The Rebs' Rachel Connely (left) pins down
Dayton's Emilee Harmon

Just Monday, the Runnin Rebs were watching the championship game of the Blue Chip USA Invitational, an event staged by their coach, Bill McDonough. One of the heavy pre-tournament favorites, the Runnin Rebels were upset in the quarterfinals by a team from Michigan that was bounced in the next round.

McDonough's charges took no chances here, playing lockdown defense from the start of the tournament to the end, beating a team in the Dayton Lady Hoopstars that sports considerable firepower, 56-41. The 41 represented a veritable scoring spree for a Runnin Reb opponent. The Cal Sparks were held to 38 in the first round. Cincinnati's Finest, one of the nation's powerhouses, managed only 33. And the South Carolina Lady 76ers, which claimed third place, eeked out a measley 29 in the semifinals.

The Runnin' Rebels are long at every position but point guard, and make it nearly impossible to score inside, which in turn puts immense pressure on perimeter players to deliver. The Hoopstars had a secret weapon in Shay Selby, considered the No. 1 point guard in the country by HoopGurlz.com. Selby, a Duke commit, was able to crack the Runnin Rebels' defensive code for 14 points on an assortment of long-range jumpers and dribble forays into the paint.

The Rebels' Emily Suhey gets a little closeline
defense from Dayton's Morghan Waterman

Laura Sweeney of Marlton, N.J., a 6-foot-3 Villanova commit, more than compensated for that, scoring 16 points, nine of them in the first half as the Rebels took firm control. Sweeney is a nice player with a great, college-ready body who can sling the three with relative ease, streak down the floor and finish with either hand, and collect hard buckets off offensive boards.

Rosemarie Tarnowski, a 6-1 dynamo out of Huntington, Pa., scored consecutive buckets, on a runout and then from beyond the three-point line, inside the final two minutes and the Rebs never allowed the Hoopstars to challenge. Offensively, the Rebels also got timely contributions from many - from Marisa Crane, a 5-5 point guard from Wescosville, Pa., who went toe to toe with Selby and Dayton's other fine point guard, Brogan Berry of Beavercreek, Ohio, to Renee Womack, a Lansdale, Pa., guard who miraculously looks more than fully recovered from an October ACL surgery, to Shante Evans, a 6-1 2009 prospect from West Chester, Pa., who is a powerhouse inside scorer, to Rachel Connely, a 6-5 post from Tamaqua, Pa., who shut down the lane and blocked shots.

It was an impressive showing considering that, with Cincinnati's Finest sidelined, the Hoopstars probably had to be considered the title favorites, especially with Selby on loan for this tournament and AAU Nationals (she returns to her regular team, CBC / Next Level, for the 17U Showtime Nationals). Selby's buddy, Emilee Harmon of Pickerington, Ohio, is a strong and talented, 6-1 wing in the 2009 class with a Reggie Miller-like kickout on her jumper and many big-time programs with their sights set on her. Justine Raterman, a 6-1 wing out of Bradford, Ohio, is cut from a similar cloth, but is bigger and stronger inside, while Harmon is more of a racehorse in the open court.

Miteka Trueheart of S.C. 76ers

The tournament's final four, in fact, offered plenty of eye candy for the college coaches. The 76ers are a gold mine of lsmallish but quick, low- to mid-major guards, led by ultra-athletic, 6-1 swing player Morgan Stroman of Hopkins, S.C., a 2009 prospect who unfortunately is positioned too much on the low boxes but nevertheless scored 20 in the game for third place. The Sixers beat the Gauchos, which features one of the country's top 2010 point guards in Charmaine Tay of Union, N.J.

The Lady Runnin Rebels will have to produce their encore in Chicago, for which they high-tailed out of the Suwanee Sports Academy shortly after collecting their championship trophy. Dayton, even without Selby, will be one of the better teams in the 17U division, but the competition will be far more stout with the addition on Friday of the likes of the main FBC (California), Exodus and Full Package teams, Tennessee Team Pride, Chicago Hoops Express, East Bay Xplosion, Team Unique and Syracuse SRAP.