LAFAYETTE, CA - In a game that was cut short because of a controversy that will likely result in repercussions in the near future, Miramonte defeated Berkeley 68-50 in the second of two marquee games at the Corner Bakery Showdown at Bentley.
With 1:20 remaining in the game, Berkeley star guard Jaiamoni Welch-Coleman, a Weber State commit, was ejected after drawing a second technical foul and the Yellowjackets walked off the court.
Berkeley coach Cheryl Draper tried to call a timeout and gather the girls, but after the officials initially granted the timeout, they reversed it and said the game was over when the Berkeley players left the bench during play.
Just prior to the game ending, Miramonte had stretched a 54-46 early fourth quarter lead to the final margin with a 12-2 run, mostly thanks to free throws. Several of the free throws were the result of the technical fouls, of which three total were called in the game, all on Berkeley.
After the game ended was when the real debate began.
“When Cheryl (Draper) came through and shook my hand she said to me and almost all my players ‘great game. It’s not you guys, it’s the refs,’ and then she gave me a hug," Miramonte coach Kelly Sopak said.
Also, as the Berkeley players were exiting, they seemed to exchange pleasantries with the Miramonte girls, and during the game there did not appear to be any exchanges or altercations between the teams.
Afterward, Draper had a different account of events in addressing reporters from several outlets including Prep2Prep, claiming she heard racial slurs coming from the stands behind her and even claimed her players said they had heard Miramonte players using the “n-word” on the court.
“They don’t need to have a racial overtone,” said Draper, an African-American from St. Louis who has coached high school basketball for over 35 years, the past eight as coach at Berkeley. “The officials were very patient and I’m not going to criticize them, but when fans and players start using the ‘n-word’ I’ll take my team off the court.”
Sopak strongly denied Draper's claims.
“The game speaks for itself. How many technical did they get? We got none,” he said. “I’m not going to comment on fans in the stands. I can only comment about our team, and our kids don’t talk that way.”
Whatever caused Berkeley's displeasure put a damper on what was a much better game than the last meeting, a 71-40 Miramonte victory in mid-December at the Mats Classic.
According to both coaches, there were no hard feelings from that game coming into this contest.
Also, prior to receiving the two technicals, Welch-Coleman was warned in the first half for arguing calls in a demonstrative way, a warning that was relayed to Draper, and something she called Welch-Coleman over to the bench to talk about.
Before the brouhaha that ended things, USA U17 Gold Medal team member, state sophomore of the year and Mats' star Sabrina Ionescu had one of her more dominating performances, finishing with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
Miramonte freshman guard Claire Steele had a very solid game and added 13 points.
Welch-Coleman led Berkeley (12-7) with 20 points. Taki Brandon added 10 points and eight rebounds and Xinavane Foreman chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
