SANTA ANA, Calif. – The 10th Annual Matt Denning Nike Hoops Classic hosted by Mater Dei had some very solid match-ups in the eight games contested on Saturday.
Of the 16 teams that competed seven were in the latest Cal-Hi Sports top 25, three more were in the top 35, an additional two were in the top 50, and seven that are part of the circulation area of the Los Angeles Times were in its most recent top 20 rankings.
Mater Dei 84, Arizona Millennium 31
Host Mater Dei followed up two Trinity League wins after coming home from the Nike Holiday Classic in Portland by routing Arizona 5A third-ranked Millennium of Goodyear, 84-31 in a game that went to a running clock.
Senior guard Emily Shaw, who has had to step up her game with the injury to star junior Addie Deal, tied for team and game high honors with 24 points, including five three-pointers, plus four assists. Duke-committed 6-3 senior post Jenessa Cotton equaled Shaw with 24 points, including a three-pointer, plus she had a game high eight rebounds. Freshman guard Chasity Rice came off the bench to score 12 points.
Cal-Hi Sports No. 4 and Los Angeles Times No. 3 Mater Dei (14-5) bolted out to a 12-0 lead and even early on at that point it was obvious the Arizona girls were no match for the Monarchs. The lead grew to 24-6 after one quarter and 47-13 at the half, and even after California all-time winningest Coach Kevin Kiernan cleared the bench the reserves stretched the lead right up until the final buzzer.
Millennium (11-7) got 11 points from Dashia Richardson.
For Kiernan, and according to the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book, it was career coaching win No. 889 as he closes in on 900 wins resuming this Tuesday with a Trinity League match-up at home with Rosary-Fullerton.
The negative that comes out of the game is at the 6:52 mark of the second quarter budding sophomore Kaeli Wynn went down with an ankle injury, the extent of which is not known at this time. Deal is already out with a bad ankle that may or may not allow her to come back for the playoffs.
Ontario Christian 91, Village Christian-Sun Valley 50
In a bit of a surprise to some who thought the game between Cal-Hi Sports No. 7 and Los Angeles Times No. 5 Ontario Christian, and Cal-Hi No. 21 and Times No. 11 Village Christian, might be closer, the result certainly did not bear that out.
However, to those analysts that are starting to appreciate the offensive firepower of the Knights girls, and freshman sensation Kaleena Smith in particular, it’s not really anything close to a shocker.
Since she didn’t have a game until a Sunday match-up with Oregon State, UCLA head coach Cori Close was on hand to see one of her recruits in action, senior Avary Cain of St. Joseph-Santa Maria.
The St. Joseph game immediately preceded the Ontario Christian match-up with Village Christian, and to no surprise to any of the analysts and media in attendance, Close stayed to watch Smith, and the flashy guard did not disappoint. The fact the Bruins coach stayed pretty much says it all.
Close left shortly after halftime but by then it was 52-30 Ontario Christian and Smith had 17 points on 3-of-4 from three-point range, including back-to-back made treys from NBA and college range, plus three assists, two steals, and despite being only 5-6, two blocked shots. Smith would finish with 36 points (5-of-9 on three-pointers), four assists, plus the two blocks and three steals.
With her 36 points against Village Christian Smith is now averaging 32.6 points per game, and that’s the No. 1 reported mark in the CIF Southern Section and No. 2 in the state. Smith is also the reported three-point leader in the state with 80 after the Village Christian game
Besides the outstanding showing of Smith Ontario Christian (14-3) got 17 points and seven rebounds from senior Karsen Marshall and 12 points from senior Deja Saldivar on 4-of-8 on three-pointers.
Senior Alanna Neal led Village Christian (13-3) with 19 points and nine rebounds
Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa 64, Brentwood-Los Angeles 56
Cardinal Newman fell behind 8-0 but an 11-2 run erased that deficit, and then after falling behind once again at 12-11, senior Janelle Pena hit a three-pointer for a 14-12 advantage and the Cal-Hi Sports No. 15 ranked Cardinals never trailed again.
The lead got to 38-21 early in the third quarter, but Brentwood closed to 49-43 in the early fourth quarter before a 10-0 Cardinals run decided things and allowed head coach Monica Mertle to mix in some reserves down the stretch.
Cardinal Newman (15-2) got a solid outing from Kate Schat. The junior standout led the way with 23 points including five three-pointers. Pena added 15 points and four rebounds, senior Kaida Angelo had 13 points and six rebounds, and senior Leah Martinez registered a double-double 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Cal-Hi Sports No. 19 and Los Angeles Times No. 10 Brentwood (10-6) got 19 points from senior Lev Feiman and 18 points (three three-pointers) from senior Jocelyn Pascual.
