DUBLIN, Calif. – There were seven teams in the 24th Annual West Coast Jamboree 104-team field that were in the most recent Cal-Hi Sports state rankings, but six were in the Platinum Division and one was in the Diamond Division. That meant there were 11 other divisions and 88 teams that were not elite from a competitive equity standpoint and were playing for the competition and love of the game.
Southern California dominated the Platinum Division, but the local Bay Area teams did very well, and won the other two top divisions, Diamond and Emerald, plus local teams were victorious in the Ivory, Opal, Pearl, Quartz, and Topaz divisions.
That means Bay Area teams won seven of the 13 divisions so looking at it that way the 2024 Jamboree was an enormous success for the local high school girls.
Mater Dei dominates Platinum Division
When Mater Dei-Santa Ana entered the 24th Annual West Coast Jamboree, they stamped themselves as a heavy favorite to win the Platinum Division title based on the other seven teams in the bracket.
Following two lopsided wins over Cal-Hi Sports No. 25 Oakland Tech, 91-25, and an 83-49 victory over No. 8 Bishop Montgomery-Torrance, the No. 5 ranked Monarchs finally got a game from a young Windward-Los Angeles team but still prevailed in a 65-49 victory on Monday night at Dublin High.
Iowa-bound Addie Deal led Mater Dei with 20 points and 10 rebounds with seven assists and two steals. For her efforts Deal was named the David “Scoop” Jackson Most Valuable Player.
Junior star Kaeli Wynn also had a double-double and finished with 18 points (two three-pointers) and 13 rebounds with three assists and two steals. Grand Canyon-committed Amaya Williams added 10 points. Wynn and Willams, along with sophomore Stella Hoss and senior Devyn Kiernan, were named all-tournament.
Mater Dei (15-2) came out a bit sluggish, and in fact for the first time they trailed at the end of any quarter in the three Jamboree games played after they fell behind 12-11 after the first. A 12-0 run got Mater Dei a 23-12 lead, but Windward did not fold at that point, and it was 27-18 Monarchs at the half of a defensive grinder in which neither team made a three-pointer.
Wynn finally hit a three-pointer at 7:10 of the third quarter and that led to what was part of a 14-0 Mater Dei run that eventually ended up an 18-4 run. At the end of the third quarter the Monarchs had outscored Windward 22-7, and the outcome was pretty much decided with Mater Dei holding a 49-25 lead heading to the fourth, the biggest lead of the game.
Despite taking the first quarter lead,Windward (8-6) was even colder than Mater Dei. After connecting on 13 three-pointers in their 80-47 semifinal win over McClatchy, the Wildcats didn’t connect on a three-pointer until there was 2:04 left in the third quarter.
University of Central Florida-committed senior Samari Bankhead was named the Jim Capoot Memorial Award winner for inspirational play after finishing with a team-high 13 points plus five rebounds. Budding sophomore Charis Rainey also had 13 points (one three-pointer) with nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Freshman phenom Amel Cook was also in double-figure scoring with 10 points. Senior Olivia Lagao, who had five three-pointers against McClatchy, added 10 points and had two three-pointers.
Rainey, Cook and Lagao were all named all-tournament.
“As we wrap up the Jamboree, I’m proud of the progress our team has made. Coming away with the championship of a prestigious tournament is something we are very proud of,” said first-year Mater Dei head coach Jody Wynn.
“The positive takeaways include our ability to adapt to different styles and the resilience we showed when we were challenged in the championship game,” Wynn continued. “We recognize some areas we need to work on, and these experiences will undoubtedly sharpen our skills as we head into January and league play.”
Next up is the Mater Dei hosted Kevin Kiernan Classic on Saturday. Mater Dei will face Centennial-Corona in one of the seven girls’ games on the schedule.
Priory wins Diamond Division
Priory-Portola Valley (10-1) has been knocking on the door of the Cal-Hi Sports state rankings, and now, after a hard fought 53-47 victory at host school Carondelet-Concord over a St. Francis-Mountain View team that had upset No. 11 Fairmont Prep-Anaheim to get the title game, it looks head coach Buck Matthews and his Panthers, whose lone loss is to state-ranked Clovis, may very well make the grade in the next rankings.
Senior Vienn Sheng connected on four three-pointers and led a balanced attack with 13 points. Junior Adelaide Chan added 10 points. Sheng was named the David “Scoop” Jackson Most Valuable Player.
St. Francis (10-1) would have been a lock to make the state rankings if they had won and stayed unblemished after upsetting Fairmont Prep. Maia Jimenez led the way with 13 points. Sophomore Grace Curley added 12 points and sophomore Katia Grizelj made three three-pointers and finished with 10 points.
Lancers sophomore Whitney O’Brien was honored with the Jim Capoot Memorial award for sportsmanship and inspirational play.
Host Clayton Valley wins Emerald title
The Emerald and No. 3 division of the Jamboree behind the Platinum and Diamond divisions based on competitive equity seeding, was captured by host Clayton Valley-Concord (7-4) and its first-year head coach Damian Young with a 65-58 victory over Lincoln-Stockton.
Clayton Valley junior Lucy Guitron had it going from outside the arc with six three-pointers and finished with 23 points. Sophomore Deoujenea Clay made three three-pointers and was 7-for-7 on the free-throw line to finish with 22 points. Sophomore Ella Scott chipped in with 10 points. Scott was selected as the David “Scoop” Jackson Most Valuable Player.
