NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - Sometimes the impetus for change is difficult to specify. Not in the case of the NYC Gauchos. You could pinpoint the source of their transformation on a map.

China, it would be.

As in China Crosby, the heat-seeking, 2009 point guard out of the Bronx, N.Y.

China Crosby of the Gauchos

Back in Birmingham, Ala., the Gauchos were a team with an impressive front line of similarly sized pogo sticks that got also-ran results. A week later, with Crosby at the helm of the team, the Gauchos got off to an impressive start in Nike Nationals pool play and rode that momentum to a Silver Division championship with a 42-41 victory over the Orlando Comets on Tuesday.

"We didn't have the organization on the court," said Da'Shena Stevens, a 6-foot-1 forward out of Stamford, Conn., who came up with a game-clinching steal with 7.4 seconds to play. "She (Crosby) makes a big difference."

That might be a major understatement. Stevens is the only returning member of a Gauchos team that, led by Iasia Hemingway, now at Georgia Tech, made the Gold bracket last year but was one and done. The team added a pair of forwards just like Stevens in Philadelphians Keisha Hampton and Markel Walker, who have played together for seven years for the DBL Phoenix. All the team needed - besides a main player who actually hailed from the team's namesake New York - an oncourt general.

Crosby has filled both roles admirably. She is fast and fearless, quick to attract defenders away from teammates for dishes. Or even to take the defenders on herself.

Markel Walker of the Gauchos

To wit, her team down a point, Crosby delivered the game-winner by gyrating through heavy traffic underneath.

"Actually, I thought I was going to miss that," said Crosby, who was playing for the New York Gazelles at Basketball on the Bayou. "I didn't know I was going to get cut off, but I wasn't scared to put it up. ... I came here to turn things up. I just knew I had to be smart about it."

Smart was staying aggressive, hitting the occasional jumper and, mostly, getting the ball to a trio of 6-1 jumping jacks who love to slash and put back each other's misses. It was a recipe for success - Markel delivering 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and Hampton and Stevens each chipping in nine points and two steals.

"I know this was the Silver (Division)," Stevens said, "but it feels just as good as winning the Gold."

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