SAN FRANCISCO - With the oldest high school rivalry west of the Mississippi having its 2023 edition continue with girls basketball, stakes were as high as ever. With St. Ignatius up 2-1 in the series after winning the boys basketball game in blowout fashion earlier in the month, the visiting Wildcats were looking to keep the trophy in the Sunset district for another year, while Sacred Heart Cathedral needed a victory to force an all-important deciding baseball game in March.
Nerves were overflowing and both sides came prepared for a classic defensive Western Catholic Athletic League battle. The clamoring student sections on either side got just that, as both teams fought and battled for three quarters before the Irish ultimately ended up running away with the game in the fourth to finish with a 54-36 win. The victory was also the Irish’s first ever Bruce-Mahoney win in a girls sport since volleyball and basketball were added last season.
“Honestly, it feels great,” said Irish guard Reza Po. “Obviously, it feels really nice to make history. We just got really hype at the start of the game, and it all started from there.”
After falling behind in the third, the reality of a potential upset seemed to sink in on the CCS No. 2 Irish, as they finally showed flashes of why many consider them to be the best team in the city. The Irish ended the quarter on a 14-3 run, giving them a 33-25 lead entering the final period. Sacred Heart Cathedral found open lanes for easy layups, knocked down shots from beyond the arc, and simply began out-hustling an exhausted Wildcat lineup. Senior Leilani Blecha led the way for the Fightin’ Irish, scoring a team-high 15 points. She was assisted by Kiana Moniz (13 points, nine rebounds) and Po (8 points). The three combined to ensure a fourth consecutive win for Sacred Heart Cathedral.
“It’s the law of averages,” Irish head coach Demetrius Jackson told Ethan Kassel of The San Francisco Standard. “We didn’t play well and didn’t execute well, but we were getting good shots and they weren’t falling. They threw a match-up zone and a 1-2-2 out there. Hats off to SI, they played hard. Over time, we were able to wear them down. Although we’ve been able to score a lot this year, we hang our hats on the defensive end. The ladies didn’t let their emotions get the best of them.”
After leading Sacred Heart Cathedral in scoring in last year’s crushing Bruce-Mahoney loss, Po was determined to flip the script this time around. Although Po may not have shot as well as she would have liked, she was a presence all over the court, creating shots for teammates and playing tough defense. Her continued success will be crucial for an Irish team with high hopes.
"As much as I’m sure she would have liked to shoot better, she’s learning how to be a complete basketball player and point guard and impact the game with more than just scoring," said Jackson. "Last year she was a volume scorer. She’s breaking the press with the dribble and the pass and she’s a distributor."
The brightest spot for the Wildcats was undoubtedly senior guard Brigette Mahoney. A key leader on a team that saw just four members of last years NorCal Division I finalist squad return, she single handedly kept a lackluster St. Ignatius offense that couldn’t seem to score in the game for the entire first half. Mahoney opened the game with a three pointer, and stayed hot from then on. She scored 14 of the 17 Wildcats points in the first half, including all 10 of the points in the initial period. Mahoney finished with a game-high 16 points, more than double her nearest teammate.
“It was just the mentality,” said Mahoney. “We locked in in the locker room, and we all came together. Once that first shot went in, I just knew I was going to put on a performance tonight. [For the team] it all starts with mentality, we’re back in practice tomorrow, we have to keep working. We have to string four quarters together, we strung three, we didn’t string four. We have to work on pushing through for the whole game.”
The Irish will look to continue their brilliant run of form during a home clash against St. Francis, while the ‘Cats will have their work cut out for them during a trip down to San Jose to battle against national power Archbishop Mitty. The 2023 Bruce-Mahoney finale will take place at Oracle Park on March 25, with both schools looking to keep the trophy at their school for the next year.
