BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — If California has been the nation's hotbed for girls basketball in 2009-10, then this should be some showcase.
Oak Ridge star 6-foot post Caitlin Welsch.
Photo by David Steutel
Three of the nation's top five teams will partake in the CIF State Championships on Friday and Saturday at a new venue, Robobank Arena in the Central Valley of the Golden State.
A fourth team, defending Division II champion Brea Olinda, has also been been among the nation's top five, but it was eliminated by current No. 2 Mater Dei in the South Regional final last week.
The nation's No. 1 squad, St. Mary's, and No. 4 Long Beach Poly look to repeat as state champs, but three other divisions will boast new champions. After winning four of five games last year, Southern California closed the gap and now trails Northern California 66-61 in state finals since 1981.
Northern California holds big edges in Division IV (14-8) and V (17-5), and Southern California has leads in Division I (20-8) and III (14-13), with Division II tied at 14.
DIVISION I – Saturday, 6 p.m.
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (31-3) vs. Poly (Long Beach) (31-2)
WIN STREAKS: Oak Ridge 12, Long Beach Poly 22.
STATE RECORD: Oak Ridge 0-0, Poly 4-0.
TERRIFIC TRIOS: Oak Ridge — F Sara James, C Caitlin Welsch, G Carly Bettencourt. F Sheila Boykin, G Ariya Crook-Williams, G Brittany Wilson.
POINTS PER GAME (ALLOWED): Oak Ridge 65.8 (42.0), Long Beach Poly 68.3 (38.0).
Oak Ridge picked a fine time to make the state finals.
The Trojans take on not only the nation’s fourth-ranked team but the first and only Division I team to ever win four straight titles. With a win, Poly would become the first girls team to ever win five straight in the same Division (Bishop Montgomery also won four in Division III).
Oak Ridge has proved it can knock off some heavyweights, defeating defending Division II state champion and nationally ranked Brea Olinda 66-64 in game No. 3 (Dec. 3). The Trojans are led by one of the state’s top players, Stanford-bound Sara James, who not only scores better than 20 points per game but fills up the stat sheet with rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. The 5-foot-10 senior had a somewhat off game against Berkeley with nine turnovers, but led all rebounders with 11 to go with three assists.
Oak Ridge is going to need another big game from its one true post, 6-foot senior Welsch, who had 19 points and eight rebounds against Berkeley. Bettencourt, a 5-8 junior, is a rock at the point, and co-captains Natalie Stone, a 5-8 junior, and senior guard Megan Griswold help hold the team together.
Poly's Ariya Crook-Williams on the loose.
Photo by Jann Hendry
With James and head coach Stephen White on board the last four seasons, the Trojans are 118-15, which is awfully impressive. Unfortunately, it’s not going to blow over the Jackrabbits, who are 131-8 in the same span and, of course, winners of those four titles. This year, the Jackrabbits lost back-to-back games at the Nike TOC in Phoenix to Mater Dei (56-51) and Brea Olinda (48-46), and they haven’t lost since. Considering Oak Ridge beat Brea Olinda, things might look promising for the Trojans.
It’s hard to know how to defend Poly, which didn’t have a single player averaging in double figures in points. Five players average between 7.4 and 9.6 per game, led by Boykin, a 6-foot junior (9.6 points, team-best 8.8 rebounds).
Brittany Wilson (8.8), Crook-Williams (8.6), Ta’nitra Byrd (8.2) and Ashley Wilson (7.4) have all led the team in scoring this year, and five others can score in double digits as well. The Jackrabbits, like always, are extremely deep. In last year’s 57-33 state-title win over Monte Vista, Byrd led the team in scoring with 12, but eight other players scored and 11 recorded rebounds.
In last week’s 68-53 win over Clovis West for the South Regional title, the Jackrabbits, not known for their outside shooting, made four 3-pointers early and seven for the game, which opened up the interior. Crook-Williams had 16, Boykin 14 and Byrd 13. If they shoot like that again, history will more than likely be made.
DIVISION II – Friday, 6 p.m.
Carondelet (Concord) (27-5) vs. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) (31-1)
WIN STREAKS: Carondelet 14, Mater Dei 14.
STATE RECORD: Carondelet 1-2, Mater Dei 1-1.
TERRIFIC TRIOS: Carondelet — F Erica Payne, G Hannah Huffman, C Erin Boettscher. G; Mater Dei — F Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, G Jordan Adams, F Jessica Duarte.
POINTS PER GAME (ALLOWED): Carondelet 69.3 (43.1), Mater Dei 71.4 (41.0).
Mater Dei, fighting for a possible mythical national championship, has had a dry spell since its last state appearance, winning a Division I crown in 1996, the year after the Monarchs lost in the 1995 finals.
