NIPOMO, Calif. – Visiting St. Joseph-Santa Maria (21-3) scored its first 24 points on three-pointers and the lady Knights ended up making 11 shots from outside the arc in a 53-49 victory on Friday night over Nipomo that sews up the Central Coast – Mountain League championship.
Sophomore sensation and Cal-Hi Sports All State Freshmen First Team selection Avary Cain had four three-pointers in the first quarter as St. Joseph took a commanding 18-2 lead host Nipomo was unable to recover from. Cain, a 6-0 combo guard finished with a game-high 20 points on six three-pointers plus seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Nipomo stabilized after the disastrous first quarter and played St. Joseph even in the second quarter to trail 29-13 at halftime. The Titans continued to fight hard and got to within nine at 36-27 near the end of the third quarter but from there St. Joseph answered with a 13-3 run to take a 49-30 lead midway through the final period that sealed the outcome.
A young St. Joseph got a solid effort from freshman Mia Matautia. She came off the bench to hit three three-pointers and finish with 15 points. Senior Andrea Stajic only had seven points but she had seven assists and six rebounds. Likewise, junior 6-3 post Candace Kpetikou only tallied six points, but she had 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“It was a little sloppy, and we didn’t execute as well as I would have liked, but its win over a quality opponent on the road,” said St. Joseph head coach and 2010 alum and former star Analise Riezebos.
Nipomo (22-5) got a team high 10 points from junior guard Makennah Simonson and eight points apiece from senior Leah Miller and junior Honnalee Kennedy.
“We just didn’t have enough tonight to get it done,” said Nipomo head coach Chris Litvionchuk
Although they’ve lost twice to St. Joseph after a 61-30 loss on the road in late January, Nipomo should receive a fairly high seed if not the top seed in the CIF Central Section Division II playoffs.
St. Joseph is ticketed for the four-team Central Section Open Division where based on a 49-36 victory over a Bakersfield team that has gone on to beat Cal-Hi Sports state ranked Orangewood Academy, the lady Knights should receive the No. 2 seed behind state-ranked defending champion Clovis West.
“We feel we deserve the number two seed and a home game and that’s what we’re hoping for,” Riezebos remarked.
Seeds for the CIF Central Section playoffs will be announced on Saturday.
