornton (Colo.) Horizon, Brea plays Nashville (Tenn.) Harpeth Hall, and Marlborough plays Phoenix St. Mary’s.
No. 10 Chatsworth (5-1), No. 12 Mira Costa (4-1) and No. 19 Cajon (3-1) are in the Gold Division, along with Bishop Montgomery (4-2) and Edison (5-0). They mostly play a collection of local Arizona teams.
-- Martin Henderson