OAKLAND — A pair of sophomores led Bishop O’Dowd back to the Division I state championship game.
Jayla Stokes hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining and Devin Cosgriff knocked down a short jumper with three seconds left to lead No. 3 O’Dowd (30-6) over No. 4 Carondelet (23-7) in a 48-47 win in the Northern California Division 1 girls basketball championship on Tuesday.
“Everyone crashed for the rebound and it landed straight in my hands,” Cosgriff said of her game-winner. “I looked up at the rim and I was like, ‘make this shot.’ I focused so hard.”
It’s O’Dowd’s third NorCal title in five years and seventh in Malik McCord’s 14-year tenure as head coach. The Dragons are now 7-0 in NorCal title games.
They last won a NorCal crown in 2020, but never got to play in the state championship game due to the pandemic. Not counting 2020, McCord has won three state championships in five tries and hopes to make it four out of six on Friday, when the Dragons will face Bishop Montgomery at 6 p.m. at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“We’ll celebrate tonight and tomorrow, but on Thursday we need to focus,” Cosgriff said. “We’re going to win it. We’re not just here to make it to states. We’re going there to win it. That’s our mindset.”
Tuesday’s game was a back-and-forth affair in which neither team ever seemed totally in control.
O’Dowd was clinging to a 43-40 lead with minutes remaining when Carondelet freshman Janel Nevares came off the bench and sank a 3-pointer to tie it. On the Dragons’ next possession, sophomore Layla Dixon banked one off the board to put Carondelet ahead, 45-43.
Stokes got a good look from behind the line and swished a 3-pointer to put O’Dowd back in front with just 25 seconds on the clock.
“I knew I had to make that shot,” she said. “It felt really comfortable, honestly. I felt 100% confident it was going in. I just trusted myself. The flick of my wrist, it felt really nice.”
After a timeout, McCord told his team two things: don’t foul on defense and, if Carondelet scores, be prepared to push it the other way quickly before the defense gets set.
Carondelet’s Kamil Reid hit a layup with 13 seconds left to put the Cougars in front, 47-46, but Dragons senior Savannah Jones wasted no time rushing the other way to give her team a chance.
After their first attempt failed, Cosgriff pulled down the offensive rebound and knocked down a jumper that sent the packed gym into a frenzy.
“Devin is like the midrange queen,” McCord said. “When she gets in that midrange, it’s a layup.”
An announcement over the loudspeaker reminded fans to stay in the stands; Carondelet still had three seconds remaining and called a timeout.
The Cougars had one final chance when senior Keshia Vitalicio received a pass in her own end and launched up a half-court attempt that just missed.
“They’re a great team,” Carondelet head coach Kelly Sopak said of O’Dowd. “And we had our shot tonight, we just let it go. But I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
O’Dowd senior Nyah Greenwood fished with an astounding 21 rebounds. She also finished with 14 points while Jones had a game-high 16.
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“They out-rebounded us from the first possession to the last possession,” Sopak said. “Offensive rebounding is going to win you a championship or lose you a championship, and it did it tonight.”
After the game, McCord grabbed the microphone and told the home crowd, “we’re not done.”
“We had a tough schedule to prepare for us a reason, to prepare for us now,” he said. “There’s nothing we haven’t seen.”
The Dragons said they dedicated this season to the late Gary Mason, the school’s beloved dean of students who passed away last year. The players wear warm-ups with his name on the back.
“He’s our No. 1 fan,” McCord said.