NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- Once the Cal Swish girls set foot back on the court at Nike Nationals this year, one thing kept coming back to their minds -- a tough ending to their 2008 summer in a quarterfinal loss to the eventual champion Tennessee Flight.
Thursday evening, they got their revenge at the same point in the tournament, on the same court. In front of a packed house, the girls from Orange County, Calif., defeated the Flight in a heated battle and claimed the next thing on their summer's to-do list: a berth in the semifinals.
"It was a total revenge win," Cassie Harberts said. "They were defending their title and we had nothing left to lose."
Behind a game-high 15 points from Bonnie Samuelson, the Swish won 51-44. Next up, Boo Williams, which won 53-41 against the Philly Belles, making up one half of a somewhat-surprising Virginia-California final four.
An early lead by Swish turned into a late lead for the Flight. As the Swish began a late comeback, injury struck, possibly disrupting the momentum. One of the referees, Jerome Davis from New York, collapsed in the middle of the court with what was likely a torn Achilles. After he was helped off the court with three minutes and seven seconds on the clock, Samuelson hit two free throws that put the Swish within two.
Samuelson, Swish's smooth-shooting 2011 wing, scored nine of her team's final 15 points, including a three with 2:47 on the clock. That gave the Swish their first lead since early in the first half.
As the run continued, the Swish girls got more emotional. Coming out of a timeout in the final seconds, they all shouted "Swish!" and cheered as they went back onto the court.
"I said '7.8 seconds for us to move on, and this year, their season's over'," Davis recounted from the timeout.
For the Swish, nine of their 10 players scored at least two points in the game. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis -- the Flight's California piece -- led her team's scoring with 11 points, while Ronika Ransford added nine.
"We knew going in it was going to be tough; they practice two or three times a week," Flight coach Tom Insell said. "(Davis) has been saying all year this is the best team he's ever had. ... I still say we had the best team here. There's nobody that could beat us. They had their best game; they had to come out ready to play us and he knew if he could keep it close, they'd have a chance to win it at the end."
On the other side of the bracket, the Fairfax Stars and Cal Storm Team Taurasi will face off for a spot in the championship. Fairfax beat the Illinois Hustle 58-49, while Cal Storm eliminated the favored Cy-Fair 72-57.
The Storm jumped out early on a Chiney Ogwumike-led Cy-Fair squad. They held her to a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray had one of her own, with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go along with six assists. Gray received help from Mellissa Sweat, who scored 15 points, and Justine Hartman, who added 13 of her own, as well as five other players who scored for Team Taurasi.
"Our pool (with Flight and Essence) taught us how to fight," Gray said. "Before, we were learning what our strengths and weaknesses were, but now we're learning how to win and fight at the same time."
The Storm have an early morning date with the Virginia-based Fairfax Stars, which handled the Illinois Hustle in their quarterfinal game thanks in part to 23 points from Kelsey Wolfe.
"We weren't favored at all coming into this week, or even this year," Fairfax coach Aggie McCormick-Dix said. "I've always thought this team was better than everybody said they were. My players are strong all across the board. They're all united and they get along extremely well."
Nike Nationals history shows a pattern of unified teams, groups that practice together and are a cohesive unit, earning the summer's final championship. With this year's final four, each team fits that mold, leaving the title up for grabs. But with the past Nike Nationals winners coming from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Indiana, either Virginia or California will claim the title for the first time.
In the silver bracket, DFW T-Jack beat the New England Crusaders 74-67, while Ring City defeated the once 4-0 North Tartan, 66-54. Also in the silver bracket, the NYC Gauchos beat West Coast Premier, 58-46, and Essence beat the Orlando Comets, 72-67 in overtime. The Gauchos faced Essence in the second semifinal.
