Girls' Place to Be

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Girls' Place to Be

IAABO 134 CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT

Where: Prince George's Community College.

What Makes It So Good: Half of the eight-team field is ranked: No. 7 Riverdale Baptist, No. 10 Holy Cross, No. 12 Arundel and No. 14 Blake. In addition, C.H. Flowers is expected to be a Prince George's power and St. Frances is ranked second by the Baltimore Sun. (IAABO, by the way, stands for International Association of Approved Basketball Officials.)

Star Power:***

St. Frances center Kandice Green, a Seton Hall signee, heads a field that also includes Holy Cross guard Shontice Simmons (Central Connecticut); Riverdale Baptist sophomore forward Ataira Franklin, who made fourth-team All-Met as a freshman last season; and the Arundel duo of junior center Simone Egwu, who averaged a double-double last season, and junior guard Ashley Davis, the team's leading scorer.

Draw It Up: Two-time defending champion Holy Cross beat St. Frances, 62-51, in the championship last season, and the teams are on opposite sides of the bracket again this year. The teams already have met this season, with St. Frances pulling out a 72-70 win on Dec. 8. Arundel and St. Frances could meet in the second round; St. Frances beat the Wildcats, 55-52, on Dec. 10.

Tips Off: First game at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Finals:8 p.m. Saturday.

Girls' Place to Go

BOJANGLES' SHOOTOUT

Where: Marvin Ridge High School near Charlotte.

Who's There: The top two teams in The Post -- Notre Dame Academy and Bishop McNamara -- and the top two teams in the Charlotte Observer preseason poll -- West Charlotte and Providence Day -- are among the eight entrants.

Star Power:***

Draw It Up: Notre Dame, which last week played in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona, and Bishop McNamara could meet in the second round, 400 miles from home. The teams already are scheduled to meet Feb. 14. Notre Dame opens with three-time defending North Carolina independent champion Providence Day, which boasts twin University of Virginia signees Britny and Whitny Edwards. McNamara opens with Dorman, the Class 4A runner-up in South Carolina last year.

Tips Off: First game at noon tomorrow.

Finals:3 p.m. Saturday.

Best of the Rest

MBOA HOLIDAY

HOOPS CLASSIC

Where: Washington Bible College.

Top teams: No. 13 Gwynn Park, South River, Elizabeth Seton, Middletown.

Gwynn Park highlights the eight-team field with the back court of Lynnae Lampkins (Syracuse) and Brittany Crowell (James Madison), who are averaging a combined 42 points per game. The Yellow Jackets face unbeaten Lackey in the first round. Bladensburg center Kiara Henderson has signed with Loyola (Md.). South River senior forward Jaclyn Nucci is the reigning Anne Arundel player of the year. Middletown senior forward Colleen McCarrick comes in averaging about 20 ppg. Southern, again in the field, topped Elizabeth Seton, 58-50, in the final last year. Elizabeth Seton recently upset then-No. 14. St. John's.

Finals:8 p.m. Friday.

POHANKA

CHANTILLY CLASSIC

Where: Chantilly High School.

Top teams: No. 16 Georgetown Visitation, Mills Godwin, Chantilly.

Mills Godwin, a Virginia AAA quarterfinalist last season, is the fifth-ranked team in the Richmond Times-Dispatch poll and might be the front-runner of the six-team field. Georgetown Visitation is 9-0. Virginia A school George Mason is 7-1. Chantilly, with Shepherd signee Melissa Furr, is the defending champion. Hylton features University of Virginia signee Ariana Moorer.

Finals:6:45 p.m. Saturday.

BULLDOG BASH

HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

Where: Westfield.

Top teams: No. 15 Lee, Westfield and Midlothian.

It is an eclectic eight-team field, with schools from Fairfax, Montgomery, Prince William, Arlington and Loudoun counties, as well as Midlothian, the 10th-ranked team in the Richmond Times-Dispatch poll. There might not be a Bash team with a more productive duo than Lee's Kristine Mial (23.6 ppg) and Jay Babineaux (18.6 ppg). Bullis forward Jocelyn Bailey has signed with Delaware. Westfield senior guard Amanda O'Neill also is drawing Division I interest.

Finals:7:30 p.m. Saturday.

-- Preston Williams