SACRAMENTO - It was two for one night for Newark Memorial's boys basketball team Saturday night at Arco Arena.
With a 58-49 CIF North Region Division I title victory over De La Salle (Concord), the Cougars not only avenged a bitter North Coast Section championship game loss to the Spartans two weeks earlier, but they also punched a ticket to Bakersfield for a swing at the state's ultimate prize. 
Newark Memorial senior Khion Sankey.
File photo by Dennis Lee.
The third-seeded Cougars (30-4) were able to do that with stifling and strong full court pressure, which caused a remarkable 30 turnovers. Those turnovers served a second purporse, keeping De La Salle out of its precise halfcourt sets and turned this one into a frantic uptempo contest.
Much more so, anyway, than the NCS finals, a 40-37 Newark Memorial defeat.
Newark was at its best in the middle quarters, outscoring the streaking Spartans 32-13 to take a shocking 43-22 lead into the fourth quarter.
"They took us out of everything we wanted to do," De La Salle coach Frank Allocco said. "That's just a tough, physical, strong team. And obviously we just didn't handle the pressure very well."
To their credit, the top-seeded Spartans (29-3), who have overachieved all season, made a game of it with a remarkable 22-5 run to close to 48-44 with 2:24 remaining on six straight points by 6-foot-8 Santa Clara-bound post John McArthur, who finished a fantastic senior year with 27 points.
"Despite everything, I actually thought we were going to pull this one out," Allocco said.
But Newark Memorial is not only a strong and resilient team, but is smart and tough too. The Cougars made 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to secure their second Northern California title and first since 2000.
Newark coach Craig Ashmore, who has gotten the most from these Cougars, said Saturday's win was one of his most satisifying. He had a good feeling even after his team's disappointing NCS title loss.
"The thing is they had no time to dwell on it," he said. "These guys had a purpose."
They had plenty of balance on Saturday as Jisuan Randle had 10 points while Casey Norris, Shykill Byrd and Isaiah Clark combined for 23 points.
Newark now gets defending state champion Westchester (Los Angeles) in next week's finals.
Girls Division I
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 52, Berkeley 42
It was a stupendous scene at Arco Arena with the loudest and largest contingent of fans from Oak Ridge, screaming, waving and cheering their approval. 
Oak Ridge senior Sara James.
File photo by David Steutel
Stanford-bound Sara James, a do-everything 5-10 senior, didn't have her best game with nine turnovers, including seven in the first half. But she never panicked or lost composure and finished with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and her team erased a bitter NorCal title defeat the previous year in Division II finals to Carondelet.
As good as James was, the key player was 6-foot senior Caitlin Welsch, who had a game-high 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting, to go along with eight rebounds.
Oak Ridge calls Welsch "Big Trouble" and she nothing but a thorn in the side of Berkeley, which made just 16 of 61 shots (26 percent) largely because the team's tallest player was changing shots.
Add in a productive night from Carly Bettencourt (eight points, five assists, six rebounds) and it was a dream night for the Trojans, who now get to play Long Beach Poly, which has won a state-record four consecutive Divison I state crowns.
Oak Ridge already has a win over another national power Brea Olinda, the defending state Division II title.
Berkeley struggled most of the night and missed numerous interior shots, but got 11 points each from Brittany Boyd and Rachael Howard and 10 points by Elisha Davis.
Boyd, one of the state's top junior guards, was dynamic throughout and helped cut Oak Ridge's lead to 39-36 on a steal, layup and 3-point play with 3:56 left in the game.
But on the ensuing inbounds pass, Boyd reached in, picked up her fifth personal and fouled out. The Yellowjackets never got within three thr rest of the way, thanks in part to a couple big buckets from Webster.
When the final horn sounded, the Trojans stormed the floor and celebrated with their large following roaring its approval.
"That's a memory I'll never forget," James said.
Boys Division II
St. Francis (Mountain View) 48, Woodcreek (Roseville) 47
Patrick Crowley, a 6-foot-5 senior, grabbed a Spencer Britschgi miss and swished a 5-footer at the buzzer giving St. Francis a dramatic and stunning win.
In a nip-and-tuck battle throughout, Tyler Johnson made one of two free throws with 15.0 seconds left to cut Woodcreek's lead to 47-46. The Fresno State-bound Johnson, who had a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, forced Woodcreek's 6-10 post Mike Kurtz to drop the ball out of bounds on St. Francis' baseline with 12.1 seconds.
