DANVILLE, Calif. – San Ramon Valley just keeps on winning. The Wolves capped a stellar season with a 63-52 victory over Monte Vista to capture the EBAL championship after running the table in the league in the regular season.
Sofia Bowes had a solid all-around game with a team-high 17 points, four steals, and three assists, and Anneka Lupinek tallied 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists for San Ramon Valley (25-3).
Sarina Nagra led Monte Vista (21-6) with 20 points, while Nia Coleman had 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists, and Rachel Brans chipped in 11 points and four boards.
San Ramon Valley burst out of the gate with an 8-2 advantage, but the Mustangs quickly worked their way back and with 1:38 left in the first half assumed their first lead of the game, 29-28. Trailing by four to start the third, the Wolves responded with a 16-7 quarter, and throughout the first few minutes of the fourth went on a 13-0 run to take an 18-point lead. Monte Vista hit a couple threes but there was just too much ground to make up.
“We just had too many defensive breakdowns,” Monte Vista coach Steve Cornell said. “We minimized the amount of possessions and they maximized theirs at that’s why San Ramon is where they’re at.”
San Ramon Valley, a hot three-point shooting team, did hit a couple in the initial burst but only one the rest of the first half. But they struck for seven treys in the second half.
“We have some girls fighting through some illnesses right now,” San Ramon Valley coach John Cristiano said. “That’s not an excuse, but at halftime we just told them, ‘Whether you feel good or you don’t feel good, you got to fight through it, we’ll worry about it Sunday.’ They all recommitted, said we’re all in this thing together, and they went out and they got it.’”
Amanda Kerner added 11 points and five rebounds, and Sierra Chambers tacked on 11 points and four assists, for the Wolves. Alyssa Rudd finished with seven points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs.
San Ramon Valley had already defeated Monte Vista twice this season, 61-52 on January 6 and 66-64 on February 3. Those were the only two conference losses for the Mustangs, just as was the case in 2021-22.
While Cornell sees defensive lapses and a short bench as challenges for the playoffs, he’s happy where his team is at.
“I’m looking forward to us making a good run in NCS and I’m just glad that we gave SRV tough games all three times we played them,” Cornell concluded.
