CONCORD, Calif. – The Contra Costa Challenge on Saturday at Carondelet not only showcased three Cal-Hi Sports top 20 ranked teams but also afforded opportunities for girls at all levels to compete and showcase their skills. There were five varsity games, but in the morning session the Carondelet freshman and junior varsity teams took on the counterparts from St. Ignatius and won both games, including an impressive 69-40 victory by the Cougars JV squad.
Carondelet holds off St. Ignatius in marquee rematch
The first meeting this season between Carondelet and St. Ignatius came in the title game of the No. 3 division of the Nike TOC in Phoenix in mid-December with Carondelet overcoming a 12-point deficit and by 10 with four minutes left before pulling out a 58-57 victory behind some clutch play by Stanford-bound senior point guard Talana Lepolo.
Lepolo took center stage once again at the Contra Coast Challenge only this time it was Carondelet leading 47-40 after three quarters before holding off a late Wildcats charge let by San Jose State-committed Sabrina Ma that fell short in a 65-58 Carondelet victory.
Lepolo led Cal-Hi Sports No. 5 Carondelet (21-2) with a team-high 23 points and 10 assists with UC Davis-bound senior Nya Epps adding 12 points and four rebounds, including two three-pointers.
Ma led Cal-Hi Sports No. 17 St. Ignatius (15-5) with a game-high 24 points including 12 in the fourth quarter when the Wildcats tried to close the gap. Two other St. Ignatius seniors were in double-figure scoring: Jacqueline Acosta had 16 points and Claire Untalan added 12 points.
Lick-Wilmerding overpowers Caruthers
When organizers paired up Lick-Wilmerding and Caruthers it was billed as a match-up between a Lick-Wilmerding-San Francisco team that is one of the top Division IV teams in the North Coast Section and a Caruthers group of girls that is ranked as the top D4 team in the CIF Central Section. And according to the MaxPreps computer rankings, Caruthers was No. 3 in the state in D4 while the Tigers were only seventh.
Unfortunately for the Caruthers faithful that made the trek to Concord from just west of Fresno, it was all Lick-Wilmerding in a 62-37 victory that started out looking like it would be even worse than the dominance of the Tigers over the Raiders the final score indicates.
Lick-Wilmerding (17-5) bolted out to an 8-0 lead, they led 18-4 after one quarter, and after a 13-0 run to start the second quarter they held an amazing 31-4 lead that ended up 35-10 at halftime.
Caruthers fought back and only trailed 46-27 after three quarters and 46-30 in the early fourth quarter but that would be as close as they would get.
Caruthers had no answer for UC Santa Barbara-bound Tigers senior guard Annabel Schneiberg. She had 16 of her game-high 18 points in the first half. In the second half, and before she was pulled in the fourth quarter, Schneiberg was content to feed her teammates and added five assists to go with seven rebounds and five steals. She also had four three-pointers.
Another Lick-Wilmerding player that had a solid outing was Dominique Cabading. The senior guard had 15 points (two three-pointers), seven rebounds and two assists. Two other Tigers were in double-figure scoring. Senior Paris Hing nailed two three-pointers and finished with 12 points as did senior Ryleen Edwards with four converted shots from outside the arc.
St. Mary’s gets past Monte Vista
St. Mary’s-Stockton faced Monte Vista in nightcap of the Contra Costa Challenge and got a bit of a tussle before the Cal-Hi Sports No. 8 ranked Rams came alive in the fourth quarter for a 67-56 victory.
St. Mary’s (14-6) only led 48-43 after three quarters, but not unexpectedly the junior duo of guards Brooklyn Perry and Nia Anderson took over down the stretch to secure the win. Perry hit two of her six three-pointers and eight of her game-high 23 points in the final period and Anderson had a three-pointer and tallied seven of her 15 points in the fourth quarter. A third St. Mary’s player to register in double-digit scoring was senior guard Sophia Lee with 12 points.
Monte Vista (16-8) showed why many local analysts think the Mustangs may very well be a force in the North Coast Section playoffs. Four Monte Vista girls were in double-figure scoring led by senior forward Alexis Woodson with 15 points. Junior Sarina Nagra and Nia Coleman added 15 points and senior Sarah Brans chipped in with 10 points.
Maria Carrillo 50, Freedom 33
Freedom was coming off an upset of Bay Valley Athletic League rival Heritage, but never really got untracked against the Carrillo girls from the Redwood Empire. Junior Leyna Gorauskas led Carrillo (17-4) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Fellow junior Ally Strunk nailed five three-pointers and finished with 18 points.
Freedom (11-8) was led by freshman Eve Monzon. She hit two three-pointers and finished with 16 points.
Granada-Livermore 54, Clayton Valley Charter 45