After a timeout, Johnson found Britschgi for an open look at the top of the key. The shot bounded over Kurtz, Crowley grabbed it, pump-faked Kurtz and swished the up-and-under giving the Lancers (30-3) the thrilling victory and fourth NorCal title.
"That's one you dream about," said Crowley, who finished with six points and 10 rebounds. "I just got it, pump faked and it went in. I still can't believe it."
It was a crushing defeat for Woodcreek (28-6), which got 14 points from Ryan Milat and 10 points and nine rebounds by Kurtz. Coach Burnel Pinkerton was gracious, strong and heart-broken in defeat.
His team, he said, had won numerous close games this season, including a 91-83 semifinal overtime win at Mitty last week.
"Life has a way of evening out," he said. "This one hurts. I feel bad for the kids. But when the smoke clears they'll realize what a great season it's been."
St. Francis experienced a crushing defeat last season, losing in the NorCal finals to Rocklin. It was a loss that stuck with the returning Lancers throughout the offseason.
"I remember there was a lot of crying after that one," Crowley said. "This feels completely different."
Both coaches were anticipating a much higher scoring game, but defenses were tenacious. Woodcreek managed just 35 percent shooting (16 of 46) and St. Francis 31 percent (20 of 63). But the shorter Lancers held a 44-39 rebounding edge.
"I'll take my 6-3 guys any day of the week," St. Francis coach Mike Motil said.
Pinkerton said the same about his team, which fought back from a 43-37 fourth quarter deficit with a 6-0 run keyed by two buckets from Nik Milani and a putback by Kurtz. From there the game see-sawed until a 3-pointer and free throw by Ryan Sondhi put Woodcreek up 47-45 with 41.2 seconds left.
But the Lancers made the tough plays down the stretch.
"It's a tough way to lose a game," Pinkerton said. "We've won games like that so I know how it feels to be on the other end. Good for them. Give them credit. They seem like a bunch of nice kids. But I can tell you it's no fun on this end."
St. Francis will now play Lincoln (San Diego), a 60-52 winner over Compton.
Girls Division II
Carondelet (Concord) 40, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 38
Carondelet didn't remorse. Instead, the Cougars rallied.
Two weeks after they lost their second-leading scorer, emotional leader and main outside scoring threat Ricki Radanovich to a broken arm, they didn't break as a squad and won a Northern California championship many thought they couldn't with a bitterly-fought victory over Mitty.
Carondelet sophomore Hannah Huffman.
File photo by David Steutel
Without its outside threat, Carondelet (27-5) took its game inside and got huge efforts from 6-foot-3 New Mexico-bound Erin Boettcher (11 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks) and 6-2 Erica Payne (11 points, 15 rebounds) to avenge an earlier loss to top seeded Mitty (26-6), which got a game-high 16 points by Ashley Watson and 10 points and 10 rebounds by Elisabeth Gordon.
The Cougars also got a pair of tough late plays from 5-8 sophomore guard Hannah Huffman to move into next week's state finals against nationally-ranked Mater Dei-Santa Ana, a 51-46 winner over defending state champion Brea-Olinda.
"I think Ricki's injury just made the rest of us that much stronger," Payne said. "We want to win for her, plus she made sure we never backed down."
Huffman didn't, posting up and scoring with 23.5 seconds remaing and 1.0 on the shot clock, giving Carondelet a 40-36 lead. Watson made two free throws and after Payne missed the front end of a one-and-one with 9.8 seconds, Huffman was faced with a streaking Watson dribble-driving toward the hoop.
Huffman (nine points) said she thought about fouling and forcing Watson to shoot free throws. Instead she just grabbed the ball, forced a jump ball.
"She got it clean," Watson said.
Said Mitty coach Sue Phillips: "It was a good call."
With 3.7 seconds left, the Monarchs brought the ball into Courtney Wilson, a 6-3 senior. After a nice pump fake her shot glanced off the backboard and the Cougars had survived to win their fourth NorCal title and second straight.
"It's a credit to Carondelet," Phillips said. "They executed an excellent game plan, did a great job on the interior and played an excellent defensive game. I thought both teams did."
Indeed both teams didn't get many good looks, Carondelet was 17 of 49 (35 percent) and Mitty 16 of 57 (28 percent). Boettcher's rejections had a lot to do with that.
"Erin was an aninmal out there," Gartner said.
