Bishop O'Dowd beats Windward in California Open Division girls basketball final

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Breanna Brown, a 6-foot-4 post with long arms, blocked a shot, grabbed the ball, threw the outlet pass to 5-4 guard Ariell Bostick who sent a pass to a streaking 6-2 K.C. Waters down the middle of the court.

Waters had a clear path to the hoop but immediately sent a touch pass to sprinting 6-4 McDonald's All-American Oderah Chidom who glided in for a layup.

The ball never touched the floor.

The fastbreak hoop was not only textbook but it also punctuated a brilliant fourth quarter, four superb prep careers and a resounding Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 60-45 CIF State Open Division girls title game win over previously undefeated Windward (Los Angeles) at Sleep Train Arena.

It also completely turned around a 58-43 defeat sustained earlier in the season to Windward (32-1), which entered No. 2 nationally in the MaxPreps.com computer rankings. Bishop O'Dowd (30-3) was No. 3.

"We didn't show up the first time," O'Dowd coach Malik McCord said. "This time we did. It was a blessing in disguise to lose like that. We haven't lost since. We couldn't have written it any better."

Indeed, the Dragons finished things off with a virtuoso performance as San Diego State-bound Bostick had a game-high 17 points, Cal-signee Waters 12 points and 20 rebounds, Virginia Tech-bound Brown 10 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks and Duke-signee Chidom, fighting foul trouble, had nine points and 12 rebounds.

O'Dowd owned a 61-36 edge in rebounds and it got another big game from sophomore guard Asha Thomas (10 points, six rebounds).

It all added up to perhaps O'Dowd's finest performance in its most important game against a team led by one of the nation's top junior point guards Jordin Canada (19 points) and best junior posts Kristen Simon (10 points, 13 rebounds).

"Both teams are very talented but they have more depth than we do," Windward coach Vanessa Nygaard said. "But the physicality of the game was a definite bonus for them. They’re an outstanding team and Malik does a great job."

With a limited bench, the pressure was on Canada and the other starters to shoulder the bulk of the scoring load.

Said Canada: "I’m proud of the team and with eight or nine players we’ve stepped up so many times. O’Dowd is a great team. The game was very physical but I have nothing bad to say."

Indeed the O'Dowd size and physicality was just too much down low — Simon fouled out early in the fourth quarter leaving Windward virtually defenseless in the paint — and the Dragons covered the perimeter as the Wildcats made just 5 of 22 3-pointers. They made nine the first time the teams met and long-range shooting also keyed a win over O'Dowd in a tournament game last season.

"This feels so amazing, so powerful," Waters said. "To finish with the first Open title and beat Windward which beat us twice is like a dream come true. I can sleep much easier at night. If we had ended with another loss to them it would have been a nightmare."

The game opened with a series of runs: Windward jumped out 5-0, before O'Dowd scored 27 of the next 32 points. Windward then scored 12 straight to close to 27-22. A jumper by Alexandra Kalmbach gave O'Dowd a 29-22 halftime lead.

After an even third quarter, the Dragons played nearly flawless in the fourth with all seniors contributing.

"We stepped our foot on the gas pedal and never looked back," Chidom said.

Bishop O'Dowd 60, Windward 45

WINDWARD (32-1)
Macchiati Smith 1-9 0-0 3, Courtney Jaco 1-2 1-8 0-0 3, Jordin Canada 6-20 6-8 19, Emily Surloff 3-11 2-2 10, Kristen Simon 3-12 4-6 10, Jewelia Ferguson 0 0-2 0. Totals 14-64 12-18 45.

BISHOP O'DOWD (30-3)
Asha Thomas 3-14 4-5 10, Ariell Bostick 6-15 2-2 17, Breanna Brown 5-13 0-2 10, Oderah Chidom 4-7 1-5 9, K.C. Waters 6-10 0-0 12, Alexandra Kalmbach 1-2 0-0 2, Aisia Robertson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 7-14 60.

Windward          10  12  11  12  — 45
Bishop O'Dowd 14  15   11   20  — 60

3-point shooting: Windward 5-22 (Surloff 2, Smith, Jaco, Canada), O'Dowd 3-12 (Bostick 3). Rebounds: Windward 36 (Simon 13), O'Dowd 61 (Waters 20). Assists: Windward 2, O'Dowd 9. Turnovers: Windward 11, O'Dowd 17.