It took until midway through the second quarter for Heritage to seemingly get its legs steady, after an 11-day layoff following a loss to Cardinal Newman in the North Coast Section's Open Division. Even then, the Patriots seemed to fighting signs of rust throughout their CIF NorCal Division I first-round win over McClatchy, with the exception of some critical shots made by junior Ella Roberts off the bench and another big night for sisters Abby and Amanda Muse.
The McClatchy defense made Heritage junior point guard Julie Ramirez and senior guard Bella Fabricante work all night against the Lions' full-court pressure, but Ramirez's ability to eventually control the center of the court resulted in mismatches in the paint for the Muse sisters, as freshman Amanda finished the night with a game-high 18 points while senior Abby had 10 points to round out another strong double-double for the Boise State commit, allowing Heritage to pull away for the 51-39 victory and advance to Thursday night's quarterfinal at Clovis North.
Even then, the game broke open when the Patriots were able to hit a couple shots from the outside, and that did not happen until Roberts got hot in the second quarter. Heritage led 9-7 after one quarter, and McClatchy was able to go blow-for-blow with the Patriots until Roberts drilled her first three from the corner to give the hosts an 18-11 lead and bringing the fans to their feet for the first time in the game. A couple minutes later, she drilled another from the corner for a 24-11 lead at the half, giving her eight points for the quarter en route to a 15-point night for the junior.
What made Roberts' night even more amazing for Heritage was the fact that she was battling a stomach bug during her performance.
"She was throwing up at halftime, but came up huge for us at the same time," said Heritage coach Rob Ocon. "She really played with a lot more confidence in herself."
As the second half slowed down, with both teams in the double bonus, Heritage also used its size advantage to dominate the paint, responding to each mini-run by McClatchy with a play down low to settle things and maintain the double-digit advantage. Amanda Muse had 10 of her 18 points in the second half, and went 6-of-7 from the line. Roberts seven more points during the fourth quarter, while senior Paige Ziemann had all five of her points in the second half.
Nicole Gee led McClatchy with 10 points, all of them in the second half, while Imani Felix added nine points.
Heritage now heads south to take on a Clovis North team which defeated St. Ignatius, 69-54, in another Division I first-round game. That game was tied headed to the fourth quarter before the Broncos outscored the Wildcats 27-12 over the final eight minutes.
Division I roundup
San Ramon Valley survived a huge night from Antelope junior Jzaniya Harriel to down the Titans, 68-63. The ninth-seeded Wolves got 23 points from Anne Marie Santich, who hit four three-pointers in the second half, while Natalie Pasco added 17 points and Audrey Bayston had 12 points to overcome a 41-point night from Harriel. SRV advances to face top-seed Salesian, who cruised past Valley Christian 70-49 behind 15 points from Silivia Fonongaloa.
Junior Courtni Thompson had 27 points to lead Pinewood past Granite Bay, 66-59, while junior Una Jovanovic chipped in with 15 points. The Panthers now get a rematch with Miramonte, who rolled past Folsom. Miramonte won an earlier match-up between the quarterfinalists.
Bishop O'Dowd is set to host Menlo on Thursday, after the Knights edged Oak Ridge 50-47 and the Dragons pulled away from Buchanan, 72-55.
Division II roundup
10-seed Sacred Heart Prep was the lone team from outside the top eight seeds to advance to the quarterfinals, defeating San Leandro, 56-52. The Gators will face two-seed Clovis, who routed Merced 70-28, outscoring the Bears 25-5 in the first quarter.
Madison Parry led three Del Oro players in double figures with 16 points, as the Golden Eagles downed Presentation, 49-32. Del Oro will now face six-seed Sacred Heart Cathedral, who defeated Alameda 75-62, using a 21-9 surge in the third quarter to take control.
Senior Stephanie Okowi had 14 points to lead Oakland Tech, who stifled Saint Francis during a 49-18 victory. The top-seeded Bulldogs' defense did not allow more than six points in any quarter. They will face American in the quarterfinals, after the Eagles beat Christian Brothers, 53-51.
Division III roundup
Dominique Cabading had a game-high 19 points, including the game-winner in overtime, to lead 16-seed Lick-Wilmerding past top-seed Menlo-Atherton, 46-43. Malia Latu had 18 points and 16 rebounds for M-A in the loss, while Annabel Schneiberg added nine points and nine rebounds for Lick. Despite the seedings, it is hard to consider this result an upset, especially since Lick-Wilmerding defeated Menlo-Atherton back in December and now sports a 29-2 record as the Tigers head to the quarterfinals.
Lick will face eight-seed Aptos in the quarterfinals, after the Mariners beat Vista del Lago, 48-45, behind 14 points and nine rebounds from senior Natalia Ackerman.
14-seed Los Gatos also knocked off three-seed Placer, 53-50, setting the Wildcats up for a quarterfinal game at rival Palo Alto, who handled San Marin, 45-33.
