Published: March 06, 2008 10:52 am         

Notre Dame returns to defend BWGIT crown

St. Frances also back, seeks championship rematch; games begin today at 3:15

CUMBERLAND - Two nationally-ranked teams and at least 10 players who will move on to play college basketball will be front and center this weekend as the 14th annual Bishop Walsh Girls Invitational Tournament tips off tonight and runs through Saturday at Bishop Walsh School.

Defending BWGIT champion Notre Dame Academy of Middleburg, Va. is ranked No. 4 in the nation by USA Today and the ESPN Elite 25, and the St. Frances Academy Panthers of Baltimore, ranked No. 25 in the ESPN Elite 25 national poll and last year's BWGIT runner-up, are just two of the outstanding teams that will head this weekend's field. Notre Dame (24-2) is ranked No. 1 in the Washington, D.C. area by the Washington Post, while St. Frances (24-3) is ranked No. 1 in the Baltimore area by the Baltimore Sun.

St. Frances will be featured in today's opener, beginning at 3:15 p.m., when it takes on Bishop McNamara (23-8) of Forestville, ranked No. 4 in the Washington Post poll. At 4:45 p.m., the Good Counsel Falcons (28-3), ranked No. 5 in the Post, will take on tournament host school Bishop Walsh (4-22).

At 6:15 p.m. Notre Dame will take on Holy Cross of Kensington (16-9), before Seton Keough (27-4), the No. 2-ranked team in the Baltimore Sun, will play Georgetown Visitation.

Four more games will get under way Friday at 2:45 p.m., and then again on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m., culminated by the championship game.

Tickets will be available at the door all three nights.

Notre Dame, coached by Mike Teasley, was top-ranked in the ESPN Elite 25 preseason poll and has six players who stand over six feet, as well as four players who have already signed letters of intent to continue their careers in college, with a fifth likely soon to come.

Azania Stewart, a 6-foot-4 senior center, has committed to Florida. Teammate Mia Nickson, 6-2 senior forward, has signed with Boston College. Kristin Coles, 5-8 senior, is headed to American University, while 5-9 senior Morgan Wrightson will play for Bucknell. Josette Campbell, 6-1 senior, is listed by the various scouting services as being "a player to watch."

Notre Dame defeated St. Frances in last year's BWGIT title game, 64-42.

Notre Dame defeated Seton Keough earlier this season, 65-47, and also defeated McNamara twice this season. McNamara, however, led in the first meeting by one point entering the fourth quarter during the Bojangles Shootout in Charlotte, N.C. The teams have met four times in the past two seasons.

"We have a special bond with their team, and it takes it to a competitive level," McNamara coach Robert Suratt said in a Feb. 14 Washington Post article. "We like playing them more than anybody else."

Suratt went on to say in the same Post article, "It's like playing a college-sized team in high school. We have to use quickness and pressure to get turnovers to create easier opportunities. We have to get down the floor before they get back and set up."

McNamara fell Tuesday night in the D.C. City Championship Game to H.D. Woodson, 61-55, before an announced crowd of 6,258 at Verizon Center. It was a tight game the whole way with McNamara leading 37-35 when senior forward Kala Nwachukwu was assessed her fourth foul, leaving the game with 15 points.

Woodson then went on a 13-5 run to take a 48-42 lead early the fourth quarter, including a 6:37 span during which McNamara did not score.

McNamara defeated Good Counsel last week in the Washington Catholic Athletic title game, 52-38, breaking the Falcons' 24-game winning streak, including two wins over the Mustangs.

Three McNamara players will play college basketball: Alexis Canady, Monmouth; Ebony Edwards, American; and Tiana Myers, George Washington.

Good Counsel will send Shanel Harrison, 5-11 senior, to Virginia Tech; while Kayla Loughner, 5-10 senior, will attend Longwood.

St. Frances won its sixth straight Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A conference title, 43-39 in overtime, over then-No. 1 Seton Keough last month. Sophomore guard Shatyra Hawkes scored 15 points in that game, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Her free throw with 8.5 seconds left in regulation forced the overtime. Prior to that, she had seven points, four assists and six steals in the Panthers' semifinal win over Archbishop Spalding, and 15 points, three assists and four steals in the quarterfinals against Roland Park. Hawkes is averaging 17 points, three assists and four steals per game.

Bishop Walsh has been led by senior Tricia Geiger, who is averaging 10.8 points per game, hitting 63 percent of her free throws as well as 45 three-point goals per game. Taylor Butts averages 8.1 points per game.

Contact Mike Burke at mburke@times-news.com.