One more Moore gives Salesian fighting shot vs. No. 4 Long Beach Poly

RICHMOND, Calif. — It's not easy for Salesian (Richmond) sophomore Minyon Moore to admit, but she's never beaten her bigger, older, McDonald's All-American sister Mariya Moore in one-on-one.

Not legitimately.

"I think I've got her once or twice, but I think she let me," Minyon said. "I think she could tell my feelings were really hurt, so she let me win."

There's little sugar coating or give-and-take between these highly competitive sisters, who lead the Pride (30-6) into the CIF Open Division championship game 6 p.m. Saturday against five-time state champion Long Beach Poly (26-3) at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.

Salesian coach Stephen Pezzola rarely lets them scrimmage on opposite teams.

"We've done it before, but it gets pretty intense," Pezzola said. "It's hard to get a lot done. It's obvious they love each other but even more so that they are both absolute warriors and hate to lose."

With both at 100 percent, the Pride have lost only once this year.

See CIF state girls basketball title-game capsules

Mariya, the do-it-all 5-foot-11 senior forward, was out with the flu for two of the losses. And Minyon, a quick 5-7 point guard, was brought back carefully after enduring torn ACLs on both knees separately as a 15-year-old.

She injured her left one during the summer before her freshman year. Then, in only her second game back, during last year's state Division IV, she tore her right ACL just before halftime.

"Nightmare," is how Minyon described it. "I came back so far and got back to the state title on an NBA court. I think I was overly excited. I knew I tore it immediately."

Said Mariya: "There were lots of tears for everyone. It was hard to re-focus on the game. We eventually did but fell a little short."

Despite 35 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a 17-of-20 performance from the line by Mariya, Salesian lost 62-60 to Serra-Gardena.

"We left it all on the court," Mariya said. "But it still hurt."

Said Minyon: "I felt helpless."

The tentative plan was for Minyon to sit out this high school season, to rest her knees fully in time for the AAU campaign in the spring. "But we have eight seniors. It was my last chance to play with Mariya. I had to come back. I just had to be smarter about it."

Early in the season, it was two minutes on the court, 15 minutes off. That increased to five on, 15 off. Only in the last month has Minyon been able to start and feel like her old self.

"I really haven't felt 100 percent until the last two games, where I really had no fear," Minyon said. "That's completely boosted my confidence."

She had 15 points and three steals in a 61-42 NorCal semifinal win at St. Mary's-Berkeley last week, followed by 13 points, six assists and three steals in a 78-64 win over Miramonte-Orinda at Sleep Train.

See CIF state girls basketball brackets

In both games, Mariya struggled offensively early and Minyon took that cue to take over scoring duties. "Her energy level was amazing," Pezzola said. "When you have both Mariah and Minyon at full speed, that level is pretty much over the top."

Mariya, who averages 17.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 3.6 steals, needed to only take four shots against Miramonte. She had nine assists, seven rebounds and five assists in 22 foul-plagued minutes.

When it was brought up at the press conference that her little sister had outscored her, Mariya sort of smirked.

"I hadn't noticed that," she said. "She's definitely helping us get to another level. She definitely helps with her quickness. It's a huge plus. As far as her outscoring me, that's sort of interesting. I'm sure I'll hear about it."

The sisters have been crazy competitive since, "well always," Mariya said. "In everything," she said. "Food, money, driving to the store and yelling "shotgun" to get the better seat in the car."

Said Minyon: "It's sister stuff. It's never so competitive that it got physical or nothing. Maybe a push here or together. In the end, we're always together."

But it's not easy being the younger, smaller sister, known as "Mariah's little sister," or "Mini Mariya."

Like any teen, Minyon seeks her own identity and she's found it, largely in the last couple of weeks.

"I heard people say I just made the team last year because I was Mariya's sister," she said. "Then I couldn't play all year or prove myself. And then this year, with the other injury, I had to come back slow. It was sort of hard. But I think I'm showing what I can do and I'm just glad I can help us to victory. It feels good."

Unlike from her coach, peers and the media — Mariya was the 2012-13 San Francisco Chronicle Player of the Year in a region flooded with basketball standouts — getting praise from Minyon about her older sister isn't easy, Pezzola said.

Even after recording one of her 13 career triple doubles (that includes two quadruple-doubles), "Minyon might imply that Mariya is supposed to do that," Pezzola said. "Or she might say, ‘What do you want, a cookie?' "

But Minyon admits that with every dribble drive of Mariya's path toward stardom, that she very much looks up to her sister.

"I'm very proud of Mariya," Minyon said. "She's worked very hard for everything she's had. She's had doubters along the way who put other girls (on recruiting services) ahead of her. But she's showed what she can do. She's one of the top players in the country. She's a McDonald's All-American. She's signed to Louisville. She earned it all."

Mariya said the Pride, No. 23 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings, will definitely have to earn a victory over No. 4 Poly. 

The Jackrabbits feature a front line at 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2 and has upward of six Division I recruits, including UCLA-bound 6-3 post Lajahna Drummer and 5-8 guard Arica Carter (Louisville). Poly is impeccably coached by Carl Buggs who has a long history of producing deep, quick, tough and battle-tested squads. This is by far his tallest team.

Besides battling the trees of Poly, Mariya will likely be fighting off emotions. She said this week her and another four-year starter Alana Horton reflected on their careers, which has featured 114 wins to a program that lived largely in the shadow of a highly successful boys program before they got there.

"It will hit me hard that day that this will be my last high school game," she said. "But once the game start, it will be time to grind and stay composed and do whatever we need in order to win."

Pezzola won't promise a victory, but he has a tough time visualizing the Pride losing with both Moores on the court. And he expects Mariya to go out with a bang.

"The one thing I can promise is that Mariya will take many more than four shots," he said. "From what I've learned about her over four years, this could be another wow game.

"I can tell you this: There will be a big dose of Mariah Moore on the big stage."