SACRAMENTO - Rosary Academy got a huge game from freshman Katherine Goostrey and junior Rebekah Obinma, leading the Royals to an impressive wire-to-wire 62-45 victory over Campolindo-Moraga.
The victory gave the Rosary girls (30-5) their first state championship in their first appearance.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our kids. They worked really hard to get to this point,” said Rosary coach Richard Yoon. “We all had a role to fulfill. The experience is amazing, and I just can’t say enough about our players.”
Goostrey made six three-pointers and scored 26 points for the Royals. Obinma finished with a triple-double with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks.
“I was definitely a little bit nervous at first. My teammates helped me stay calm and make the shots,” Goostrey said. “A few minutes into the game we started to play really well. I felt a little more comfortable.”
Goostrey hit two treys and made two free throws, and senior Tea Carbullido hit a three-pointer to end an 11-2 run for Rosary making the score 31-18 in favor of the Royals at the half.
Rosary started out strong with a 7-0 run by the Royals. The Cougars countered with three-pointers from Van Dyke and Ashley Thoms. The Royals immediately responded with a pair of threes from Goostrey after Campo's 8-0 run gave the Cougars their only lead of the game.
Obinma scored the first six points in the third quarter to increase their lead to 17 points. Obinma was also aggressive in blocking.
“I tried to give it my all. My team encouraged me to keep up the intensity,” Obinma said. “(Van Dyke) is a great player. Trying to defend her, she can get her own rebound and put it right back up.”
Campolindo (27-7) got 22 points and a CIF Division III girls record 25 rebounds from Van Dyke. Van Dyke was coming off a NorCal regional record 46 points in the Cougars' title win over St. Mary's-Berkeley.
Campolindo missed its first 12 shots, including nine by Van Dyke. The Cougars finished with 24 percent shooting, 17 of 72 attempted shots.
“Some of the days your shots don’t fall and I guess that was one of my days,” said Van Dyke.
The Cougars look to be strong again next season, after only graduating one senior.
“It’s been a very special journey for all these girls,” said Campolindo coach Art Thoms. “They are a great group of girls that work and care about each other as you can tell. They play hard for each other. It’s been a very exciting season with a lot of challenges and a lot of successes as well.”