Gartner caught herself. "Wait, this is going in the newspaper," she said. "She was a very strong woman today."
She and the Cougars were both.
Carondelet now plays Mater Dei (Santa Ana), the nation's No. 3 team, which defeated No. 2 and defending champion Brea Olinda, 51-46.
Boys Division III
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 57, Sacramento 50
It was everything everyone said it would be: Bishop O'Dowd's brawn versus Sacramento's high-scoring backcourt.
In the end, not only did O'Dowd's muscle and size prevail, but so did its two under-appreciated guards.
O'Dowd junior guard Anders Haas.
File photo by Matthew Farrell
James Thomas and Anders Haas made two key buckets down in the final 2 minutes, O'Dowd outrebounded Sacramento 57-28 and the North Coast Section champions muscled up on the defensive end, allowing just six points in the fourth quarter in a fiercely-played championship game at Arco Arena.
Thomas, a 6-foot-3 senior, drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to put his team for good 52-50 and Haas, a 6-foot junior, then made an acrobatic, hanging layup 40 seconds later as O'Dowd (30-3) captured its sixth Northern California title and moved into next week's state finals against Serra (Gardena), a 74-50 winner over Centennial.
It was particularly satisfying for Thomas and Anders, who read Sacramento coach Derek Swafford's comments that his team's guards would "dominate" O'Dowd.
"I know I took it personal," Thomas said. "I think we all did."
That may be, but Sacramento's backcourt did score all but four of its points.
Josiah Turner, one of the top junior guards in the country, scored 20 and Rice-bound Travon Abraham added 17. But Turner averages 28 points per game and he managed just six points after intermission. He was 5 of 14 from the floor and Abraham was 7-for-21.
Sacramento (26-7) finished 17 of 61 from the floor (28 percent), largely because of the perimeter defense from a host of O'Dowd guards and the brick of a front line down low, 6-8 Brandon Ashley (13 points, 13 rebounds), 6-6 Richard Longrus and 6-5 Jordan Barton (14 rebounds, seven blocks) .
"That was a competitive, brutal war," Swafford said. "They wanted the game under 60, we wanted it in the 70s and 80s. They obviously carried out their game plan to perfection. Give them all the credit."
O'Dowd probably should have been in control and won by double digits, but it made just 11 of 26 free throws. The Bay Area powers also grabbed 22 offensive rebounds - a combined 11 from Ashley and Barton, but missed several layups.
Despite that, O'Dowd trailed four times and only once in the second half, 50-49 on a driving layup from Turner with 2:54 left.
That's when Thomas and Haas made their two big buckets. Thomas called it the biggest 3-pointer of his career, "but there's still more season to play," he said.
Not for Sacramento.
"We need to celebrate our season, not be down about it," said Swafford whose team returns 10 next season including Turner. "We're going to come back strong next year and really work on our rebounding."
Girls Division III
St. Mary's (Stockton) 70, Sacramento 45
Same old story as the nation's No. 1 team rolled to its eighth NorCal title and third win over a very good Sacramento team. The margins have been 42, 30 and 25.
The Rams (32-1) used a perfectly balanced attack with all five starters in double figures, led by Cal-bound Afure Jemerigbe with 14 points, Ali Gibson 13, Duke-bound Chelsea Gray 12, Annissa Garcia 11 and Alle Moreno with 10.
Much is made of Jemerigbe and Gray, a pair of McDonald's All-American, and rightly so. But St. Mary's coach Tom Gonsalves took great pride looking over the final box score.
"We're much more than two girls," Gonsalves said. "We're a balanced team."
No arguments there from Sacramento, which was forced into 38 turnovers. The Dragons thought the third time they could make a game of it, but frankly they were never in it. The Rams' vaunted full-court pressure once again did in another foe.
St. Mary's forces 35 turnovers a game, according to Gonsalves.
"They're No. 1 in the country for a reason," said Florida-bound Brittany Shine, who scored a game-high 17 points. "If they weren't around, we'd definitely be a state champion.".
That honor will go to St. Mary's with a win over Bishop Amat, which defeated Inglewood in the Southern California final. Gonsalves was happy to play Amat, which hasn't seen the frantic style of St. Mary's. The Rams already played Inglewood this season.
Gonsalves would have rather played Mater Dei, the team that knocked off St. Mary's in the finals of the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix.
"We'd love to play Mater Dei again," he said. "Right now we're a totally different team than the team that faced them in December. I can't imagine there is anybody better than us right now."
