'Tis the season to go to tournaments, and top-ranked Sacramento High School is in Phoenix for the nationally recognized Nike Tournament of Champions that started Monday and ends Thursday.

The Dragons lost to nationally ranked Holy Cross of Kensington, Md., 45-34 Monday in a bracket featuring 11 national powers. The other top-tier bracket includes 14 nationally ranked teams, including St. Mary's of Stockton.

St. Francis of Sacramento is in a lower-tier bracket with fewer national heavyweights, though the competition is still expected to be strong. All 96 teams are housed in the same complex to foster interaction and sportsmanship. On Sunday, the athletes had a catered dinner with WNBA players as guest speakers.

"It's a great chance for the girls to get out of their element, stay at a nice resort, to bond, get dressed up for a fancy dinner – and to play some amazing teams," Sacramento coach Michele Massari said.

Sacramento's top players include guards Jehiah Cook and Jasmine Ware and 6-foot-4 center Ayanna Edwards.

On the local front – Oak Ridge will host the 19th Lady Trojan Toss-up from Wednesday through Friday in the area's best holiday event.

Opening-round games include No. 8 El Camino, led by scoring guard Jade Sowell-Hundon, against No. 11 Bella Vista and wing Teryn Jackson; No. 6 Oak Ridge – led by Jenna Klein, Lauren Sende and Kaitlyn Lendrum – against Del Campo and Megan Roberson, a 6-4 center who has drawn national recruiting interest; No. 3 Kennedy and standout guard Lynette Johnson vs. Vista del Lago; and No. 12 Woodcreek against No. 16 Christian Brothers.

Around the region – El Camino, bouncing back from its lone loss to now 9-0 Santa Cruz, won the Del Oro Tournament, beating McClatchy 64-39, Woodcreek 61-53 and Pleasant Valley of Chico 47-42. In the championship game, Courtney Brignac had 14 points and five steals, and Simone Sheppard had 17 points and 10 rebounds. In the win over Woodcreek, Sowell-Hundon had 23 points.

• Pleasant Grove responded from its 52-42 loss to Sacramento with a 63-52 win over Brookside Christian of Stockton, which has beaten No. 5 Florin (75-48), No. 7 St. Francis (54-51) and Deer Valley of Antioch (60-54) this season. Against Brookside, Avonna Lee had 23 points, Dejza James had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Marissa Wimbley had 10 points.

• Florin, ranked fifth with a 9-1 record, watched the Sacramento-Pleasant Grove game. Florin opens Metro League play against the Dragons on Jan. 3.

• Kennedy outscored No. 9 Del Oro 24-4 in the first quarter en route to a 61-55 victory. Lynette Johnson led Kennedy with 22 points, and Brianna Ruiz had 20 for Del Oro in a matchup of top area players.

• No. 17 Valley has won five in a row since losing to Monterey Trail 45-28. The Vikings are led by guard Shanetra Robinson, who averages 17.6 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

• No. 18 Rio Americano won the Placer Tournament, beating Folsom 50-47, Rocklin 50-49 and Del Campo 46-43. In the title game, Elizabeth Moulton had 13 points, and Fie Brandt added 13 points and five assists. Two of Rio Americano's three losses have come to Manteca and Florin, which are a combined 13-1.

THE BEE'S TOP 20

PR – previous ranking; records through weekend

School W-L PR

1. Sacramento 4-0 1

2. Pleasant Grove 5-2 2

3. Kennedy 6-0 3

4. Antelope 5-1 4

5. Florin 9-1 5

6. Oak Ridge 5-3 6

7. St. Francis 3-2 7

8. El Camino 8-1 9

9. Del Oro 7-4 8

10. Sheldon 7-3 10

11. Bella Vista 4-1 11

12. Woodcreek 8-3 12

13. River City 8-1 13

14. Bear River 9-4 14

15. Inderkum 5-3 16

16. Christian Brothers 4-2 18

17. Valley 6-2 –

18. Rio Americano 7-3 –

19. Rio Linda 7-2 15

20. Capital Christian 6-3 17

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson.

• Read more articles by Joe Davidson