CHANDLER, Ariz. - The 2007 Nike Tournament of Champions has just two potential champions left with Long Beach Poly and Notre Dame Academy left to slug it out Saturday evening. Led by their two senior stars the Jackrabbits and Dragons rode their go-to players Jasmine Dixon and Azania Stewart to victory in the semifinals.
Azania Stewart the 6-foot-5 post for Notre Dame Academy had her best game of the tournament in the semifinals against Southridge. Notre Dame cruised to a double digit victory but Stewart was catalyst on both ends for the Dragons.
Stewart impacted the game right away by scoring on the inside, controlling the glass and blocking shots. She was leading her team with her effort and being the vocal leader. She worked extremely hard for position against a defense that was trying hard to body her up and play her physical. She established in the first quarter that she was stronger than any of the defenders and scored with her strong and weak hands. Southridge played pretty good defense on her and made her work but this day she was not going to be denied.
Azania Stewart to the rim
Stewart, who will be playing her college basketball at Florida next season, came off the bench in the second quarter and sparked a run. She dove from the high post on her first possession and received a nice pass from fellow senior Mia Nickson. Stewart finished the play and was fouled. The next defensive possession she picked up Southridge forward Michelle Jenkins in the back court as a part of their press and harassed her into a turnover. She was simply not going to be denied her chance to play Poly in the finals.
Stewart played stronger than she has ever played around the basket and has shown considerable improvement from even this summer. What is really impressive is that she finishes with either hand with contact. She has assumed the leadership role on her team, a feat not seen in too many post players. She barks orders out on both ends to her teammates to get them in the right spots.
Defensively Stewart is a monster as well. She utilizes her length as well as anyone at this level and does something many young players don’t by keeping the ball in play when blocking a shot. She was a big reason that Southridge’s offense went stale. In addition to great ball pressure by the guards, Stewart’s presence deterred any potential dribble penetration. She also made life rough for Jenkins and the other Skyhawk interior players.
For Long Beach Poly the game was not so easy. Highlands Ranch took them to their limits and it took a 25-point effort from Jasmine Dixon for the Jackrabbits to survive.
Jasmine Dixon Soars
Dixon did most of her damage in the first half just to keep her team in the game. She scored 15 of her game high 25 to keep them within single digits. She was simply too physical and too determined in the paint to be stopped. She didn’t shoot an incredible percentage from the floor but she got up on the glass and boarded those that she missed.
In the second half Dixon didn’t need to score quite as much as her teammates kicked it into to gear. With Dixon drawing much of the defensive attention she opened Monique Oliver up who had eight points in the third quarter. Down the stretch when Poly had regained the lead she made the plays to keep them from building momentum with big rebounds and timely buckets.
Without Dixon’s scoring and rebounding Poly doesn’t win this game tonight. Her effort, especially in the first half kept them in the game so that Oliver could be the hero in the third quarter and freshman Ariya Crook-Williams and her 11 fourth quarter points could seal the deal.
Discuss This on Our Message Board:
Click Here [1]
Chris Hansen is the National Director of Scouting for Women’s Basketball at HoopGurlz.com. He leads the panel that evaluates and ranks girl's basketball prospects nationally for HoopGurlz. Chris has been involved in the women’s basketball community since 1998 as a coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He can be reached at chris@hoopgurlz.com [2].
[3]