Mission Hills-San Marcos 66, Esperanza-Anaheim 44
This match-up between Mission Hills and state No. 30 and Los Angeles Times No. 16 Esperanza had 12 lead changes and four ties in a first half that saw Mission Hills clinging to a 30-29 lead.
The second half was a different story. There were two additional ties, at 35-35 and 37-37, but from there the dam broke and Cal-Hi Sports state No. 16 Mission Hills went on a 21-0 run to put the game away.
Senior Kyara Walter led Mission Hills (9-6) with game highs of 24 points (four three-pointers) and eight rebounds. Senior Maria Gorbushin added 17 points (five three-pointers) and five assists.
Los Angeles Times No. 16 and Cal-Hi Sports No. 30 Esperanza (14-3) had three players in double-figure scoring led by Lacie Miyatake with 16 points, including three three-pointers. Sophomores Madilyn Lam and Charlotte Muller added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
La Jolla Country Day 53, Carondelet-Concord 50
La Jolla Country Day (13-5) overcame a 42-34 third quarter deficit by outscoring Carondelet 19-8 in the final period to pull out a hard fought victory by the Cal-Hi Sports No. 20 ranked Torreys over a Cougars team that was knocking on the door of the state rankings.
Trailing 50-47 with under two minutes left Country Day got two free-throws from sophomore Safiyah Sugapong, a basket by sophomore standout Mei-Ling Perry and two free-throws from San Diego State-bound senior Naomi Panganiban, and they couple that with four defensive stops to shut the door on Carondelet.
Panganiban and Ling-Perry both finished with 20 points and six rebounds.
Seniors Keshia Vitalicio and Kamil Reid led Carondelet with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
St. Joseph-Santa Maria 66, Fairmont Prep-Anaheim 51
Many have said St. Joseph is a one-girl team, and yes UCLA head coach Cori Close did stop by Mater Dei to watch one of her prized recruits perform. However, the Knights showed UCLA-committed Avary Cain is not the whole show in a victory that was a total team effort.
Cain led St. Joseph (12-4) with 19 points plus seven rebounds, but sophomore center Maava Sat played a huge role with some key shots in the second half and finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Four-year senior starter Kai Oani added 12 points and in doing so crossed the 1,000 point career scoring mark and now has 1,011 career points.
With the score tied 27-27 in the early third quarter Cal-Hi Sports St. Joseph went on an 11-2 run ignited by Cain to take control at 38-29 midway through the third. Fairmont Prep closed to 38-31 but that’s when Sat got hot. From that point on she had 12 points with err final tally giving St. Joseph and 64-42 lead and allowed head coach Kristina Santiago to clear the bench.
Fairmont Prep (16-4), No. 31 in the Cal-Hi Sports rankings and ranked No. 17 by the Los Angeles Times, got 20 points from sophomore Adyra Rajan, 13 points from sophomore Sarah Aldeguer and 10 points from senior Jazzy Mercado.
Windward-Los Angeles 56, Bonita-La Verne 40
The game between Cal-Hi Sports No. 33 ranked and Los Angeles Times No. 19 Windward saw the wildcats bolt to a 15-6 first quarter lead but by halftime Bonita had clawed back to tie things at 23-apiece.
Windward (12-4) fell behind 32-31 but the Wildcats took charge with a 10-4 run to end third quarter leading 41-36 and they extended the run to 22-4 in what turned out to be a lopsided win.
Senior India Marrero led Windward (12-4) with 22 points including three three-pointers. Junior Samari Bankhead and senior Sadie Cohen added 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Bonita (11-6) got 17 points from junior Lexi Mercado and 10 points and eight rebounds from senior post Jordy DeMott.
Chaminade-West Hills 80, South Pasadena 70
In the closest thing to an upset in the eight games of the Matt Denning Classic, it was Chaminade (10-6) taking over in the second half to post a solid victory over a South Pasadena team that has been knocking on both the Cal-Hi Sports and Los Angeles Times rankings after trailing 41-36 after two quarters.
Sophomore Payton Montgomery showed why she is one of the top young centers in Southern California after just missing a double-double by registering 32 points and nine rebounds, with 20 of her points and seven rebounds coming in the second half. Junior Rhena Clements did post a double-double after finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and senior Alyssa Saldana was a third double-figure scorer after adding 11 points with five assists.
South Pasadena (14-2) got 29 points (three three-pointers), six rebounds and six assists from senior Dylan Tse, 19 points (five three-pointers) from senior Jamie Rain-Kim, and 11 points from junior Kayla Boozer.
The Chaminade win avenges a 68-49 loss to South Pasadena in early December.
