LIVERMORE - The marquee game of not only the Platinum Division but also the entire West Coast Jamboree, and the final game of the 128-team tournament, was contested Wednesday night at Las Positas College.
The match-up between Long Beach Poly and Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland pitted two teams that were no strangers to Platinum Division title games. Poly was in its third title game and O’Dowd in its second
In the end it was Poly with the superior depth that was the difference in a 55-45 Jackrabbits victory.
Despite playing with foul trouble that caused her to miss time most of the third and fourth quarters, Ayanna Clark, the 6-3 USC-committed junior post, led Poly (8-3) with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, with 18 of the points, 10 rebounds and all the blocks coming in a first half that saw the Jackrabbits take a 30-24 lead.
Clark was dominant in the first half as the junior was automatic from within five feet, although she did make a couple of mid-range shots to dispel rumors she doesn’t have an outside shot. The only way Bishop O’Dowd was able to stop the ESPN No. 2 rated junior post player, was to send her to the bench with foul trouble, and indeed the Jackrabbits star was relegated to the bench with four fouls only a couple minutes into the second half.
For a short period of time both teams were without their star players as O’Dowd junior Myah Pace was kneed in the head going for a rebound and sat out half the third quarter. Unfortunately for the O’Dowd faithful Pace was sidelined at a time the Dragons looked like they might mount a comeback with Clark on the bench.
Although the final score was the largest Poly lead, the Southern California girls never seemed to lose control of the game even without Clark on the court, as Jackrabbits Coach Carl Buggs used his deep roster to fill the void.
Stepping up in Clark’s absence was Kyra Brady, as the junior had eight of her 12 points in the second half. Junior point guard Danae Miller only had five points but she finished with six assists and directed the Poly defense that bent but didn’t break against a no-quit O’Dowd squad.
Senior Salihah Bey led O’Dowd with 12 points (seven in the fourth quarter) but it was the 6-0 Pace, the ESPN No. 11 rated junior wing, that kept O’Dowd in the game with her outstanding play.
Pace, who has offers from Arizona State, Michigan, Washington, San Francisco, and St. Mary’s, plus Ivy League schools Harvard, Princeton and Yale, finished with nine points and 10 rebounds and was named the Jim Capoot Memorial Award winner for sportsmanship and inspirational play. She never complains about a call, plays her heart out every game, and tried her best to bring O’Dowd back in the fourth quarter when her return was questionable after she left the court dazed in the third quarter.
Clark was the David “Scoop” Jackson Award winner given to the Most Valuable Player.
The Jackrabbits lost two games at the Nike TOC and finished in sixth place of the top division, and also had a season opening loss but that was when Clark was out with a concussion.
Although she had 18 points and 14 rebounds and 15/15 in the first two games to go with her performance in the championship game, Clark is clearly still not game razor sharp.
Besides missing two week’s this season, Clark did not play at all last season after transferring out of Poly where she was a freshman on the Jackrabbit 2014 CIF Open Division champions. She played over the summer but after transferring back to Poly this was really only her second week of playing with her Jackrabbits teammates in game action.
“Yani (Clark’s nickname) is really starting to pick it up. She’s been recovering from the concussion and her play is getting stronger every game,” said Buggs, the 2007 Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year.
Besides Clark and Pace the other All Tournament selections were Miller and DaJah Jackson for Poly and Bey and Mylah Andrade for O’Dowd.
With the victory Long Beach Poly went to 3-0 in Jamboree top division title games and O’Dowd fell to 0-2.
Poly won in 2010 with a 58-56 victory over Carondelet, and also in 2003 when they defeated national No. 1 Murry Bergtraum-New York City.
“Our rebounding was a big difference. We gave up too many second and third chances. You can’t play great defense and then give up rebounds,” said O’Dowd Coach and 2013 Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year Malik McCord.
Two undefeated teams
A strange twist to this year’s Jamboree was this was the first time two Platinum Division teams finished with 3-0 or undefeated records.
Because of an unfortunate travel snafu that caused defending Division 3 Washington State champion Lynnwood-Bothell to have to drop into the consolation bracket after its 75-46 opening round win over Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco, meant they would have a chance to go 3-0 but not play for the championship – and that’s exactly what happened.
After the rout of the Irish girls Lynnwood (9-0) then put the hurt on Oaks Christian-Westlake Village in a 74-50 victory. Salesian-Richmond gave them a tussle but it still resulted in an 85-71 victory on Wednesday in the Platinum Consolation championship.
In a battle of Pac-12 bound stars Lynnwood’s Oregon State-bound 5-10 wing Mikayla Pivec had a monster double-double 33 points and 24 rebounds with seven assists. USC-bound Minyon Moore of Salesian had 35 points after tossing in 32 points in a 79-73 overtime win over Brookside Christian-Stockton on Tuesday.
Gold Division
In a battle of undefeated teams, Sacramento suburb Antelope pulled away from Bishop Manogue of Reno (Nevada) to post a 57-41 victory in the Jamboree’s Gold Division championship game.
Leading the way for Antelope (10-0) were the Johnson sisters, Nadia and Nia, as the duo combined for 30 points, 17 rebounds and six steals.
Bishop Manogue, one of the best teams in Nevada, was led by a strong performance from undersized Malia Holt. The 5-8 junior wing had 19 points and a team high 10 rebounds and was unafraid to mix it up with the much bigger Antelope lineup.
Antelope rushed out to a quick 7-0 run to start the game, but then went cold for most of the rest of the first quarter. Bishop Manogue (5-1) bounced back with some timely 3-point shots from Tawni Henderson, as the senior would finish the night with 14 points. The second half was back and forth and the teams went to the locker room tied 22-22 at halftime.
The third quarter is where Antelope and its superior size were the big difference. Nadia Johnson and Angelica Baylon took over after the break for the Titans, as Johnson had 12 of her 19 points and Baylon added 13 of her 16 points in the second half. Antelope outscored Bishop Manogue 35 to 19 to finish out the contest and secure the title and a continued undefeated season.
In a tough selection between the sisters it was decided the duo would be co-winners of the David “Scoop” Jackson MVP Award. The other All Tournament selection for Antelope was senior Baylon.
The Jim Capoot Memorial Award for sportsmanship and inspirational play went to Manogue team captain Henderson. The All Tournament selections were Holt and junior Maddie Camacho.
