First, No. 1 Notre Dame Academy took care of business, cruising to a 54-31 win against Southridge. Then, after allowing Highlands Ranch to lead much of the game, No. 4 Long Beach Poly took the Black Bracket's second semifinal game, 66-61.

With their victories, the Dragons and Jackrabbits set up a 5:40 p.m., East vs. West showdown for Saturday's championship.

It will be a battle of Notre Dame's strong team defense and on-point shooting versus the frenzied speed and bench of fresh legs at Long Beach Poly's disposal.

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Notre Dame's defense, especially when focused on one player, can control a game as well as any offensive plan. Using that strength on Arizona State-bound Alex Earl paid off, as Southridge's point guard scored just six points in her team's loss Friday.

"They didn't leave me at all," Earl said. "I had to create my own shots and that was tough. I shot a three-pointer five feet behind the arc with a hand up. That's the only kind of shot I could get."

Offensively, Notre Dame Academy, led Friday by senior Azania Stewart's 18 points, has a tough inside game as well as strong guards who can hit nearly any outside shot.

"We just played great (Friday)," Tinsley said. "We're just defending so well, and we executed real well in the halfcourt."

As for Long Beach Poly, the Jackrabbits have depended more than normal on their depth this week.

"We were down and I wanted to get my team up so we could win this," Crook-Williams said. "I had to do what I had to do."

"She had nerves of steel," Buggs said. "And the reason why she's with us is she has that potential. She showed what we knew that she had today."

With seniors Jasmine Dixon and April Cook, as well as junior Monique Oliver, leading the rest of the troops, Long Beach Poly can become a handful in a hurry. And although the Jackrabbits have already lost this season, to San Francisco's Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Dec. 8 championship of the Northwest Nike Invitational, they want a shot at claiming the national title.

So do the Dragons, who share a common thread with Long Beach Poly: Both teams' only loss during their 2006-2007 campaigns was at the TOC to a Maya Moore-led Collins Hill team. If both Notre Dame Academy and Long Beach Poly go undefeated after returning to their respective states, Virginia and California, the victor of Saturday's game could be ranked No. 1 in the country.

"That's what we came here for," Buggs said. "We came here to win this thing."

At Hamilton
Championship: Notre Dame Academy vs. Long Beach Poly, 5:40 p.m.
3rd place: Southridge vs. Highlands Ranch, 4:20 p.m.
Consolation Games at Hamilton
5th place: Sequoyah vs. Archbishop Carroll, 3 p.m.
7th place: Auburn Riverside vs. Bishop Gorman, 1:40 p.m.
9th place: Shelbyville Central vs. Sapulpa, 12:20 p.m.
11th place: Narbonne vs. Punahou, 11 a.m.

Consolation Games at Perry
13th place: Lynwood vs. H. D. Woodson, 12:20 p.m.
15th place: Ursuline Academy vs. Christ the King, 11 a.m.

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