California girls basketball: No. 9 Miramonte runs past No. 14 Mitty

LAFAYETTE, Calif. — If the Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.) girls basketball 69-55 win over Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) Saturday was a measuring stick game as its coach Kelly Sopak predicted, the Matadors have definitely arrived.

Now, and for another three seasons.

Freshmen post Uriah Howard dug Miramonte out of a hole in the first half and fellow ninth-graders Sabrina Ionescu (24 points, 12 rebounds) and Keana Delos Santos (17 points) finished it off in the second as third-ranked Matadors (19-1) wore down the defending state Division II champions in the showcase game of the Campolindo Shootout at Bentley-Lafayette High School.

Ionescu, a five-tool 5-foot-10 forward, overcame a slow start with three late baskets in the second quarter and then took over in the second half. Delos Santos, a 5-6 guard, drilled four 3-pointers in the second half, three in the third quarter.

Meanwhile Mitty (15-5), which played its seventh game in 14 days and was missing three starters due to injury, managed just six points in the fourth quarter. The Monarch were also led by a freshman, Jahnay Anderson (17 points, five 3-pointers), while Emily Dinger added 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. All-Metro 5-11 forward Kelli Hayes was held to nine points.

"I said before the season if our freshman played like sophomores and juniors by February we'd be in good shape," Sopak said. "I think we're in pretty good shape."

Literally and figuratively.

Sopak runs all 10 on his roster throughout and Miramonte presses full court. Mitty normally doesn't wilt, but eventually the pressure was too much. Miramonte forced 28 turnovers and had 17 steals, five each by Ionescu and Megan Reid, who also added six assists.

Howard scored all eight of her points in the first half to help bring Miramonte back from a 26-17 deficit. Her eight points plus Ionescu's flurry helped Miramonte take a 32-30 halftime lead. The Matadors outscored Mitty 15-4 the final 4:36 of the half.

"We can't use fatigue or our injuries as excuses," Dinger said. "We have to give Miramonte a lot of credit. They're a really good team. We'll be back though."

#11 Carondelet (Concord) 66, Berkeley 58

High-scoring junior guard Natalie Romeo scored 15 of her game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter, when Carondelet (15-3) outscored nine-time Northern California Division I champion Berkeley 27-13.

The game completely changed when Berkeley 5-10 senior Rachel Howard fouled out with 5:35 left and her team leading 52-44. Carondelet immediately went on a 13-0 run keyed by three buckets and two assists from Romeo, a relentless 5-7 guard who came in averaging 21.3 points per game.

LMU-bound Makenzie Cast had 13 points for Carondelet, while Desire Finnie had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Howard 14 points and Jaimonie Welch-Coleman 13 points for Berkeley (11-9), which was in control most of the way.

But Romeo was relentless, both on the court, in the locker room and in huddles.

"I just told everyone to keep their heads up," Romeo said. "We just kept hustling. We finally put it all together."

It definitely helped when Howard, who is a Division I college prospect, left the game with fouls.

"She's a really good player, so that definitely helped," Romeo said.

It's also helped to have what Romeo called "doubters" coming into the season. Without San Francisco Chronicle 2011-12 Metro Player of the Year Hannah Huffman, who graduated and is now at Notre Dame, most figured the Cougars would struggle.

Instead, they've flourished with Romeo and Cast, who averages better than 17 a game, leading the way.

"When we play together, we're really good," Romeo said. "In the fourth quarter, we played together. It's always a good win against a great program like Berkeley."

#13 St. Mary's (Albany) 71, #54 Brookside Christian (Stockton) 52

The Panthers (17-4) had little trouble in a win over defending state Division V champion Brookside Christian-Stockton, but it wasn't Gabby Green or Mikayla Cowling who led the way, but rather 5-10 senior Elexis Goodwin with 18 points.

Green, a 6-1 guard who is one of the top five juniors in the country, did have 18 points as well to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. And Cal-bound Cowling added 11 points.

But it was Goodwin who made all nine of her field goals in the decisive third and fourtth quarters.

Tiara Tucker, who recently had games of 73 and 63 points, led Brookeside (18-4) with 23 points.

Other games

Ameela Li had 23 points and London Robinson tallied 13 in the second half as Oakland Tech (Oakland) (15-3) scored a 64-54 upset win over McNair-Stockton (20-2), which got 13 points and 17 rebounds from 6-4 junior Mandy Coleman. Kelea Pickeral-Dennis, a 6-1 sophomore, had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Tech. ... St. Mary's College-bound Sabrina Engelstad, a 6-3 post, had 13 points and 12 rebounds leading No. 10 Heritage (Brentwood) (15-4) to an impressive 55-36 win over Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (18-3). Lexie Campbell added 13 points and Megan Vernoy nine points and 14 rebounds for Heritage. ... Ashley Ewing had 24 points, including four 3-pointers, and Laura Hickey added 18 as No 14 Campolindo (Moraga) (16-3) rolled to a 60-46 win over Castro Valley (3-15), which got 18 points and four 3-pointers by Ally Woo.