Bolingbrook Up Against Stiff Competition in Second Round of Nike Tournament

Editor's Note: For all the latest news concerning the Bolingbrook girls basketball team, check out Patch's .

It's not getting any easier for the Bolingbrook High School girls basketball squad.

Nearly two days removed from disposing of Santa Monica, one of the best teams in California, the Lady Raiders will go up against perhaps the most skilled team in Maryland.

Bolingbrook is set to take on Riverdale Baptist High School tonight in the second round of the Nike Tournament of Champions.

Both teams are coming off convincing victories on Saturday— while Riverdale beat Highlands Ranch 64-51.

For Bolingbrook, the matchup represents another rung on the ladder that could pit the Lady Raiders against the consensus best team in the nation Mater Dei (Calif.) in the finals.

But the Lady Raisders can't tread lightly. They'll need their full arsenal of weapons.

Riverdale enters the game with a 10-2 record and ranked No. 16 in  USA Today's high school girls basketball preseason poll—Bolingbrook ranks No. 2.

But Riverdale's two losses can be deceptive, as the the Crusaders have one of the toughest schedules in the country. One of their losses came against Archbishop Spalding, which now ranks No. 25 in the nation.

Riverdale has outscored its opponents by nearly 300 points this season and in their last two games, have gotten out to quick starts outscoring its last two opponents 39-14 in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Bolingbrook enters the game with an unblemished record, with a notable win against Memphis Central, then the No. 5 team in the country.

Head Coach Tony Smith said before the Lady Raiders' first game that the team was still looking to find its rhythm.

"Are we comfortable? We have a ways to go gel-wise," he said after Thursday's game, the Lady Raiders' fifth in a row. "We are able to get away with some things against certain teams that I know is not going to work against other teams. And that is a problem that we don't want to come back and let it bite us."

The tournament, which began over the weekend, features 11 of the past 14 USA Today National Champions and more than 100 state champions since 1997.

"We're looking forward to it," Smith said. "Hopefully we can put it all together because I think we have a chance (to win). As a coach, you just want to have a chance and we definitely have a chance. Now, let's go see what we can do with it."

Bolingbrook could end up facing the No. 1 team in the nation in Mater Dei on Wednesday in the tournament's finals. The matchup would be a clash of elite teams, with Bolingbrook ranking No. 2 in the same poll.

"That is why you play, to play the best," Smith said. "We don't just want to play bad teams and say, 'Oh, we're good.' We want to play good teams and be tested every day."

Should Bolingbrook win tonight, they would advance to play the winner of the Brea Olinda (Calif.) vs. St. Mary's (Calif.) game. Those two teams square off in the game before Bolingbrook tonight at 6 p.m.

Check back with Bolingbrook Patch today and throughout the week for updates on Bolingbrook's progress in the Nike Tournament of Champions.