The tall and short of Bishop O'Dowd's third-ranked girls basketball team

OAKLAND, Calif. — The "bigs" are really tall — 6-foot-4, 6-4 and 6-2 along the front line. The starting guards are really short — 5-5 and 5-4.

But together — sorry World Series champs — these Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) girls basketball girls (29-3) are giants — the No. 3 team in the nation according to the MaxPreps Freeman rankings.

And a lot of fun, according to coach Malik McCord. Especially when they commingle during practice.

"We make sure the guards come down and post up and likewise play post defense," said McCord, whose team plays the nation's No. 2 team Windward (Los Angeles) (32-0) in Saturday's 6 p.m. state Open Division finals at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. "We make sure there's no separation."

There's plenty of banter between them, however, especially when one of the smalls blocks one of the bigs.

More than once, 5-5 sophomore Asha Thomas swatted shots from 6-4 McDonald's All-American and Duke-signee Oderah Chidom.

"Oh boy do we never hear the end of that," said 6-2 Cal-bound senior K.C. Waters. "That girl has some hops."

Said Thomas: "We're just having fun playing ball. I love my bigs. They make our lives a whole lot easier."

And vice verse.

Opposing guards have to sag to help out with the three college-bound front-liners Chidom, Waters and Virginia Tech-bound Breanna Brown (6-4), giving Thomas, four-year starter and San Diego State-bound Ariell Bostick (5-4) and sixth-player Aisia Robertson (5-7) room to shoot or drive.

The ultra-quick trio of guards often drives past defenders and draws help to set up easy buckets.

"They open up everything for us," Waters said. "When our guards are shooting well from the outside or getting easily to the basket it definitely poses matchup problems."

It's taken a lot of time, patience and work to get the O'Dowd bigs and smalls in synch. Bostick is one of the state's most dynamic and quick players and often zipped passes that were either mishandled or not even seen.

O'Dowd's huge size advantage often wasn't utilized, especially during a 53-42 loss to St. Joseph (Santa Maria) in the 2011 state Division III title game.

"It was a struggle at times," McCord said. "We had to learn to grow up, keep egos in check, learn to be better teammates. It made them stronger and tougher and just better."

The addition of Robertson and Thomas last season took loads of pressure off Bostick and by midseason last year — all began to click. The Dragons won 22 of their final 23 games, including a 39-point win in the Division III state finals.

With everyone back and four college players signed — Thomas and Robertson are projected to be Pac-12 players in the fall of 2015 — O'Dowd was a preseason national No. 1 pick by MaxPreps.

Two losses to nationally-ranked teams without Bostick and a 58-43 defeat to Windward on the last of a seven-day, 10-day road trip had O'Dowd reeling.

But since then, with the big-little combo jelling, O'Dowd is 23-0 and now has another shot at Windward, which is led by perhaps the nation's best point guard Jordin Canada (5-7), super shooter Courtney Jaco (5-7) and 6-1 post Kristen Simon.

Complete CIF finals schedule including TV

Considering Simon is Windward's tallest player and it has a bench just nine deep, O'Dowd would seem to have some advantages. Canada makes up for any deficiencies.

"She's a lot like Jason Kidd — she just pulls everybody up," McCord said. "She's a monster. (Jaco) doesn't miss shots and (Simon) has just got better and better."

McCord reminds how far Chidom has come. "She barely played as a freshman and now she's a McDonald's All-American. That took some work."

Likewise Brown "couldn't catch a beach ball as a freshman," McCord said. "But what a work ethic. … All the girls have improved and grown but we haven't played our best game yet. This is more than a redemption game. We just want to give them our best."

Girls CIF bracket and pairings

Here's the best from McCord about what some think is the best girls team ever to come out of Northern California.

Chidom — "Very funny and great kid. Very book smart, but she can be goofy."

Waters — "Very personable. She'll talk to anyone and be friends with them immediately. There's a lot of maturity in her game. She started as a freshman and was probably the most polished. She's improved every year."

Brown — "They all work extremely hard, but Breanna works the hardest. She was named captain her sophomore year because of it. She has a huge ceiling and a lot more room to grow. She's a great leader, but like the rest of them funny and goofy too."

Bostick — "She's very strong-minded and someone who has really grown up to be a captain and a leader. She makes one highlight play after another. She still never ceases to amaze me after all these years. She is full of ‘ooo-ahh' moments and plays."

Thomas — "She's an old soul. She never changes demeanor. She was very quiet at first as a freshman but she's gained more confidence."

Robertson — "She reminds me a lot of Ariell, very strong minded. She's very engaging and a great listener. She's going to be a very good coach. She really sees the floor and has a high basketball IQ. I expect her and (Thomas) to make up one of the best backcourts in the country by next season."

E-mail MaxPreps senior writer and columnist Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.