ATLANTA -- Two of the biggest risers in this week's POWERADE FAB 50 will have a chance to prove they belong near the top as newly minted No. 5 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) is set to meet No. 12 Hoover (Birmingham, Ala.) in a semifinal of the 2nd Annual JumpOffPlus.com Holiday Invitational Red Division.
The teams advanced to the second round in very different manors. McEachern jumped out on Hollywood Christian (Fla.) 20-0 in the first quarter and cruised to a 55-31 win from there, while Hoover managed just 23 points through three quarters in its 36-21 win over Alpharetta (Ga.)
Something is going to give Wednesday as both teams bring really good things on the defensive end and both teams are stacked with talented players.
McEachern is without Clemson signee Kayla Montgomery in the post due to a foot injury, but with Te'a Cooper (North Carolina), Destinie Gibbs (Ole Miss), Pachiyanna Roberts (Syracuse) and Dominique Wilson (Arkansas), to name a few, this team can definitely put up points.
For Hoover, a team with depth and size, the challenge is converting its stops into easy offense, something it struggled with against Alpharetta on Tuesday.
It's hard to imagine with a roster that includes Breion Allen (Rice), Chardonae Fuqua (Baylor), Courtney Hunter (Alabama) and TraCee Nicole Tanner (Auburn) can be limited to 36 points while holding its opponent to a microscopic 21-point outing.
On the other half of the bracket, No. 9 Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) survived a scare from Fayette County (Ga.), in a game that was much closer than the 47-33 final score. That set the stage for a rematch of last year's championship game in the other semifinal as No. 36 Buford bounced back from a 1-3 performance at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona last week and beat Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.) 49-35 to advance.
With chalk holding in the Red Division, national Nos. 5, 9, 12 and 36 are set for a regional showdown with national scope.
Going Off
Here are the top scorers from Day 1 action:
Saboyce Shelton, Apalachee (Winder, Ga.): 29 points, 11 in the fourth quarter
Bayley Coleman-Cox, Jordan (Durham, N.C.): 28 points, 10 in the second quarter
Tiffany Mitchell, Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.): 21 points, 8 in the first quarter
Clara Young, Woodstock (Ga.): 20 points, four threes in the first quarter
Lakiya Rouse, Dudley (Greensboro, N.C.): 20 points, 12 in the fourth quarter
Janeka Williams, East (Memphis, Tenn.): 20 points, 18 in the second half
Follow us on Twitter, where you can ask questions and get instant updates.
Become a fan of the site on Facebook and get updates in your news stream.
Discuss this on our Message Board.
Chris Hansen is the national director of prospects for ESPN HoopGurlz and covers girls' basketball and women's college basketball prospects nationally for ESPN.com. A graduate of the University of Washington with a communications degree, he has been involved in the women's basketball community since 1998 as a high school and club coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He is a member of the McDonald's All-American team selection committee. Hansen can be reached at chris.hansen@espn.com.