Arizona schools rallied some the final two days of the annual Nike Tournament of Champions I girls basketball showcase in Chandler and Tempe with St. Marys and Mesa Mountain View posting the best showings among the 18 local teams teams competing.

St. Mary's, playing in the elite Joe Smith Division lost its first game to Monarch (Louisville, Colo.,) and rallied the final three days for three wins over Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.); Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Penn.) and Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.).

"Overall it was a great experience for us," St. Mary's coach Curtis Ekmark said. "Getting to play four nationally ranked teams in five days will make us better down the stretch."

Ekmark blamed himself for the first-round loss to Monarch.

"We had finals this week and these kids are a very academic group, so I didn't practice them much," Ekmark said. "Just a couple shoot-arounds. We came out Saturday and laid an egg. I've actually done that two years in a row. Next year I may go to having a couple of short, hard practices to keep us sharp."

Ekmark said the win over Bishop Gorman was relatively easy, but games Tuesday and Wednesday could have gone either way.

"We had a team meeting before the game Monday and played much better," Ekmark said. "We learned some things and they figured out ways to win. Beating Christ the King (Wednesday) was huge. They are a national icon. I think that's good for our whole state."

St. Mary's gets to experience what around 75 out-of-state squads did this week in Arizona when it travesl to Portland Ore., for a Nike Tournament  next week.

St. Mary's three wins allowed it to finish ninth in the 16-team Joe Smith Division.  The Knights defeated Bishop Gorman, 68-53; Mount Lebanon, 56-49 and Christ the King, 71-66. Their loss to Monarch was 64-53.

Mesa Mountain View matched St. Mary's win total in the White Division. The Toros posted a 3-1 mark and improved to 10-1 on the season with a 47-37 win over Hamilton on Wednesday to take fifth-place in its division. Mountain View will continue play after the new year with a 10-1 record. The Toros only loss was to Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.), which finished second in the White Division.

One other Arizona team posted a 3-1 record in the tournament, Chaparral. The Firebirds played in the Mike Desper Division and suffered their only loss to Desper Division runner-up Horizon Christian Academy (San Diego, Calif.).

Ten of Arizona's 18 teams finished 2-2 or better. The others besides St. Mary's and Mountain View were Hamilton, Pinnacle, Chandler, Seton Catholic, Horizon, Flagstaff, and Basha.