Alaysha Mills leads Moreno Valley girls basketball team to third-place performance at Nike Tournament of Champions

MESA, Ariz. – Moreno Valley High might not have left Skyline High with the title in the Joe Smith Division at the Nike Tournament of Champions, but the Vikings demonstrated again why they are among the top girls basketball teams in California, with the valuable experience looking to benefit the program in the Southern Section playoffs in February.

Following a heartbreaking one-point semifinal loss Friday to eventual champion Ridgeline High from Utah on a last-second shot by Duke commit Emilee Skinner, Moreno Valley regrouped in the third-place game Saturday, relying on 12 unanswered points to open the fourth quarter to produce a 58-45 victory against Legend High from Colorado.

Moreno Valley (11-5), which received 19 points from sophomore Alaysha Mills, overcame a one-point halftime deficit to build a 43-39 advantage entering the fourth.

Mills, an all-tournament selection, had 10 second-half points and finished the event with 64 points in four contests.

Alaysha Mills of Moreno Valley | Erik Boal photo

Leiayjah Mills, a senior, added 13 points, including three 3-point field goals in the second half, to accumulate 50 points in the tournament.

Tamia Hardwick produced five of her seven points in the fourth quarter for the Vikings, who limited Legend (7-3) – led by 10 points from all-tournament honoree Mason Borcherding – to five second-half field goals.

Bella Medina contributed 11 points against Legend, amassing 41 points during the four-game schedule.

Medina had a potential winning shot fall short from the left wing as time expired Friday in a 53-52 setback against Ridgeline (12-0), which prevailed by a 58-47 margin in Saturday’s championship game against Osbourn Park from Virginia (6-2).

Ridgeline has won 34 of its past 35 games, with the lone setback for the reigning Utah 4A state champion in March against South Shore from New York at The Throne event in New Jersey.

In other Joe Smith Division games:

Carondelet 56, Fayetteville (Arkansas) 54: In a contest tied at halftime and entering the fourth quarter, the Cougars (10-2) emerged victorious in the fifth-place showdown at Mountain View High.

Celeste Alvarez led Carondelet with 17 points and Janel Nevares added 14 points for the Cougars, with all-tournament selection Layla Dixon contributing 13 points.

Sophia Ross scored seven points for Carondelet, which rebounded from a 55-46 quarterfinal loss Thursday to Moreno Valley to win its final two games at the event.

Payton Caudle, a freshman, led Fayetteville (4-4) with 13 points and Ty’Shell Harris scored 10 points for the Bulldogs.

Syniah Coachman, an all-tournament pick, contributed seven points for Fayetteville, with Whitney Brown and Charley Rawlins both adding nine points apiece.

La Jolla Country Day 69, Hamilton 47 (Arizona): The Torreys (7-4) rebounded from consecutive losses by surging in the fourth quarter to prevail in the seventh-place contest at Mesa High.

Mei-Ling Perry, a Princeton commit and all-tournament honoree, scored 17 points and Atlanta Bass-Sulpizio contributed 13 points for La Jolla Country Day.

Mahlia Washington added 12 points and Safiyah Sugapong had 11 points for the Torreys, who outscored Hamilton by a 23-10 margin in the final quarter.

Sage Henry led the Huskies (9-7) by producing 16 points, with all-tournament pick Taylor Sipfle and Destinee Benway both scoring eight points apiece.

Cherry Creek (Colorado) 70, Villa Park 33: The Spartans (10-3) faced a 17-point halftime deficit, which only increased when Cherry Creek (4-3) relied on a 23-8 run in the third quarter in the 13th-place game at Westwood High.

Sophia Baal scored a game-high 17 points, with Braelyn Barnett and Addison Beck adding 12 points for the Bruins, who also received 11 points from Paris Taylor and two points from all-tournament selection Molly Dorighi.

Madelyn Martinez had eight points and Lauren Wolfe contributed seven points for Villa Park, which won once in the tournament after arriving in Arizona with nine consecutive victories.