PLEASANT HILL, CA – When the Platinum Division of the 20th Anniversary West Coast Jamboree was seeded, an all Southern California title game was a distinct possibility. Now, after all has been said and done, that’s exactly what Northern California girls basketball fans will get with Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth and Mater Dei-Santa Ana advancing to Monday’s 7:30 pm title tilt at College Park after each posted semifinal victories on Saturday night.
In a battle of Monarchs versus Monarchs, Mater Dei (12-1) overcame a 13-points halftime deficit to post a 47-41 victory over Archbishop Mitty-San Jose.
“It didn’t look good at halftime,” said Mater Dei Coach Kevin Kiernan who notched career coaching win No. 787 with the victory.
Trailing 30-17 after two quarters Mater Dei outscored Mitty 14-2 in the third quarter to close to 32-31 entering the final period. From there the Orange County girls scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to complete a 20-2 run. The lead got to 47-37 with 2:18 left before Mitty scored the game’s final six points.
Stanford-bound 6-3 junior Brooke Demetre had a team-high 13 points (three 3-pointers) with 10 points in the second half. Freshman guard Caia Elisaldez added nine points.
Mitty (7-3) got a game-high 14 points with four three-pointers from senior Ashley Hiraki, but they all came in the first half.
In the nightcap Sierra Canyon got all it could handle from St. Joseph Notre Dame but held on for a 49-47 victory.
The difference down the stretch that saw the Pilots test the defending CIF Open Division champions was the Trailblazers Vanessa De Jesus. The Duke-bound senior scored the last seven Sierra Canyon points after St. Joseph Notre Dame refused to fold despite being down 42-37 with 3:30 left to play. De Jesus finished with a game high 17 points with six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Her final basket came on a twisting short jumper with the shot clock expiring to give the Trailblazers a 49-44 lead with 15 seconds left.
Sierra Canyon (12-2) got solid games from seniors Rosemary Odebunmi and Alexis Mark. The 6-0 Odebunmi finished with a near double-double nine points and a huge 18 rebounds, while the Boise State-bound 6-0 Mark added 10 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks.
St. Joseph Notre Dame (6-1) was led by senior Sophie Nilsson and sophomore Talana Lepolo with 10 points apiece.
Cal-Hi Sports No. 2 Sierra Canyon will now face No. 4 Mater Dei in the championship game at 7:30 pm at College Park.
Fifth-ranked Mitty takes on No. 7 St. Joseph Notre Dame in the 6:00 pm third-place game.
The title game has a very interesting twist since Komaki has ties to Kiernan as a player and a coach. She was on the 2002 all-state team for a 29-4 squad that lost in the CIF SoCal D2 regional final.
Kiernan first asked Komaki to coach when she was just 19 years old. She worked at Troy as an assistant while finishing up in college at Long Beach State and continued to work at her alma mater for three additional seasons after Kiernan had departed for Mater Dei. Prior to the 2010-11 season, Komaki switched from Troy to the Monarchs and worked there for two seasons until 2012-13 when she applied for the job at Sierra Canyon and was hired.
Now the two square off in the top division of one of the most prestigious tournaments in the nation.
