NorCal semifinal roundup: Capital gets another shot at O'Dowd

Evidently the long layoff didn't hurt.

Paris Austin had 16 points and backcourt mate Juwan Anderson 14 points and eight assists as top seed Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) delivered a convincing 74-51 win over Modesto Christian in CIF Northern California Open Division semifinal play Tuesday at Laney College.

The Dragons raced to an 8-0 lead and never looked back against a Modesto Christian squad (24-9) that eliminated the Dragons in last year's playoffs.

Kevin Hamlet had 17 points for Modesto Christian, which actually did a superb job holding 6-foot-10 junior Ivan Rabb in check. He finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

But the top-seeded Dragons, despite being off for 10 days, had no trouble speeding by the Sac-Joaquin Section champions.

O'Dowd will play second seed Capital Christian (Sacramento) (28-3), a 70-57 winner over visiting Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (27-5). O'Dowd beat Capital Christian by 26 points at the MaxPreps Martin Luthern King Classic in January at Haas Pavilion on the campus of Cal.

On Tuesday, Capital Christian got 18 points by Tyler Jennings and 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks by Michigan-bound D.J. Wilson. Marcelas Perry added 12 for the winners.

For Mitty, Connor Peterson had 20 points, including four 3-pointers, JP Rindfleisch added 13 points and Ben Kone 12.

Title game: 8 p.m. Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento.

Monte Vista (Danville) 72, McClymonds (Oakland) 47 — Spencer Rust had 32 points on 11 of 12 shooting for the host Mustangs (30-1), who also got 17 points including five 3-pointers by Trevor John. McClymonds got 20 points by Deion Ellis. The Mustangs will now get Freedom (26-6), which lost to Monte Vista in the North Coast Section finals but surprised second seed Jesuit (Carmichael) 78-65.

Title game: 4 p.m. Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento.

Folsom 58, Serra (San Mateo) 57 — Sophomore guard Jordan Ford hit a game-winning floater with 8.6 seconds left and visiting Serra couldn't get a shot after that. Ford had 17 of his game-high 25 in the fourth quarter. Jimmy Wohrer had 22, Danny Mahoney 17 and Sean Watkins 14 for Serra (22-9). Folsom improved to 31-2.

Folsom now takes on Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove), an 87-67 winner over Grant (Sacramento). Jaaron Stallworth had 20 points  for Conumnes Oaks which is officially 16-17 but on the court is 32-1. Cameron Oliver, an immensely talented player for Grant, had 25 points and 17 rebounds, while teammates Donovan Brown and Jordon Echols had 14 each.

Title game: Noon Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento.

Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) 72, Campolindo (Moraga) 68 – Jiday Ugbaja hit five 3-pointers and scored 29 points as the third-seeded and visiting Riordan (21-9) went overtime to defeat the second-seeded Cougars (23-8). … Chiefy Ugbaja added 22 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks and Eric Galindo added 17, 10 of those came after Jiday Ugbaja fouled out with 45 seconds left in regulation. … Andrew Zolintakis was a one-man wrecking crew for Riordan with 38 points, four coming in the final 4.5 seconds to force overtime. Teammate Chris Hansen added 12.

Riordan now plays ninth-seed Drake (San Anselmo) (25-7), a 70-61 home winner over Miramonte (Orinda) (18-13). Jesse Hunt, who scored 38 in a quarterfinal win over top seed Sacred Heart Cathedral, tallied 12 of his team-high 25 in the fourth quarter to offset 30 points by Drew Anderson.

Title game: 8 p.m. Saturday at American Canyon (American Canyon)

Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 91, St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) 78 — Damari Milstead scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime and Brandon Lawrence added 20 of his 25 after halftime as top seed Moreau (26-6) won in double overtime. … Freshman BJ Standley hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game in overtime for St. Patrick (25-10). Teammate Ryan Stewart hit a jump hook with two seconds left to force a second overtime. … Jose Flores led all scorers with 33 points for St. Patrick.

Salesian (Richmond) 60, Half Moon Bay 43 — At Albany, Bernard Ward scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the decisive third quarter as the Pride (23-14) moved into the title game. … Salesian outscored Half Moon Bay (26-6) 24-7 in the third quarter. … Rico Nuno had 15 points and Corey Cilia 11 for Half Moon Bay.

