Central Coast Section
Division II girls
No. 1 Monta Vista 53, No. 3 Christopher 47: Once a girls basketball power, the Matadors held off a late charge by Christopher to capture their first CCS title in 31 years.
Monta Vista (22-5) led 26-14 at the half and maintained that 12-point edge through the third quarter.
The Cougars (20-7) cut the margin to four points at 51-47 with less than a minute to go, but they had to foul to get the ball back, and Monta Vista sealed it at the line.
The winners hit six of 12 free throws in the fourth period, including two apiece by leading scorer Sophia Lu (17 points) and Vivian Ong.
Christopher had only three points on free throws for the entire game, and none in the fourth quarter. In addition to Lu’s 17 points, Clara Fan scored 15 points and Carolyn Ruan had 11 for the Mats.
Christopher’s leading scorer, Alyssa Lopez, had 15 points, all on 3-pointers.
Even though it’s been 31 years between championships, Monta Vista is no stranger to the CCS playoffs. It went to the title game eight times from 1989-97 under coach Virgil Pate, and won two championships.
Current coach Sara Borelli, who has been in charge at Monta Vista since the MaxPreps era began during the 2004-2005 season, is on a nice little run of her own. She has led the Mats to five straight winning seasons and an 85-38 record in that stretch. — Mike Lefkow
Division II boys
No. 1 Valley Christian 48, No. 2 Christopher 35: Utilizing a balanced attack with no player scoring more than eight points, Valley Christian pulled away from Christopher in the second half to win the CCS Division II boys basketball championship with a 48-35 victory Saturday at Santa Clara High.
Valley Christian (13-14) moved out to a 27-22 lead at halftime after Christopher center Jaxen Robinson went to the bench with two fouls. The Warriors pulled away after the break, limiting Christopher to 13 second-half points.
Sophomore Bryant Clark scored eight points, Nate Kinsella and Tzahari Trevino had seven apiece while Jacob Annab and 6-9 freshman Teniola Bamisebi chipped in with six each.
Uriah Brown led Christopher (15-12) with 12 points. Robinson scored nine and Ebuka Okeke had seven. — Glenn Reeves
North Coast Section
Division I girls
No. 3 Salesian 56, No. 1 California 48: The Sawyers, Janiya and Jamia, combined for 28 points as Salesian repeated as NCS champions. A year after winning the Open title against San Ramon Valley, the Pride took down another East Bay Athletic team to claim the Division I crown at Dublin High School.
“At the beginning of the season, we weren’t really playing as a team,” guard Madalyn Kanazawa said about the team’s 2-7 start against tough competition. “We improved, so I’m proud of them. Right before playoffs, we came together.
“Once we started picking up our attitude and communicating on defense and playing together as a team on offense, that’s when we realized we got this.”
Aside from the two Sawyers, Oriannah Birden scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Ayla Rege had 10 for Salesian, now 21-10 and winners of six straight.
Taylor Lim led California with 15 points and four steals, and Sofie Addiego had 11 points and four rebounds for the Grizzlies (25-5). — Joseph Dycus
Division IV boys
No. 1 Justin-Siena 76, No. 2 Ygnacio Valley 69: Ygnacio Valley came up just short in its quest for its first section title since 1988. Guard Loyal Morris scored a team-high 20 points, and backcourt mate Antonio Kellogg put in 10 for the Concord school.
Scoring the ball was not Ygnacio’s problem. Rather, it was getting stops against the No. 1 seed’s potent duo that was difficult for the Wolves.
Nick Jeramaz put in a game-high 35 points for the North Bay program, and Jaden Washington wasn’t too shabby either with a 20-point night.
YV dropped to 24-8 with the loss but is guaranteed a spot in NorCal play. — Joseph Dycus
Related Articles
Back-to-back: Dougherty Valley, fueled by doubters, wins another NCS title
With CCS Division I title on the line, Los Gatos knocks down clutch free throws to clinch championship
Oakland Tech boys rally, girls dominate, as both win Oakland Section titles
Blood, sweat and tears: San Ramon Valley girls fall just short in intense NCS Open title game
“No one thought we’d be here.” Notre Dame-San Jose completes Cinderella run, beats Mills to capture first section title in school history
Division IV girls
No. 1 St. Patrick-St. Vincent 60, No. 2 University 40: After falling behind by two points late in the first half, St. Patrick-St. Vincent took over and outscored University 34-12 en route to its first NCS crown in five years.
University led 28-26 before the Bruins went on a 7-0 run to end the first half. SPSV (23-8) continued to pour it on after intermission, outscoring University 27-12. The San Francisco school is 24-7 overall this season.
Marissa Elizalde had 18 first-half points for SPSV, almost equalling her team-leading scoring average of 18.6 points per game. — Mike Lefkow