Other than Shine, no one scored more than seven for Sacramento. Jemerigbe had nine steals and Gray and Gibson added four apiece. Kendall Kenyon came off the bench to grab nine rebounds in nine minutes of play for St. Mary's.
Boys Division IV
St. Mary's (Berkeley) 54, Salesian (Richmond) 50 OT
For the second time in the post season, the St. Mary’s Panthers found a way to defeat the Salesian Pride.
After losing to Salesian three times during the regular season, St. Mary’s knocked off the Pride in the North Coast Section finals 52-49. On Saturday at the NorCal Region Championships at Folsom High School, Glenn Baral sank a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left in overtime to lift the Panthers.
With the victory, St. Mary’s (26-9) advances to the state championship for the second time in three years, this time against Price-Los Angeles.
Salesian (32-3), which won the Division IV state championship last year, led throughout Saturday only to have St. Mary’s rally in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve done that throughout the playoffs,” said St. Mary’s coach Manny Nodar. “We were down at half against St. Patrick’s and we came back and won. We were down at half against Cloverdale and won that one, too. We just make the necessary adjustments at halftime and the players execute.”
Baral hit a 3-point bucket in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback. His trey with 6:32 remaining in the game pulled the Panthers within two points at 37-35. After a bucket by Salesian’s Dominic Artis and two free throws by St. Mary’s Justin Pollard, Desmond Simmons hit a reverse layup for the Pride to put the lead back at four points, 41-37.
Two big plays by the Panthers tied the score. A tip-in by Dominique Lee on a missed shot pulled the Panthers within two and a goal-tending call against Simmons on a Demetrius Lee layup tied the game for the first time at 41-41.
Salesian regained the lead on three free throws by Simmons, but a driving layup by Isiah Taylor gave St. Mary’s the lead with 2:10 remaining. Artis provided the only point the rest of the way to tie the game at 45-45.
Baral had a chance to win the game in regulation when he took a shot from the corner with 28 seconds remaining, but his shot missed the mark and the game went into overtime.
In the extra period, Baral did not miss. With the teams tied at 50-50, St. Mary’s worked the ball around until it ended up with Baral back in the same corner where he missed the 3-point shot minutes earlier. This time he drained the bucket for a 53-50 lead.
“The coach said just to relax and keep your compusure,” said Baral. “So that’s what I did. We’ve been waiting for this game for a long time so it’s great that we were able to win.”
Nodar said that Baral was not necessarily the first option on the play, but he wasn’t a bad choice either.
“We were just trying to work the ball around because we knew Salesian was going to double the ball,” said Nodar. “Glenn is one of our best three-point shooters so when we swung it to him, he was open for the shot and he took it.”
Salesian attempted a shot and missed with under 20 seconds remaining. Demetrius Lee was fouled on a layup attempt at the other end with 10 seconds left, but he missed the free throw attempt giving Salesian one last chance to tie the game.
However Quincy Smith’s despearation 3-pointer missed the mark and Baral got the rebound. He was fouled with less than a second remaining and made one free throw to clinch the win.
Baral finished with 15 points while Pollard led St. Mary’s with 19. Demetrius Lee was also in double figures with 10.
Simmons had 24 points and nine rebounds for Salesian, but no other Pride player had more than seven points.
- Kevin Askeland
St. Mary’s 54, Salesian 50 OT
Salesian 10 16 9 10 5 – 50
St. Mary’s 7 12 9 17 9 – 54
Salesian (50): Ambion 1 0 0-0 2; Dunn 3 0 0-0 6; Tillman 0 0 0-0 0; Mize 0 0 0-0 0; Leonard 0 0 0-0 0; Artis 2 0 1-3 5; Thompson 0 0 0-0 0; Montgomery 3 0 0-1 6; Smith 2 0 3-3 7; Simmons 10 0 4-9 24; Tagaloa 0 0 0-0 0. 21 0 8-16 50.
St. Mary’s (54): Pollard 5 1 8-8 19; Stewart 0 0 0-0 0; Lee 3 0 4-8 10; Taylor 1 0 0-0 2; Thomas 0 0 0-0 0; Baral 5 4 1-2 15; Lee 3 1 1-1 8. 17 6 14-19 54.
Rebounds: Salesian 33 (Simmons 9), St. Mary’s 30 (Lee 11). Assists: Salesian 6 (Artis 2, Smith 2); St. Mary’s 7 (Pollard 3).
