SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Baskets were at a premium in a grinding, defensive battle between host and fourth-seed Cardinal Newman and No. 5 seed Folsom in their state CIF Northern Regional Open Division quarterfinal match-up.
Besides it being a rough and tumble affair before a packed house and a sometimes boistrous crowd, with the officials allowing a lot physical contact by both teams, like a lot of basketball contests it was a game of runs with Folsom making the biggest one.
Trailing 40-33 Folsom went on a 7-0 run to even things at 40-40 after three quarters. The Bulldogs added eight more points to the run to take a 48-40 lead, and despite fighting to the very end the Cardinals were not able recover from the 15-point run and Folsom pulled out a 54-49 victory.
The win not only avenges a 57-49 loss at the St. Mary’s MLK Showcase, it also earns head coach Lynn Wolking and his Bulldogs girls a spot in the NorCal Open semifinals on Saturday in San Jose at state and national No. 1 Archbishop Mitty.
“What a great environment,” Wolking remarked. “The girls game continues to grow.”
“Our first win in the Open Division after some heartbreaking losses,” continued Wolking, who’s Bulldogs lost 76-70 at home last season in two overtimes to Salesian-Richmond, and 51-48 at Clovis West-Fresno two years ago. “We played with a lot of confidence and joy.”
Senior guard Ella Uriarte led Folsom (26-5) with 17 points, Cal-bound senior post Kamryn Mafua added 14 points and six rebounds with three blocks and an assist. Mafua even showed some shooting range with a first-quarter three pointer.
While those two were the only Bulldogs double-figure scorers, several other players gave Folsom a lift during critical moments, including senior Dixie McClanahan (nine points on three three-pointers), plus some late heroics from junior Jada Tupou and freshman Avery Masters off the bench.
Amazing, Folsom was outrebounded 41-21, but part of that was Cardinal Newman missed so many shots and many rebounds were on the offense glass on second, third, and even one time on four attempts. The rebounding kept the Cardinals in the game despite only scoring three points in the second quarter and nine in the fourth.
Wolking knew he had to find a way to slow down Cardinal Newman’s Brazilian phenom Taissa “Tissa” Queiroz, and double-teamed her, used multiple bodies on her including Mafua and her length to try and stop Tissa from driving to the basket like she did when Newman defeated Folsom.
It worked to some degree but Tissa scratched and clawed her way to a double-double 17 points and 16 rebounds with three assists and two steals. Even so, she only connected on one three-pointer on six attempts, and that came in the third quarter when Cardinal Newman was in the midst of a 17-2 run that gave them the previously mentioned 40-33 lead.
“Our ability to match their physicality and to make Taissa work hard for everything she got was key,” Wolking said
Junior Kate Schat added 10 points, including two three pointers, but like the rest of the Cardinals she felt the scoring drought and was scoreless and in the second and fourth quarters. Senior guard Leah Martinez was like a girl possessed on the glass. She only had six points but despite not being real tall Martinez pulled down 12 rebounds to go with three assists.
In a bit of a role reversal, Cardinal Newman is known as a three-point shooting team. They won the rebounding battle against a bigger and taller Folsom, and they did make seven three-pointers, but gave up five treys to Folsom
Cardinal Newman (28-3) fell behind 12-10 early but an 8-2 run gave them an 18-14 lead after one quarter despite not scoring in the last two minutes. The dearth of scoring continued for another five minutes of the second quarter, but despite only scoring three points in the period, Folsom wasn’t much better with seven and things were knotted at 21-21 at the half.
The third quarter was like a seesaw of runs. The 17-2 Newman run was answered with an 8-2 run by Folsom and that tied it at 40-40 entering the final period.
After the big Folsom run that included three steals in the early fourth quarter by Tupou that each resulted in a basket, a steal by Masters and three rebounds including a put back, Newman put themselves in a real hole.
The Cardinals got to 52-49 on a basket by Queiroz, and they got ball back with a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer, but McClanahan got a steal and Mafua scored the game’s final points at the buzzer.
“It wasn’t our night,” said Newman head coach Monica Mertle. “I think at this level anyone can beat anyone and Folsom played really well and we just didn’t make the plays we needed to make in order to win the game.”
While the season is over for Cardinal Newman victorious Folsom gets as its reward a date with a Mitty team that will be a pretty big favorite.
“We now look forward to the incredible challenge of playing Mitty,” Wolking said. “We welcome the opportunity and love playing the role of the underdog. We know what we’re up against but also know we can play this game too.”
