In the first feature of the 2017 West Coast Jamboree we gave you an overview of the tournament and a preview of the Platinum Division which is the top division.
In this second edition we present a preview for each of the other three Elite Divisions. For the remaining 16 Premier Division we will list the division with location
Diamond Division
The Diamond Division has always been considered the No. 2 division in the Jamboree as far as the strength of the field and this year is no different. The bracket at College Park-Pleasanton has two out-of-state teams with one being very good, plus both of the CIF Division II NorCal finalists from a season ago, an up-and-coming Central Valley team, and a pair of perennial Bay Area powers that lost a lot to graduation.
Let’s start with NorCal’s top two Div. II teams from a year ago, the defending CIF Div. II state champion Vanden-Fairfield Vikings and the Miramonte team which nearly beat them in the regional final.
Vanden is led by returning senior starting guards Deirdre Huff and Myli Martinez, but Coach Allison Johnson and her girls have struggled a bit to start the season and will be in deep right from the start.
Miramonte features Lehigh-bound senior Clair Steele, the star point guard who had a game-winning shot just rim out in the regional final loss. Coach Kelly Sopak has a lot of young players that have been playing well recently, including sophomore Rebecca Welsh and the freshmen duo of Samantha Johnston and Mia Mastrov.
A potential rematch exists in the semifinal round but for that to happen Vanden will first have to get past Dimond-Anchorage (Alaska) and Miramonte will need to dispatch Beaverton (Oregon).
Dimond is the Alaska 4A state runner-up after going 30-3 a season ago. The Lynx are led by four-sport star and 6-0 power forward Alissa Pili who has an offer from St. Mary’s. Beaverton had a tough 2016-17, but heads into the Jamboree doing much better this season so far.
Cardinal Newman and Sacred Heart Cathedral were each NorCal Open Div. teams a year ago, but had big roster turnovers.
Despite losing a lot of size and scoring Cardinal Newman is the Prep2Prep NCS No. 2 ranked team and that’s ahead of No. 5 Miramonte. The Cardinals have a one-point loss to P2P Central Coast Section No. 2 Pinewood where they were beat on a last second shot. Their only other loss is to defending CIF Open Division champion Clovis West. The biggest loss for the Cardinals is they are unable to play in their gym. Half the school burned down and senior star Maiya Flores lost her home in the Santa Rosa fires, but despite the gym remaining intact the site is off limits and they have been playing their home games at Santa Rosa Junior College. Besides Flores senior wing Tal Webb is a top returner. Other players to look for are junior guard Avery Cargill, senior forward Ari Searcy, and flashy sophomore Anya Choice. Coach Monica Mertle and her girls open with St. Francis-Sacramento.
Prep2Prep CCS No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral has four losses coming into the Jamboree but they are all to state ranked teams. Coach LyRyan Russell has some talent on his squad and players to look for include seniors Yaniah Fleming, Errayanna Hatfield, Rainah Smith and Jayden Benitez, and junior Talo Li-Uperesa. The Irish girls open with Edison-Stockton.
St. Francis is led by senior guard Marlee Nichols and senior post Logan Kelly. Edison has not played anyone near the caliber of teams in the Diamond Division but they are unbeaten coming into the Jamboree. The top player for the Vikings is senior guard and CSU Monterey Bay-bouns Celeste Almendarez. Other players to look for are senior forward Jalia Williams and junior guard Kendra Banks.
Gold Division
With the depth of this year’s Jamboree the Gold Division has one of its strongest fields ever.
Host Heritage-Brentwood has perhaps the beast team in school history and come into the Jamboree with a 5-0 start and at No. 8 in the Prep2Prep North Coast Section rankings. Mikaila Wegenke, a 6-foot senior wing is the Patriots top player. Other players to look for are junior guard Jordan Sweeney and budding 6-foot-1 sophomore post Abigail Muse.
McClatchy-Sacramento and Campolindo-Moraga already have met at the Elite is Earned Showcase with Cal-Hi Sports preseason No. 24 McClatchy coming out on top. The defending Northern Regional Division I champions return 11 players. Three to look for are senior Richelle Turney and juniors Nia Lowery and Kamryn Hall.
Prep2Prep NCS No. 6 Campolindo, the defending Northern Regional Division III champions, only have eight girls on the roster but one of them is Washington-committed 6-foot senior Haley Van Dyke, although she has been nursing a bad ankle. Last season she averaged 23.9 points, 15.4 rebounds, 4.9 steals, 3.8 assists and 3.5 blocks a game and those overall numbers are the top returning stats in not only the Jamboree but the state. Another player to watch for is Weber State-bound three-point bomber Ashley Thoms.
The dark horse in this field might be Kinkaid of Texas. The girls from Houston will have played 14 games by the time they get to California and are currently 13-1 and meet McClatchy in the opening round.
Another team to watch is Prairie from Washington State. The remaining teams in the field are San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno, P2P Central Coast Section No. 10 South San Francisco with senior star Brittney Cedeno, and Whitney-Rocklin.
Silver Division
In the past the Jamboree has had three Elite Divisions but with 20 divisions and 160 teams the Silver Division has been elevated to elite status.
Host Dublin has arguably the best player in the division in Minnesota-bound 5-foot-10 senior guard Lesila Finau. With her little sister and 5-foot-10 junior guard Mele Finau the Gaels are off to an 8-0 start and are a lukewarm favorite.
Pleasant Valley-Chico and its Colorado-bound 6-foot-1 senior forward Serena Tuitele are 5-3 coming into the Jamboree with a loss to McClatchy but a huge win over state-ranked and Platinum participant Folsom.
Oakland Tech has some players that are shining early on such as junior guard Tiffany Siu. Perennially tough Narbonne-Harbor City is coming up from the Los Angeles area and could be a factor. Arcata is making the trip down from Humboldt County, Independence is coming up from Bakersfield, and St. Mary’s-Berkeley and Elk Grove round out a very solid field for the fourth of the four Elite Divisions.
Premier divisions[/bold
Amber Division at Alhambra-Martinez and Heritage
Amethyst Division at Jesse Bethel-Vallejo
Coral Division at Castro Valley
Emerald Division at Castro Valley
Garnet Division at Cornerstone Christian-Antioch
Ivory Division at Monte Vista-Danville
Jade Division at College Park
Onyx Division at Ygnacio Valley-Concord
Opal Division at St. Patrick St. Vincent-Vallejo
Pearl Division and Monte Vista and Dublin
Quartz Division at Alhambra
Ruby Division at Clayton Valley-Concord
Sapphire Division at Amador Valley-Pleasanton
Topaz Division at Cornerstone Christian
Turquoise Division at St. Patrick St. Vincent
Zircon Division at Amador Valley and Ygnacio Valley