Girls Division IV
St. Mary's (Berkeley) 52, McKinleyville37
After taking a 31-26 lead through three quarters of play, the St. Mary’s Panthers saw that lead vanish in the opening seconds of the third quarter when McKinleyville dropped in a pair of 3-pointers by Kaila Johnson and Kaylee David to give the Humboldt County team a 32-31 advantage.
That brief defensive lapse, however, was all the motivation St. Mary’s needed. The Panthers outscored McKinleyville 21-5 the rest of the way to capture a 52-37 win in the Division IV NorCal Regionals at Folsom High School on Saturday.
“It all started with our defense in the fourth quarter,” said St. Mary’s coach Nathan Fripp. “When a team can’t score, it makes it hard to get back and set up your zone defense.”
McKinleyville’s defense kept it in the game through the first half as the two teams battled to a 16-16 tie by the break. St. Mary’s (31-3) began to work the ball inside to Danielle Mauldin in the third quarter and that strategy paid dividends the rest of the game. The senior forward scored 11 of her 17 points in the second half and helped open up the three-point shooting in the fourth quarter.
“I see on the stat sheet that Danielle scored 17 points and had 14 rebounds,” said Fripp. “Seventeen and fourteen. That just speaks for itself.”
Mauldin sparked the fourth quarter run with three straight free throws to put St. Mary’s up 36-32. Cody Sims and Emily Vann then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it an eight-point game, 42-34.
“My shots weren’t falling,” said Sims. “But I knew I had to keep shooting because eventually they will fall.”
Sims capped the game with a three-point play and added two free throws in the waning seconds to finish with 13 points. Vann was also in double figures with 10.
“I’m so proud of this team because we played as a team,” said Vann. “We buckled down and did the things we had to do to win this game.”
Fripp said that his team made a commitment to win Saturday’s game over a year ago.
“When we lost in the NorCal finals last year, the girls said they were going to come back this year and they were going to win it,” said Fripp. “They made a commitment on the court and in the classroom to get it done.”
St. Mary’s will take on Harvard-Westlake in the state title game in Bakersfield on Friday. McKinleyville finishes the season at 29-4. Sage Romberg finished with 11 points and 11 assists for the Panthers.
- Kevin Askeland
St. Mary’s 52, McKinleyville 37
McKinleyville 7 9 10 11 – 37
St. Mary’s 12 4 16 20 – 52
McKinleyville (37): Romberg 5 1 0-0 11; Johnson 4 1 0-0 9; David 2 1 2-2 7; Miller 1 0 0-2 2; Ford 0 0 2 2 2; Sasser 0 0 0-0 0; Lovelace 2 0 1-2 5; Abbott 0 0 1-2 1. 1 3 6-10 37
St.Mary’s (52): Johnson 0 0 0-0 0; Serrell 0 0 0-0 0; Thomas 0 0 0-0 0; Lawson 2 0 4-6 8; Bernal 2 0 0-0 4; Jones 0 0 0-0 0; Vann 4 1 1-3 10; Sims 3 1 6-9 13; Talauta 0 0 0-0 0; Smull 0 0 0-0 0; Moore 0 0 0-0 0; S. Mauldin 0 0 0-0 0; 5 1 6-8 17. St. Mary’s 16 3 17-26 52.
Rebounds: McKinleyville 27 (Romberg 11), St. Mary’s 32 (D. Mauldin 14). Assists: McKinleyville 4 (Romberg 4), St. Mary’s 8 (Sims 2, Vann 2, Lawson 2).
Boys Division V
Branson (Ross) 62, University (San Francisco) 44
A 4-0 run at the end of the first half didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but it provided all the momentum Branson needed to run away from University in the Division V NorCal Regional on Saturday at Folsom.
“We made that four-point run right at the end of the first half and I told the guys they did a great job, now let’s start the second half like we closed the first,” said Branson coach Bob Donlan.
The Bulls did just that, scoring the first 15 points on the third quarter to build a 39-18 lead en route to a 62-44 victory over the Red Devils.
The win puts Branson (25-6) into the state championship game in Bakersfield next week. The Bulls have won five NorCal championships in nine appearances, winning four in a row from 2005 to 2008.
The Bulls didn’t defeat University with an outstanding offensive attack. Instead, Branson more than doubled the Red Devils’ rebounding total (41-20), made 16 out of 22 free throws (including 10 of 12 to close the game) and played suffocating defense that forced University into shooting three-pointers from NBA range.