Title game: 4 p.m. Saturday at American Canyon (American Canyon)


Central Catholic (Modesto) 52, Branson (Ross) 49 — Joe Hamilton and Peter Hamilton scored 16 points apiece as the top-seed and host team pulled out a narrow win over the Bulls (26-7), which got 17 points and 12 rebounds by Taylor Walton and 12 from Henry Feinberg

Central Catholic will now play three-time defending champion St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda), a 71-51 winner over Brookside Christian (25-6), which got 13 points by Bales. Temidayo Yussuf had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Lamont Banks 17 points for the Pilots (29-5), the second seed.

Finals: Noon Saturday at American Canyon (American Canyon)



In a game that lived up to its billing and a little more, Miramonte had just too much Sabrina Ionescu and pulled out a thrilling 92-87 CIF Northern California Open Division semifinal playoff victory over Carondelet (Concord)t at jammed pack De La Salle.

onescu, a 5-foot-11 sophomore forward who was a starter on the Gold Medal winning USA U16 team this summer, scored her team's final eight points and finished with 35 points as the sixth-seeded Matadors (30-1) moved into Saturday's final against Salesian-Richmond.

The fourth quarter featured six lead changes and five times and a three-pointer by Mariah Seals (21 points) – one of three she made in the quarter – to put Miramonte up 84-80. But Carondelet senior guard and Nebraska-signee Natalie Romeo came right back with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 84-83 with 1:21 to go.

Down the stretch Ionescu hit a bucket and six straight free throws, capping probably the most anticipated girls game in Contra Costa County history. Neither team disappointed.

Ionescu, who scored 31 in a quarterfinal win at St. Mary's-Stockton on Friday, overcame a slow start to take over the game.

"I have the green light so I have to keep pushing through my misses," she said. "So I just kept pushing."

Carondelet (28-4) was led by Makenzie Cast with 21 points and 20 for Romeo, who Miramonte coach Kelly Sopak coaches on his AAU team during the summer. Sopak coaches nine of the Carondelet girls during the summer, making it an emotional victory. Especially so since the Matadors were the sixth seed.

"Once we knew we were in the Open Division, I told the kids we can win this thing. We have the team," Sopak said. "To beat Salesian the kids will have to play better and I will have to coach better and get them better prepared."

Of the game itself, Sopak said: "Last week (in the win over St. Mary's-Stockton) was the biggest win in school history, and this week's win was even bigger."

Salesian 61, Saint Mary's (Albany) 42 — A clock malfunction moved this Open semifinal game from El Cerrito to St. Mary's home gym and a 0-for-11 shooting malfunction to start the game put Salesian in an 7-0 hole. But despite all the distractions, in a gym they had never played, the fourth-seeded Pride had too much grit, defense and Moore sisters.

McDonald's All-American Mariya Moore had 23 points – all after a nightmarish first quarter – to go along with 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists, and her sophomore sister Minyon Moore added 16 points as Salesian (29-6) defeated the top-seeded Panthers (27-8) for the fourth time in five tries.

Mikayla Cowling had 18 points but no other St. Mary's player scored in double figures. Gabby Green was held to five.

These long-standing national, state and league rivals had split their previous eight meetings over two seasons, but the Pride simply played better when it counted most.

"It didn't matter where it was, when it was or how far we got down, we were going to leave it all on the court and that's what we did," said the Louisville-bound Mariya Moore, the reigning Metro Player of the Year. "The fact it was on the their court made it all the sweeter."

Rumblings that the game would be change didn't occur until around 3 p.m. Albany High, less than a mile from El Cerrito, seemed the fit for the alternate site, but the game moved to Saint Mary's, the Panthers' choice. They were the top seed. Being rival schools, the teams always have played at a neutral site to gain more fans, thus Salesian had never competed there.

It showed in the early going as the Pride couldn't buy a hoop.

"I don't think it was because we hadn't played there or the lighting isn't that good," Mariya Moore said. "It was just nerves. We were over-anxious."

Two key hoops from JulieAnne Martin got the Pride going and Minyon Moore added a 3-pointer.

"We have eight seniors on this team," Minyon Moore said. "We couldn't let them finish their season here."