Mater Dei's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.
Photo by Heston Quan.
They no doubt savored this trip to Bakersfield after losing in last year’s South Regional final to Brea Olinda, spoiling a perfect season and a national crown. Brea Olinda handed Mater Dei its only defeat again this season, 47-43 on Jan. 18, but the Monarchs gained sweet revenge with a 51-46 last week in the regional final.
National Player of the Year candidate Mosqueda-Lewis, a 6-1 junior, had 17 points and Duarte, a 5-11 junior who has emerged as the team’s unsung hero, added 16 points and nine rebounds. Adams, a 6-foot point guard considered one of the top sophomores in the country, had just seven points but 13 rebounds.
The Monarchs, ranked second in the country by MaxPreps, used a 13-5 fourth-quarter run to claim the much-elusive title. It’s hard to imagine a letdown in the state title game, but so much was riding on last week’s game. Coach Kevin Kiernan, which led Troy to three state titles, will no doubt get his team prepared for the dangerous Cougars, who seemed down and out when they lost their second-leading scorer and emotional leader, Santa Clara-bound Ricki Radanovich, two weeks ago to a broken arm.
But Carondelet, behind superior inside play from Payne, a 6-1 junior, and Boettscher, a 6-3 senior, and the athletic guard play from one of the state’s top sophomores, Huffman, regrouped and three straight regional games, including an absolute war against perennial state power Archbishop Mitty, 40-38, in the final.
Boettscher might have played the best game of her career with 11 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks, and Payne, one of the state’s top juniors, added 15 rebounds and 11 points. Huffman made big plays down the stretch.
The coaching staff that developed Stanford's Jayne Appel has led the Cougars to the state title game now three of the last five years and four out of seven. Head coach Margaret Gartner actually faced Kiernan in the 2006 state finals, a Troy 51-46 victory in Appel’s final prep game. Carondelet has two highly regarded assistants as well – Scott Espinosa-Brown, who led Campolindo (Moraga) to three straight titles starting in 1995, and Elgin Leslie, brother of WNBA star Lisa Leslie.
DIVISION III – Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
St. Mary's (Stockton) (32-1) vs. Bishop Amat (La Puente) (27-7)
WIN STREAKS: St. Mary’s 25, Bishop Amat 4.
STATE RECORD: St. Mary’s 5-2, Bishop Amat 2-2.
TERRIFIC TRIOS: St. Mary’s — G Chelsea Gray, F Afure Jemerigbe, G Allie Moreno. Bishop Amat — F Arielle Wideman, G Andrea Villanueva, F Leticia Galarza.
POINTS PER GAME (ALLOWED): St. Mary’s 82.0 (44.2), Bishop Amat 58.6 (43.1).
One of the state’s top one-two punches in history — McDonald’s All-Americans Gray and Jemerigbe — play in their final high school games and plan on leaving on top. Not just state-wide top, the best in the nation.
St. Mary’s is No. 1 in almost all national rankings, so a victory over Amat would secure about the only thing the tandem hasn’t accomplished.
Chelsea Gray has saved St. Mary's more than once.
Photo by Dennis Lee
Gray, a 6-foot guard headed for Duke, is considered the Magic Johnson of girls basketball, a winner in every respect. She controls the entire game from the point, whether making spectacular no-look passes, posting up or shooting a 3-pointer. Gray has helped find a way for the Rams to win 123 times in her career, compared to 12 defeats.
Cal signee Jemerigbe is more athletic and at times spectacular than Gray. She plays near the rim and is a tremendous rebounder and finisher on the break.
Make no mistake, however, the Rams are far from a two-player squad, as they proved in the North Region final, a 70-45 win over a very good Sacramento squad. The team’s entire starting five scored in double digits, led by Jemerigbe with 14 points, Ali Gibson 13, Gray 11, Annissa Garcia 11 and Moreno 10.
The frenetic, pressing, high-speed style coach Tom Gonsalves stresses has been successful even without All-Americans and it’s hard to adjust to in a single 32-minute outing. That might make things tough on the Lancers, who avenged a Southern Section finals lost to Inglewood with 56-54 triumph in last week’s South Region final.
Bishop Amat overcame 24 turnovers, which led to 14 fewer shots, but the Lancers prevailed behind 17 points apiece from Widerman and Galarza and fantastic defensive work by Michelle Yamamoto and Gina Henderson, who held Loyola-Marymount-bound Hazel Ramirez in check. Inglewood played St. Mary’s very tough in last year’s state finals, a 71-62 victory for the Rams, who got 21 points from Moreno and 14 from Gray.
