Another week in Girls Basketball is in the books. The Mats Classic and Presentation Shootout highlighted the weekend. Here’s the breakdown.
PRESENTATION SHOOTOUT
Hack Attack! Akayla Hackson Sparks Pinewood Victory Over Sacred Heart Cathedral
Akayla Hackson scored 12 of her 20 points late and came up with a key assist as Pinewood defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral, 61-48. The sophomore guard, who entered the game with a 13.4 point per game scoring average, sank back-to-back three-pointers to close the third quarter. She began the fourth with a three-point play, made a dazzling play to blow past a defender for a layup, and made two more field goals before her crosscourt, baseline pass found Gabi Bade for a three which put Pinewood up 55-47 with 1:16 to go. Marissa Hing added 15 for the Panthers. Iimar’i Thomas was the only Fightin’ Irish in double figures, with 19. Bade only made three baskets, but all were beyond the arch. One of them tied the game at 43 in the fourth, and soon after Chloe Eackles struck from distance to put the Panthers up 46-45, their first lead, with 4:44 remaining. Akilah Jennings was out of the lineup for Presentation.
“We knew we could pull out this win,” Hackson said. “Everyone encouraged me to hit [the three-pointers].”
Barrett, Foothill Play Spoiler
Emily Barrett had an afternoon to remember as she led Foothill past host Presentation, 57-48. The senior guard/forward made 10-of-11 free throws and scored 24 points, including eight of her team’s last 11 in the last three minutes of the game. She also had a steal with two minutes remaining and made a pitch-perfect inbounds pass to Daniella Lyng for a corner three which gave the Falcons a 52-46 advantage with 1:35 to play. Barrett’s three with 2:44 to go broke a 46-46 tie. Maddie Guidoux hit four of her first five attempts for Presentation, though she cooled off and finished with a team-high 14 points. The Panthers held a 22-15 lead after one but watched the advantage dwindle away in the second.
“It was a lot of fun,” Barrett said. “We went through a little bit of a slump early season, but it’s nice to come back with a big win like this, boost our confidence going into next week.”
Scott’s Valley Triumphs, 78-44
Scott’s Valley applied pressure earlier on both ends of the court and led wire-to-wire in a 80-44 victory over Gunn. Many Silver scored 24 points and had eight steals, seven rebounds, and five assists. Charlie Boyle added 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Sam Boyle came just shy of a quadruple-double. The younger Boyle tallied 11 points, 13 rebounds, nine blocks, and eight steals. Silver and Charlie Boyle had eight points apiece in a 24-7 first quarter showing. The Falcons dominated the third quarter as well, 25-6, to put the game away. Nikiya Bechtle scored 15 of her 17 points off of three-pointers. Olivia Tapia led the Titans with 15 points.
In the opening game, Notre Dame-Belmont capped Wilcox, 41-20.
MATS CLASSIC
Miramonte Defeats St. Mary’s To Sweep Classic
Miramonte finished off the three-day Mats Classic in style, downing St. Mary’s 66-53—their second victory as in many weeks versus the Panthers. Sabrina Ionescu and Keanna Delos Santos scored 27 and 21 points, respectively, and Miramonte outscored the Panthers in every quarter except the second. Ma’Ane Mosley had 22 points for St. Mary’s. Ionescu and Delos Santos shared the MVP award. All-tournament selections went to Rachelle Louie and Clair Steele of the Mats, and to Mosley and Layla Ybarra-Harvey of the Panthers.
The Mats beat Arcata, 70-40, on Friday. Ionescu had 15 points and eight assists in the win. In the opener, Ionescu had 20 and Delos Santos 19 in a 71-40 win over Berkeley. The teams were tied at 16 after one, but thereafter the Mats warmed up and the Yellowjackets cooled. Ionescu made five of her first six field goal attempts. In the prior two games, St. Mary’s defeated Berkeley, 74-54, and Arcata, 52-35. Mosley did not play in the latter; Kennedi Villa led the team with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Oakland Tech Takes Acalanes Lady Dons Classic
Oakland Tech won the Lady Dons Classic by defeating Acalanes, 67-61. Elayshia Woolridge led four Bulldogs in double figures with 15 points, and Erione Abraham scored 14 while pulling down 15 rebounds. Junior guard Julia Lyons rang up 28 points for the Dons, who suffered their first loss in nine games. Woolridge and Nyela Cade each scored 20 in the Bulldogs’ 69-46 win over Concord in the second round game. Cade had a game-high 25 points in the opener, a 54-49 cresting of California.
