CLUTCH BASKET LIFTS HALF MOON BAY GIRLS
In a back-and-forth Division IV girls basketball championship game, Half Moon Bay got the last punch on Tuesday night to advance to this weekend’s state final.
Delaney Dorwin’s basket with nine seconds left broke a tie and lifted the host Cougars to a 49-47 victory over ninth-seeded Lowell-San Francisco.
Half Moon Bay will play Southern California champion Whitney for the D-IV state title on Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Whitney beat top-seeded Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary-Montebello 47-42 to reach the final.
In Half Moon Bay’s victory, Zoey Lemoge finished with 14 points, Dorwin added 13 and Xochitl Nieves had 11 to lead the way.
The score was tied 10-10 after the first quarter.
HMB led 23-18 at halftime and the score was 32-32 headed to the fourth quarter.
The regional title was the first for HMB.
— Darren Sabedra
PRIORY BOYS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS IN D-IV
Priory advanced to the CIF Division IV state championship game after a comfortable 60-48 win over Santa Cruz on Tuesday night in Portola Valley.
Mate Palotai paced the Panthers (25-6) with 19 points, accompanied in double figures by Jai Gerrodette with 15. Demarco Hunter led Santa Cruz (21-12) and all scorers with 29 points.
Priory was the No. 1 seed in the NorCal D-IV bracket, while Santa Cruz was the three seed. The Panthers will now travel to Sacramento to face South top seed Fresno Christian, who survived an upset bid from No. 7 Granada Hills Charter to win 50-49.
The Division IV state championship game will be played at noon on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
— Christian Babcock
ENCINAL GIRLS FALL SHORT IN D-V FINAL
The Jets’ magical run through regionals ended one game short of the program’s first-ever state title game, with Encinal coming up short against Woodland Christian, 54-45. .
It was their first NorCal game played away from Alameda, and Encinal did not look comfortable in the first quarter. The Jets scored only four points in the first eight minutes and trailed 11-4 after one quarter.
Jazzy Alcantar scored her team-high 23 points in the next three quarters to keep the score manageable but Encinal could not pull off the comeback. Teammate Surina Castro put in eight points, and Haley Huynh scored seven.
Coach Juanita Lyons’ Jets ended the season 22–10, a year that included a 10-0 record in WACC Shoreline Division play. Encinal reached the NCS Division IV final, and Argonaut, Orland and Washington-SF to reach the regional final.
– Joseph Dycus
CORNERSTONE GIRLS LOSE CLOSE ONE IN D-VI
Cornerstone Christian ended its successful season with a close 58-53 loss at Faith Christian-Yuba City, a school 100 miles away from Antioch.
Kennena Amajioyi scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Cornerstone, and Kayli Bertrand scored 12 while Camille Bartolo put in 10 points in just 21 minutes.
Cornerstone won a share of the Bay Counties East Division title, reached the NCS Division VI final, and defeated Sacramento Adventis and Fall River to reach the NorCal final.
The Cougars ended the season 21-11.
– Joseph Dycus