If Long Beach Poly is to improve on its once-beaten, No. 2 nationally ranked 2006-07 season, it will have to survive the first leg in what promises to be one of the most challenging stretches ever attempted by a high-school program.
That leg is this week, Dec. 6-8 at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore., in a field that contains two other nationally ranked teams, three other state champions and several of the country's top-ranked players.
HoopGurlz.com is a media sponsor for the event.
Monique Oliver of LB Poly
Poly, the consensus No. 2 pick, nationally, and defending California Division I state champions, open on Thursday against Central Catholic of Portland, Ore., which features point guard Kate Lanz, who is ranked No. 33 overall in the HoopGurlz Super Sixty for the 2009 class.
Host Southridge, the three-time defending Oregon state champions, is ranked 10th nationally by Full Court Press and 13th by ESPN and has two Pac-10 signees - USC-bound Michelle Jenkins, ranked No. 93 in the HoopGurlz Hundred, and Arizona State-bound Alex Earl, who is ranked No. 96.
Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco is the other nationally ranked team, coming in at No. 11 in the Full Court Press rankings. Sacred Heart is the defending California Division III champions led by Tierra Rogers, ranked No. 37 in the Super Sixty for 2009.
The other state champion is Highlands Ranch, the two-time defending large classification Colorado titlists led by Colorado-bound guard Alyssa Fressle, No. 76 in the HoopGurlz Hundred, and Wisconsin-bound Jade Davis.
Alex Earl of Southridge
Long Beach Poly (No. 1, West), Southridge (No. 4), Highlands Ranch (No. 6) and Sacred Heart (No. 7) also are regionally ranked by ESPN.
Ashley Corral, No. 23 in the HoopGurlz Hundred and headed to USC, leads Prairie, a perennial power in the state of Washington out of Vancouver. Beaverton and South Eugene, a pair of perennial Oregon state playoff contenders, round out the field.
In accordance with its lofty status, Long Beach Poly boasts of two major Division I signees - Jasmine Dixon, No. 26 in the HoopGurlz Hundred who is headed to Rutgers, and April Cook, No. 76 in the HoopGurlz Hundred who is bound for Washington State. The aptly named Jackrabbits also have the highest ranked prospect in the field, Monique Oliver, No. 5 overall in the Super Sixty for 2009, as well as Kelli Thompson, a 6-foot wing who is ranked No. 36 in the Super Sixty.
After the Northwest Nike Invitational, Long Beach Poly will compete in the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions, Dec. 19-22, in Chandler, Ariz. That tournament boasts 11 nationally ranked schools, including No. 1 Notre Dame Academy of Middleburg, Va. After Christmas, Poly will play in the T-Mobile Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., then will be matched against St. Paul Central in the Gatorade Timberwolves Shootout on Jan. 5.
