Seton Catholic girls basketball coach Karen Self is looking forward to the coming week of hoops for her 11-0 Lady Sentinels. Even if it means losing. 

That's because the defending state champs from Division II a year ago are part of the 16-team elite (Joe Smith) bracket of the 20th annual Nike Tournament of Champions. The tournament will be contested at two Gilbert high schools (Mesquite and Highland) and the Ray Kroc Center in Phoenix. Eighty schools competing in five brackets are set for the event that runs Monday Dec. 19 through Thursday Dec. 22.

Self was hoping Seton would be placed in the elite bracket. That came true when the brackets were released several days ago. Seton will be competing with nine other teams in the bracket who are ranked in MaxPreps current Xcellent 25 national rankings. 

"This is definitely the right path for us going forward to get us ready for state," Self said. "It's going to be tough competition every game. We may go 0-4. But I like the challenge, and our girls do, too."

Seton has rolled like no other Arizona girls team thus far. The Lady Sentinels began the year sweeping six games in Highland's annual Thanksgiving Tournament. That included a semifinal win over Highland and an exceptional performance against explosive Mesquite, this year's favorite to claim the 5A title.

Seton defeated Mesquite (10-1) in the final of the Highland tournament, 50-37. Seton controlled pace and because it did limited Mesquite to 37 points, the second-lowest total the team has scored in two-plus seasons led by its two 1,000-point-plus weapons Shaylee Gonzales and Lindsey VanAllen. Mesquite is averaging 81 points a game.

Seton has added five power-ranking game wins after the Highland tourney victory. It has four seniors -- three who start in Jenn Wirth Leeanne Wirth, Liz Holter -- seeking a third state crown in four years. The Wirths have signed with Gonzaga and Holter has done the same to University of the Incarnate Word. Seton's starters are averaging between 9 and 15 points a game  

"Right now were holding everyone super accountable in practice and trying to add to their skill se," Self said. "We're playing teams that are more athletic with super quick guards. Some of them wiil have to match up with us with Jenn and LeeAnne."

Seton's first opponent is St. Francis (GA), one of the four teams Seton competed with last April at the Dick Sporting Goods Invitational in New York. Seton lost to eventual champ Dick;s Sporting Goods Invitational champ Ribault (Jacksonville, FL). St. Francis lost to Riverdale Baptist, the runner-up.

Many of Arizona's other top girls basketball programs are in action as well. Fourteen other Arizona schools are competing scattered among the four other brackets. Defending big-school champ Hamilton (11-1) and runners-up in two of the state's conferences last year -- Cactus Shadows (11-2) and Valley Christian (8-0) -- are playing in the Mike Desper bracket.

Aligned in the John Anderson bracket are Mesquite (11-1), Valley Vista (6-2) and Millennium (8-1). Mesquite was the big-school runner-up, Valley Vista a big-school semifinalist and Millennium a big-school quaterfinalist. The Derril Kipp bracket contains Highland (10-3), Gilbert (9-1) and Mesa High (6-4). The Dan Wiley bracket features Chaparral (8-3), Corona del Sol (7-5), Desert Mountain, (4-2), Perry (5-6) and Westview (7-5).

Here are the first-round games on Monday Dec. 19-- times and sites -- for each of Arizona's entries:

Joe Smith Bracket: St. Francis, GA vs. Seton at 12:30 at Mesquite HS

Dan Wiley Bracket: Westview vs. Warren (CA) at 5 p.m. at Ray Kroc Center; Chaparral vs. Orangewood Academy (CA) at 11 a.m. at Kroc Center; Perry vs. Canyon (CA) at 5 p.m. at Kroc Center; Canyon Springs (CA) vs. Corona del Sol at 3:30 p.m. at Kroc Center; Huntington Beach (CA) vs. Desert Mountain at 3:30 p.m. at Kroc Center.

Derrill Kipp Bracket: Oaks Christian (CA( vs. Highland at 6:30 p.m. at Highland HS; Sheldon (OR) vs. Gilbert at 3:30 p.m. at Highland HS; Mesa High vs. Eastlake (CA) at 5 p.m. at Kroc Center.

John Anderson Bracket: Millennium vs. Archbishop Wood (PA) at 5 p.m. at Highland HS; Vanden (CA) vs. Mesquite at 5 p.m. at Mesquite HS; Valley Vista vs. Incarnate Word (MO) at 6:30 p.m. at Mesquite HS.

Mike Desper Bracket: Cactus Shadows vs. Mercer Island (WA) at 3:30 pm. at Kroc Center; Hamilton vs. Oregon City (OR) at 6:30 p.m. at Kroc Center; Valley Christian vs. Miramonte (CA) at 5 p.m. at Highland HS.