Amat will definitely be forced into turnovers against St. Mary’s, which forces 35 per game, including 38 to Sacramento last week. It’s just a matter if the Lancers can stay composed like they did against Inglewood. Coach Richard Wiard is certainly primed for the challenge, having led his teams to state title games four straight years starting in 2004. Amat won two of the four, including a win and loss to St. Mary’s.
DIVISION IV – Friday, 3:30 p.m.
St. Mary's (Berkeley) (31-3) vs. Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood) (33-1)
WIN STREAKS: St. Mary’s 18, Harvard-Westlake 29.
STATE RECORD: St. Mary’s 0-0, Harvard-Westlake 0-1.
TERRIFIC TRIOS: St. Mary’s — F Danielle Mauldin, C Emily Vann, F Cody Sims. Harvard-Westlake — F Nicole Hung, G Nicole Nesbit, G Skylar Tsutsui.
POINTS PER GAME (ALLOWED): St. Mary’s 57.5 (39.8), Harvard-Westlake 67.0 (49.0).
The state championship scene is new to almost all new to all parties in this one as Harvard-Westlake’s only appearance was a 47-42 Division III loss to Acalanes in 1999. St. Mary’s earned its first trip to a title game with a resounding 52-37 win over McKinleyville as St. Mary’s-bound Danielle Mauldin, a 5-11 wing, had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Cody Sims, a 6-foot forward, and Van, a 6-1 post, combined for 23.
Harvard-Westlake's Nicole Nesbit.
Photo by Vincent Pugliese
That’s usually where the Panthers get most of their points, however, April Bernal, a 5-8 junior, and Taylor Lawson, a 5-8 senior, also attack from the backcourt. Mauldin’s younger sister Shannon, a 5-9 sophomore, is the team’s fourth-leading scorer and rebounder. Danielle Mauldin is as strong and fierce a competitor as you’ll find.
The Panthers’ only defeats all season have been to Brea Olinda (58-38), Hanford (67-42) and Miramonte (52-50), the latter on Jan. 18. The team regrouped after that defeat and hasn’t lost since. The Panthers are ranked 15th in the state. Harvard-Westlake is ranked fifth and has only a single defeat to the nation’s No. 2 team, Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 79-42 on Dec. 11.
Among their 29 straight wins have been two over perennial state power Bishop Montgomery, including 57-44 in last week’s regional final. Princeton-bound Hung, a 5-11 senior, had 23 rebounds, grabbed 13 rebounds and was a perfect 13-for-13 at the line. Teammates Sydney Haydel, a 5-8 senior, added 15 points and eight rebounds and Nesbit, a 5-5 senior captain, added 11 points. The Wolverines held a 39-29 edge on the boards and used a 13-6 run to start the game to take control. They never relinquished it.
DIVISION V – Saturday, 9:30 a.m.
Pinewood (Los Altos Hills) (26-6) vs. St. Anthony (Long Beach) (25-9)
WIN STREAKS: Pinewood 6, St. Anthony 10.
STATE RECORD: Pinewood 3-1, St. Anthony 0-0.
TERRIFIC TRIOS: Pinewood — G Hailie Eackles, G Miranda Seto, F Jenna McLoughlin. St. Anthony — C Kendall Cooper, G Rina Towne, G Raquel Johnson.
POINTS PER GAME (ALLOWED): Pinewood 54.0 (39.3), St. Anthony 57.0 (41.2).
This is becoming somewhat routine for Pinewood coach Doc Sheppler and his Panthers, who are making their fourth state finals appearance in six years, including a 55-47 loss in last year’s game to Bellarmine-Jefferson.
Pinewood's Hailie Eackles.
Photo by Dennis Stiff
Pinewood fought through some early-season injuries and a tough nonleague and league schedule to jell just at the right time behind Eackles, a 5-8 junior who exploded for 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 53-47 North Region title victory over Bradshaw Christian. Seto, a 5-4 junior, added 14 points and Emily Liang added nine points all on 3-pointers, a weapon Scheppler often develops.
Almost all of the Pinewood kids can shoot, but it helps to have an inside presence like 5-10 junior Jenna McLoughlin, who will need to be at her best Saturday against one of the top freshman in the state in 6-3 Kendall Cooper. Cooper had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the regional final, a 48-41 win over Montclair Prep. She leads a balanced attack with 11.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
The Saints’ other big scoring threats are Rina Towne, a 5-7 point guard, Talor Hixon, a 5-7 senior, and Raquel Johnson, a 5-7 sophomore. St. Anthony is extremely young, with seven freshmen on a big 17-person roster. The Saints already have a win over Pinewood, a 43-42 triumph at the Nike Tournament of Champions on Dec. 22. They are guided by one of the state's most respected coaches James Anderson, who led Narbonne-Harbor City to national prominense.