“Rebounding, free throws and defense,” said Donlan. “That’s a pretty good recipe for success.”
Tyler Gaffaney proved to be the sparkplug on offense for the Bulls. He finished with 20 points, but he also had seven rebounds and added three assists. He was 6-for-6 from the free throw line and made two three-pointers.
Marco Viti came off the bench to provide 14 points while Gabe Moynihan tossed in 11 points and had a team-high nine rebounds.
University made eight three-pointers in the game, including a record five by Noah Springwater, who finished the game with 23 points. The Red Devils were 8 of 20 from the three-point arc but shot just 31 percent from two-point range. Zach Karrasch was the next highest scorer for University with seven points.
University (28-8) lost for the first time in NorCal championship play. The Red Devils had won titles in 1991, 1995 and 2002.
The win was Branson’s second over University this season. The Bulls edged the Red Devils 41-40 in the North Coast Section semifinals earlier this month.
- Kevin Askeland
Branson 62, University 44
University 10 8 7 19 – 44
Branson 10 14 15 23 – 62
University (44): Enriquez 2 1 0-0 5; Tannenbaum 0 0 1-2 1; Schneider 1 1 0-0 3; Wald 2 1 0-0 5; Springwater 8 5 2-3 23; Karrasch 2 0 3-4 7; Newman 0 0 0-0 0; Mah 0 0 0-0 0; Lee 0 0 0-0 0; Savage 0 0 0-0 0; Carroll 0 0 0-0 0; Rechschaffen 0 0 0-0 0; Hulley 0 0 0-0 0; Anderson 0 0 0-0 0. 15 8 6-9 44.
Branson (62): Rabin 0 0 4-6 4; Dunn 1-0-4-4 6; Gaffney 6 2 6-6 20; Morris 1 0 0-2 2; Viti 7 0 0-0 14; Moynihan 4 1 2-2 11; Boone 2 1 0-0 5; Stuart 0 0 0-0 0; Jacobs 0 0 0-0 0; Gray 0 0 0-0 0. 21 4 16-22 62.
Rebounds: Branson 41 (Moynihan 9), University 20 (Enriquez 6); Assists: Branson 8 (Gaffney 3), University 4 (Springwater 2).
Girls Division V
Pinewood (Los Altos Hills) 53, Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) 47
The Pinewood Panthers are no strangers to the NorCal Regional championships and their experience in big games proved to be the difference in their win over Bradshaw Christian.
“We have the confidence of being there before,” said Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler. “We know that we can find ways to win whether it’s a running game or a grind it out game like today.”
The Panthers, who are 5-5 in NorCal finals after Saturday’s win, led 27-26 at halftime but saw that lead slip away in the third quarter. Junior guard Hailie Eackles proved to be the difference, however, as she posted a double-double in the game with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
“I’ve never seen Hailie play better,” said Scheppler.
Both teams made 19 field goals, but Pinewood made five more free throws and an extra three-point basket to gain the edge.
The Panthers were outrebounded 34-27 by Bradshaw Christian, which was making its first appearance in the NorCal finals. Cheyenn Williams had 18 rebounds for the Pride (24-9) but finished with just four points. Lauren Beyer scored 19 for Bradshaw Christian.
Miranda Seto added 14 points for Pinewood while Emily Liang had nine points, all on three-pointers.
The Panthers (26-6) advance to play Saint Anthony, which was a 48-41 winner over Montclair in the Southern California regional.
- Kevin Askeland
Pinewood 53, Bradshaw Christian 47
Bradshaw Christian 14 12 13 8 – 47
Pinewood 13 14 13 13 – 53
Pinewood (53): Morehead 1 0 1-2 3; McLoughlin 1 0 1-2 3; Liang 3 3 0-0 9; Eackles 9 1 5-8 24; Seto 5 0 4-6 14. 19 4 11-18 53.
Bradshaw Christian (47): Jones 4 1 0-2 9; MacKenzie 1 1 1-2 4; Beyer 8 0 3-3 19; Smith 2 0 2-2 6; Espinosa 2 1 0-0 5; Williams 2 0 0-1 4. 19 3 6-10 47.
Rebounds: Pinewood 27 (Eackles 10), Bradshaw Christian 34 (Williams 34); Assists: Pinewood 5 (Morehead 3), Bradshaw Christian 8 (Jones 3).