Lincoln (9-4) got 20 points (one three-pointer) from freshman Terrazia Smith, 18 points (four three-pointers) from junior Touraya Blakey and 10 points from senior Monet Dunham. Blakey was honored as the recipient of the Jim Capoot Memorial Award for sportsmanship and inspirational play.
Host Dublin captures Pearl title
Not only did Dublin host the Platinum Division but they also hosted the Pearl Division with games split between the main and secondary gyms.
The title game was on Monday afternoon in the main gym and Dublin (7-0) followed up 50-33 wins over Sonoma Valley and a 75-43 semifinal victory over Sacramento with a 55-51 overtime win against Watsonville.
Sophomore Gaio Lembo was named the David “Scoop” Jackson Most Valuable Player after finishing with 14 points in the title game, sophomore Addy Leomiti had a team-high 15 points, senior Bhagya Gajula added nine points, and senior Zoya Nomani had nine points on three three-pointers. Leomiti, Gajula and Nomani were named all tournament.
Watsonville (10-2), who fought back from a 44-37 deficit with an 8-1 run to tie it at 45-45 and force overtime, was led by freshman Isabelle Alvarez with a game-high 23 points. For her efforts she was named all tournament. Junior Leilani Yasin added 13 points.
Also named all-tournament was senior Hailey Brooks and. The Jim Capoot Memorial Award for sponsorship and inspirational play was awarded to junior Stephanie Martinez. She had nine points in the title game.
Granada wins Ivory Division
Host Granada-Dublin (6-8), under first-year head coach Chris Hadden, played three solid games. After an opening round 61-42 victory over Wood-Vacaville and a 44-36 semifinal win against Ferndale, the Matadors matched up with Los Banos (10-3) in the championship title game where they prevailed with a 50-37 victory.
Amador Valley prevails in Opal Division
The Opal Division contested at the Livermore Recreation Center was won by Amador Valley-Pleasanton (6-7) in three defensive grinders where 40 was the most points the Dons scored in any of the games. They started with a 35-23 victory over Casa Grande-Petaluma, followed that up with a 40-28 semifinal victory over Yreka, and won the title in a nail-biting 35-34 victory against a Carlmont-Belmont team that now has a 6-5 record.
Host Alhambra triumphs in Quartz Division
Alhambra-Martinez (9-2), one of the longest standing host sites in the 24-year history of the West Coast Jamboree, took care of business in three fairly close games to win the Quartz Division. The Bulldogs opened with a 52-48 win against Mission San Jose-San Jose, and then in the semifinals they prevailed in 44-36 victory over Liberty-Brentwood. In the championship Alhambra was a 41-36 winner over Dinuba (8-5).
Vintage victorious in Topaz Division
Livermore High and its beautiful nearly new state of the art gymnasium is the newest host site for the West Coast Jamboree, and although the Livermore girls were unable to win the Topaz Division they went 2-1 and won the third-place game with a 48-19 victory over Ygnacio Valley-Concord. The game the Cowboys girls lost was 49-35 to eventual champion Vintage-Napa, so this was another division where a local Bay Area team captured the title. Prior to the Vintage win over Livermore the Crushers were a 58-36 winner over Gateway-San Francisco, and in the championship title game they bested Marin Academy-San Rafael in a 47-36 victory.
Hawaiian and Nevadan First Nation teams fare well
The First Nation was very well represented in the 2024 West Coast Jamboree.
Hawaii Kamehameha-Honolulu (14-3) has been coming to the mainland for several years to compete in the Jamboree and just like the past few years they brought two teams. Their top team and the current top team in Hawaii, coached by Pualei Stright, played in the Platinum Division for the first time, and after losing their opener to state-ranked Windward they went on to defeat Cal-Hi Sports No. 19 Clovis, and then won the consolation championship with a surprisingly easy 65-25 victory over Cal-Hi Sports No. 15 St. Mary’s-Stockton, even though the Rams were missing their top player. Junior power forward Nihoa Dunn was impressive and was the Warriors all-tournament selection.
The second Kamehameha team played in the Quartz Division held at Alhambra and they were only able to win their final game, 37-29 over Oregon South Medford for a seventh-place finish.
Hawaii No. 5 ranked Hanalani (14-4), from the Honolulu suburb of Mililani, won the Amber Division at both Alhambra and College Park-Pleasant Hill. The Royals opened with a 52-30 victory over Ukiah, they followed that up with a 56-36 win against Carlsbad, and then in the championship they posted a 50-41 victory over Maria Carrillo-Santa Rosa.
Punahou-Honolulu (10-7), the No. 6 team from the Island State, won the Ruby Division with a victories over Fairfield and Woodcreek-Roseville in their opener and semifinals matchups, 48-26 and 47-31, respectively. In the title game they were a 53-42 winner over St. Mary’s-Berkeley.
Nevada Pyramid Lake-Nixon with all First Nation girls was back once again, and after winning one of the lower divisions last year they moved up to the Sapphire Division where the small public school of 127 students faced some much bigger schools. They won their first game 64-58 over perennial small power Branson-Ross, but against Whitney-Rocklin and its enrollment of around 2,000 students they suffered a loss and then in the third-place game against a Monterey Trail-Elk Grove with almost 2,400 students they fell 68-51 and settled for fourth place.
Nevada McDermitt, a school that straddles the Nevada border with Oregon and has mostly First Nation students, won their first game in the Pearl Division over St. Vincent de Paul-Petaluma, but like Pyramid Lake they lost their next two games to Watsonville and Sacramento to claim fourth place.
For complete results of all 13 divisions of the 104-team West Coast Jamboree click here and click on the individual links to BracketTeam.com.