Emma Godfrey tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds for Acalanes in the 79-59 second round win against Windsor. Sierra Galanza paced the Dons with 15 points in the first round, 65-26 rout of Maria Carrillo. California won the Consolation Championship after a 57-46 win versus Maria Carrillo. The Grizzlies’ Grace Peng had 14 in that game, and 20 in the 68-58, second round victory over Rodriguez. Windsor rebounded in the third place game with a 61-59 defeat of Concord. Jessica Barbosa had 19 and Hannah May 18. Barbosa had 22 in the Jaguars’ opening round, 53-34 win over John Swett.
NON-LEAGUE
Carondelet has split games so far at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, which concludes on Monday. The Cougars played two So-Cal teams, beating Buena 70-52 but losing to Redondo Union, 42-37.
Bishop O’Dowd has only one reported score at the Nike Tournament of Champions. The Dragons fell to Skyline-Dallas, 49-33.
Saturday: Milan Moses and Tiaja Andrews scored 15 points apiece, and Dublin used a 20-5 third quarter to pull away from College Park in a 63-36 home victory. Clayton Valley Charter defeated Santa Rosa, 55-47. Morgan Giacobazzi tallied 15 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, and Hailey Pascoe added 14 points. Emily Codding led the Panthers with 17. Cardinal Newman dominated Redwood, 74-34. Maiya Flores led the Cardinals with 19. Tiara Banford scored 17 points and Andrea Nguyen 16 as Newark Memorial routed San Lorenzo, 69-8. Nina Bessolo tallied 13 points and 14 rebounds for Valley Christian-Dublin as the Vikings narrowly defeated Monte Vista, 55-51. Logan defeated visiting Deer Valley, 75-48. Two days earlier, the Colts turned back Freedom, 61-38.
At the Hunt Memorial Classic, Saratoga doubled up Willow Glen, 57-28. Mikayla Davis scored 22 points for the Falcons. Also, Pioneer defeated Monta Vista, 61-49 (Franchesca Ortega had 17); Palo Alto cruised past Piedmont Hills, 45-26; and Valley Christian-San Jose capped Los Gatos, 55-39 (Caitlin Keding had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors).
Friday: Clayton Valley Charter also topped Heritage, 71-62. Pascoe’s 22 points led the way, while Katie Kommer compiled 21 points and 10 rebounds. Banford’s 23 paced the Cougars at College Park, but Kyla Miller’s 20 helped the Falcons to a 49-44 win. St. Joseph Notre Dame edged Urban, 43-42. Petaluma beat Hercules, 47-44. Joelle Krist scored 18 and Allison Scranton 14 for the Trojans. Livermore ran past Las Lomas, 79-38. Regan Wiedenfeld and Rachel Hernandez continued their strong seasons with 20 and 17 points, respectively. Branham edged Presentation, 39-36. Regina Sankey scored 24 for the Bruins. Santa Clara thwarted Harker, 56-22, behind a 21-point night from sophomore Taylor Snyder. She had four triples.
In the Geyserville Small School Classic, Sabrina Sundstrom scored 18 points in the third quarter and 25 in the game to power Point Arena past Geyserville, 59-29. Sundstrom also had nine rebounds. She backed up that performance with 21 points and 18 rebounds against Piner in Saturday’s Championship game, which Piner won 38-32.
Thursday: Archbishop Mitty recorded a 67-47 victory over visiting Salesian. Four Monarchs scored either 14 or 12 points. Head coach Sue Phillips credited Daniella Guglielmo with Player of the Game; she had 14 points and seven rebounds. Mitty only led by three at the half, but outscored the Pride 15-5 in the third and 17-10 in the fourth. Minyon Moore tallied 12 points, five assists, and five steals for Salesian, which lost for the first time this season after six wins. Santa Rosa topped College Park, 51-40. Devin Murray tallied 22 points and Emily Codding 21. Katie Young scored 25 points as King’s Academy defeated Half Moon Bay, 54-44.
Wednesday: Olivia Wissig tallied 22 points for Cupertino in a 64-24 victory over visiting James Lick. Los Gatos outlasted Soquel, 62-57, as Sarah Nelson scored 17 and the Wildcats topped the Knights 18-6 in the fourth quarter.
SOUND BYTE
I asked Foothill’s Emily Barrett to talk about her transition over the years as she is one of a handful of players I’ve seen in person all four of their seasons (2011-12 was the first season I covered girls hoops). “Freshman year my mental strength was not there,” said Barrett. “I was really intimated by the seniors and the competitive games we were playing. Physically, I went from a post freshman year to a point guard and shooting guard, so that’s been a change. I’ve basically played every position on the court here at Foothill. I’ve taken on more of a leadership role.” She came off the bench her freshman campaign, and played respectably considering she was undersized in the post. But each year her game has steadily improved. She now is the primary distributor and can shoot with range, and rebounds better than most at her position. She’s a great case study in how players mature mentally and physically over the course of a high school career.
