In the first round of bracket play on Sunday night, Tennessee Team Pride pulled off a big upset of Essence, which won this event last year. Essence was without one of its studs in Tiffany Hayes but still entered the bracket the No. 1 seed from their pool. They came out with their trademark trapping fullcourt press but as the Pride got adjusted to it the press became Essence's demise. It gave the Pride's shooters wide-open looks from the three-point line. Between a barrage of three-point bombs and Glory Johnson continuing to play like the elite player she is the Tennessee Pride advanced to the quarterfinals.

The game changed in the second half when West Coast Elite came out in a 1-2-2 three-quarter court defense that really slowed the All Ohio tempo and closed down the lane against penetration. West Coast utlized Briana Gilbreath, the No. 25 player in the 2008 class according to HoopGurlz.com, at the top of the zone which forced the skip passes to be thrown very high and without the zip they are against shorter defenders. Gilbreath's length and the West Coast defenders anticpating the skip pass led to transition opportunities and also gained the momentum. From here it was the Kelsey Bone show as she dominated inside making some big buckets showcasing her shear power and foot work. She seemed motivated to put on a show after struggling with finishing shots Saturday evening against Cincinnati's Finest.

In other action, SMAC Showtime defeated the Roanoke Stars to advance to the quarterfinals against the Tennesse Flight, which won convincingly over the PA Swoosh. On the other side of the bracket, DFW Elite survived a fiesty Dayton Hoopstars team to play the Fairfax Stars, victors over the Ohio Legends. Dayton actually lost earlier in the day to the Indiana Family but since the Family had to leave, choosing to play in pool play only, Dayton played on in their place. The Lady Legends, who were somewhat of an unknown coming in, edged Exodus by executing and knocking down free throws down the stretch. They advance to play Cincinnati's Finest, which beat a Tennesse Flight Navy team that actually stormed out to a lead early and gave the Amber Gray -ed squad a good scare.

The quarters feature four Nike teams and a couple adidas teams in the quarterfinals. Can Glory Johnson and her long-range-shooting teammates do enough to nullify the presence of Bone and Monique Oliver inside? Can the Tennesse Flight defend the big post presence of the SMAC Showtime and how will SMAC handle the athleticism of LaSondra Barrett and top-notch frshman point guard Lauren Avant? DFW brings their two stars Brooklyn Pope and Destini Hughes, who is playing as good as any point guard in the country, against Chay Shegog and a deep and balanced Fairfax Stars team. Lastly can Amber Gray continue to lead her team against all comers and are they prepared for the Lady Legends?

We'll let you know.