CARONDELET: COUGARS READY FOR SRV RUBBER MATCH
Third-seeded Carondelet’s junior point guard Sophia Ross did not mince words after her Cougars routed host No. 6 Salesian 83-55 in the first round of the North Coast Section Open Division playoffs.
The matchup at rival and second-seeded San Ramon Valley was set, and there is no opponent the Concord school would rather play. How badly does Ross want to beat the Wolves?
“Really bad, because it’s been way too long,” said Ross, who led Carondelet with 19 points. “I feel like my whole career at Carondelet, we’re 0-6 against them, so I’m really trying to get that revenge, that get back. I know we’re ready for it.”
San Ramon Valley beat Carondelet (24-5) in both the regular season, and in the East Bay Athletic League tournament championship game. Coming off that loss, the Cougars looked focused from the start and led 25-17 after one quarter.
Salesian, as the Tri-County Athletic League champion, got to host despite being the lower seed. Playing in the Pride’s tiny gymnasium – its floor is a few feet shorter than Carondelet’s – was actually a boon for the visitors.
“This is a much smaller court than what we play on every day, so we figured the tightness of the gym would help us, and it did,” Carondelet coach Kelly Sopak said.
Carondelet’s size advantage was magnified as it played at 2-2-1 trap that seemed to cover every inch of the court. Despite the lack of space, Jamia Sawyer scored a team-high 15 points and Vanessa Parilla put in 12 for Salesian (20-9).
Forward Layla Dixon scored 12 for Carondelet despite being in foul trouble, and the Cougars led 46-28 at halftime and were never threatened in the second half.
While Carondelet will travel to Danville, Salesian will play Piedmont in a consolation game as it stays ready for NorCal play. All teams in the Open Division advance to regionals.
– Joseph Dycus
PIEDMONT: HIGHLANDERS PUSH CARDINAL NEWMAN TO LIMIT
The youthful Highlander girls, seeded No. 5 in the Open after starting mostly freshmen and sophomores, traveled to perennial North Bay powerhouse No. 4 Cardinal Newman and gave the private school everything it could handle in a 51-45 loss.
Andrea Martin scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jenelle Solis scored 12 and dished out five assists, and Briana Webb scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds.
Piedmont led 24-17 after one half of play, but reigning NCS Open Division champs Cardinal Newman pulled away to start the second half, and led 47-35 with only three minutes left in the game.
Piedmont then embarked on a furious comeback attempt, cutting the deficit 49-45 on a 10-0 run. But a rash of misses at the line did the Highlanders in.
“We missed 14 free throws and that only was tough to overcome,“ Piedmont coach Bryan Gardere told the Bay Area News Group in a text.
Even though the Highlanders rally came up short, Piedmont’s season isn’t over. It will play host to Salesian on Wednesday. Cardinal Newman will travel to top-seeded Acalanes on Wednesday.
– Joseph Dycus
SAN RAMON VALLEY BREEZES PAST CALIFORNIA
SRV made it look easy on Thursday night.
The Wolves jumped on California early and cruised to a 77-49 win over California in the first round of the NCS Open Division playoffs. SRV bounced back after falling to De La Salle at home in the East Bay Athletic League semifinals last Thursday.
Luke Isaak led SRV with 21 points. Mason Thomas had 11, followed by Thomas Conley who had 10. Elliot Conley totaled nine points and nine rebounds.
Thomas, a senior, reached the 1,000 career points mark and became the third SRV player in the last two seasons to reach the milestone.
“He’s such a unique player that makes him a threat for other teams,” SRV coach Brian Botteen told the Bay Area News Group on Thursday night. “He’s the most humble kid I’ve ever met. … He’s one of the great point guards in our school’s history.”
SRV will play Salesian at Albany High School on Wednesday in the semifinals. SRV played Salesian in December at the Gridley Invitational tournament where the Wolves lost 70-68.
“We’re going to go out there and have some fun,” Botteen said. “We’re going to play good basketball. It’s a freelance style and sometimes we make mistakes. But our guys compete. … We’re going to enjoy tomorrow, get some shots up and get focused this weekend.”
LOOK AHEAD TO FRIDAY
The No. 8 Ygnacio Valley boys will travel to San Ramon to take on No. 1 Dougherty Valley. Coach Michael Woolridge and the Wolves made it very clear that the Concord program is not afraid of the defending section champions. … No. 14 Northgate, which relishes the role of underdog in D-I, will travel to Pleasanton to take on No. 6 Amador Valley. The Broncos be at Campolindo and Amador defeated Bishop O’Dowd on Tuesday. …. No. 6 Berkeley matches up with No. 3 St. Joseph Notre Dame in what should be an entertaining game featuring teams that were once WACC opponents. Elsewhere in D-III, No. 13 Mt. Eden will see if it can continue the Cinderella run by defeating No. 5 San Rafael. …. Speaking of the WACC, the No. 2 Bishop O’Dowd girls will play No. 10 Alameda for a third time this season in girls D-I. … EBAL teams, No. 5 Dougherty Valley and No. 10 Monte Vista, will go on the road in Division III. … Over in the Central Coast Section, the Open Divison starts with some bangers. … The top-ranked Archbishop Riordan boys face rival Mitty, while No. 7 Serra travels to No. 2 St. Ignatius in another Jungle Game matchup. … No. 6 Milpitas takes on No. 3 Bellarmine. … Over on the girls side in Open play, No. 1 Archbishop Mitty faces No. 8 Valley Christian, and No. 2 Pinewood plays host to No. 7 Sacred Heart Cathedral. … In the other five brackets, the top four seeds enjoy byes until Tuesday, and the next four highest seeds are off till Saturday.
– Joseph Dycus