OAKLAND, CA – On the second day of the Bishop O’Dowd MLK Classic, the afternoon games had dramatically different results, but each shared the commonality of being part of one of the finest events on Bay Area basketball schedule.
Salesian, coming off a loss to La Jolla Country Day – which will be the state’s top team in the next set of Cal-Hi Sports rankings – jumped out of the gate strong against Bear Creek and coasted to a 68-28 victory.
Silivia Fonongaloa and Makiah Asidanya scored 13 points apiece for the Pride (14-3). Nevaeh Asisasi added six points, seven rebounds, six steals, and three assists. All three are underclassmen. Senior Daylee Dunn and junior Alley Alvarado tacked on nine points each.
Andraya Perez had 13 points for Bear Creek (11-8). It was a rough weekend for the Bruins at the Classic, as they lost by an almost-identical score to Oakland Tech on Saturday.
Fonongaloa was amongst the players during the event to honor the spirit of the MLK holiday with the sharing of words or music; she read a poem.
Modesto Christian storms back to defeat San Leandro
San Leandro controlled the tempo in the first half of their outing versus Modesto Christian, but in the third watched the lead melt away and in the fourth came up flat. The end result was a 50-45 win for Modesto Christian, giving the Pirates just their third loss on the season.
“It’s been like all year where it’s sort of this rollercoaster ride,” Modesto Christian coach Robb Spencer said. “We can play anybody for a quarter or two…but it’s always a quarter where we stop playing.”
Senior point guard Nia Boston sparked the comeback with four three-pointers in the third quarter, including three straight sandwiched around a single San Leandro free throw. Boston finished with 18 points all on treys, while Jordan Hayter and Kiara White added another nine and seven points, respectively.
It took some last-minute dramatics for Modesto Christian (9-8) to pull off the win. The teams were knotted at 43 with 3:45 remaining. With 1:07 to go, White banked in a layup. The Crusaders forced an errant pass and Boston found Cora Grover for another layup. Janessa DeFranco also scored via a layup and then had a steal as the Crusaders attempted to play keep-away.
Down 48-45, the Pirates called timeout with 14 seconds left. Dominique White intercepted a long inbounds pass from the sideline, but her pass to the wing was wide and picked up by the Pirates’ Lyndsey Marrujo, who on the other end lost control, then regained it but under defensive pressure stepped out of bounds. Hayter then assured the win with a pair of free throws.
DeFranco led San Leandro (16-3) with 12 points, and Maya Pollard added eight points and eight rebounds. The Pirates were coming off a blowout win versus Rodriguez in the MLK event at Pittsburg on Saturday.
“It’s amazing, having the kids speak before the game, talk from the heart about unity, which this world needs more of,” Spencer said of the tournament, in which the Crusaders participated for the second year in a row. “We’re playing on a day that a man fought for us (and) freedom. When all of them buy in it’s beautiful, whether you win or lose you’re all on the same page of giving everything back.”