Mariya Moore didn’t make her first basket until 6:02 left in the half, but her sister hit three-second quarter hoops to go up 27-20 by halftime.

Said Mariya Moore: "Even though she's only a sophomore, she played like a senior out there." 

Salesian, which squandered a 21-point lead in the North Coast Section title loss to St. Mary’s, watched the Panthers go on a 9-2 run to start the second half, but Mariya Moore hit a 3-pointer. It started a 10-pointer quarter for Moore and the Pride ended the quarter on a 16-5 run. They would never look back.

"I reminded the girls that two years ago we fell behind 16-3 and 22-5 and came back and won a NCS title game against Saint Mary's," Salesian coach Stephen Pezzola said. "Our defense kept us close and it was just a matter of time before we hit some shots."

Title game: 6 p.m. Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento.


Berkeley 63, Deer Valley (Antioch) 61 — The combination of Jaiamoni Welch-Coleman and Desire Finnie was too much for the 12-time NorCal champion, which avenged a loss in the NCS finals to the host Wolverines (24-6).

Welch-Coleman, who finished with a game-high 24 points, fed the UOP-bound Finne, and she scored with 9.6 seconds for the game winner. Finnie had 19 points, while Maranne Johnson scored 21 for Deer Valley and Brandy Williams added 16.

Berkeley (24-8) now faces 11th-seed Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove), a surprise 56-54 winner at Monte Vista (Danville). Aaliyah Pena led four players in double figures with 15 for Pleasant Grove, while Lily Wissinger had 22 and Amanda Daily 17 for Monte Vista (24-5).

Title game: 2 p.m. Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento.

Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 84, Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) 49 — UCLA-bound Kelli Hayes had 22 points, Jahnay Anderson 11 and Regina Chi10 as top-seed and nine-time NorCal champion Mitty (19-11) had little trouble with Clayton Valley-Concord (24-8), which got 16 from Kayla Taylor and 13 by Morgan Giacobazzi.

Mitty now plays McNair (Stockton) (28-4), a 56-48 home winner over Del Oro (Loomis). McNair overcame some cold shooting and got 19 points from Brittany Butler and 18 points and 15 rebounds by Mandy Coleman to move into its first NorCal final. Freshman Ty Maranan had 11 for Del Oro (23-10).

Title game: 10 a.m. Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento.

Enterprise (Redding) 54, Florin 47 — The Northern Division champions advanced to their first NorCal finals with a tough victory over Florin as Rachel Martin and Kamira Sanders led the way.

Enterprise will now ply Modesto Christian (Modesto), a 62-49 winner over Vanden (Fairfield) (25-7). Lexi Tubbs hit five 3-pointers and finished with 20 points while Nicole Warwickk and Stephanie Moore had 12 points apiece for Modesto Christian (25-8). Freshman Julia Blackshell-Fair led Vanden with 16.

Title game: 6 p.m. Saturday at American Canyon (American Canyon)


Justin-Siena (Napa) 81, Scotts Valley 68 — Sadie Irvine had 28 points, nine steals and seven rebounds, Haley Cremen added 27 points and Morgan Malloy contributed 12 points and eight assists as visiting Justin-Siena (28-6) knocked off the top seed.

Justin-Siena now plays Arcata (26-4), a 50-38 winner over Piedmont (21-10), which beat Arcata by 40 points to start the season. Abby Puzz made 5 of 6 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 21 points.

Title game: 2 p.m. Saturday at American Canyon (American Canyon)


Brookside Christian (Stockton) 64, Eastside College Prep (East Palo Alto) 50 — Sasha Brown and Ariana Vaughn scored 21 points apiece leading host top seed Brookside Christian (28-4) to a tougher-than-expected win, considering Eastside Prep (20-11) was down to five players. Charmaine Bradford had 15 points for Eastside.

Brookside now plays Pinewood (Los Altos Hills) (28-3), a 54-44 winner over Capital Christian-Sacramento (26-6). Leeana Bade had 17 and Marissa Hing 14 for the winners, who have won four state titles and seven Northern California championships.

Title game: 10 a.m. at American Canyon (American Canyon)

Some statistics were attained from The Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee, Prep2Prep.com,  Marin Independent-Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Area News Group, Napa Valley Register and the Eureka Times Standard for this report.