STOCKTON, CA – The Seventh Annual Stockton Classic was the destination of the Girls of Summer Caravan last Sunday. The Classic has kicked officially kicked off the Caravan since its inception, but this year it had to share the kickoff with the St. Mary’s College two-weekend Jamboree.
The Stockton Classic is run by Lincoln-Stockton Coach and respected Northern California girls’ basketball analyst Chris Roemer, and this year it had divisions at both Delta College and Lincoln.
The Caravan only had time for the Platinum Division at Delta College where we observed four games.
On Saturday Peninsula Elite dominated the action while we were at St. Mary’s but on Sunday it was a young Mustangs team that posted two solid victories in two of the four games observed.
In the first game they looked like they might blow out Cal Ballaz 2 but the older girls outscored them 16-5 after trailing by 17 points and the final was a 52-46 Mustangs victory.
The Mustangs are a mix of North Coast and Sac-Joaquin Section girls but a big part of their success on Sunday was they had two girls from Cardinal Newman that were playing with their school at St. Mary’s on Saturday, point guard Avery Cargill and guard Aysia Dural.
Cargill was the only incoming senior for the Mustangs last weekend and her floor leadership and defensive intensity showed in both games. She only had five points in the win over the Ballaz but she had four assists, four rebounds, three steals and even blocked two shots.
Dural, who didn’t score a lot on Saturday but rebounded the ball, was the exact opposite against the Ballaz. She had a team high 13 points and drained three three-pointers, but she only had one rebound.
Part of that reason is that unlike her Newman team, the Mustangs have size and she was not needed inside.
After she scored seven points, including a three-pointer, pulled in a game high seven rebounds, and blocked two shots in the win over the Ballaz, the somewhat giggling answer of 6-1 Faith Shelton about where she went to high school, was “I’m only going into eighth grade.”
Another girl that played well was incoming Tracy 6-0 sophomore Kayla Vieira. She moved well around the basket and had 11 points (one three-pointer) and five rebounds. One of Roemer’s girls, Annalillia Cabuena didn’t have big numbers, but the 6-0 incoming Lincoln sophomore played great defense and was a much bigger contributor than her five points, five rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
Incoming Carondelet fleet-footed freshman Anela Wannomae made two three-pointers for her six points and she added four steals and two assists. Her older sister and incoming Carondelet sophomore Kiana Wannomae had a three-pointer, and incoming Kimball-Tracy freshman Andie Caringal-Holmes rounded out the scoring with five points.
For the Ballaz it was incoming Berkeley junior guard Jade Brewer that had the most impressive outing after finishing with a game high 15 points (one three-pointer), six rebounds with two steals. Incoming Salesian sophomore guard Alexsandra Alvarado flashed some brilliance and had 10 points (one three-pointer), four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Dionie Hall had eight points and incoming El Cerrito sophomore TaJenai Spencer added six points and six rebounds.
The Ballaz 1 team fared better in a 48-40 victory over the Modesto Magic Teal.
Incoming Antioch 6-0 senior Ma’Layne Barnett posted a solid double-double 12 points and 15 rebounds, incoming Salesian senior wing J’la Cotton led all scorers with 14 points plus she added seven rebounds and three assists, and incoming Emery junior Stephanie Okowi added eight points and five rebounds with two steals.
Magic Teal was led by one of the more promising incoming freshmen observed so far. Flashy soon to be Modesto Christian guard Kiara White tied sister and incoming junior Dominique White with 12 points. Kiara added four rebounds and two steals.
The other two games observed in Stockton were being played simultaneously at Delta College so while the girls were evaluated no stats were kept.
Outstanding incoming Bear Creek sophomore guard Mya Blake took over in a 54-33 victory by the Soldiers 17 over Team United. Two other Soldiers girls got high marks, incoming 6-2 senior Gridley post Maddyson Tull and incoming Bradshaw Christian senior guard Cookie Marquez. Another two Soldiers girls will make the upcoming evaluations, incoming Elk Grove junior guard Rylie Hardin and Sacred Heart Cathedral incoming sophomore point guard Milan Tuttle.
The Mustangs continued their stellar play in a 55-43 victory over Modesto Magic Black. Although no stats were kept Cargill was outstanding on both ends of the court and took control of the game, Dural continued to knock down three-pointers, Shelton continued to impress, as did Cabuena and Vieira.
Roemer agreed with our assessment of Shelton and she will be a name to look for when she enters high school next year if she continues to improve.
“Tall kid who moves well, fluid, light on feet, good hands, has respectable shot from the outside. Good, tough, finesse kid,” was Roemer’s response when asked his opinion.
Magic Black had two girls that will get evaluations and two graduated seniors that looked good, Modesto Christian grad Maia Wong and Turlock grad Hope Salsig. The two girls that will get evaluations are incoming 6-0 Enoch senior post Melissa Brady and Central Catholic incoming senior guard Jasmine Kelly.
