SACRAMENTO – If you want to find out how difficult it is to win a state championship, Long Beach Poly’s Kelli Thompson might not be the best person to ask. All she’s done is become the first player in state history to be part of four straight Division 1 state championships.
The Poly Jackrabbits put on a second half surge to drop the Monte Vista Mustangs 57-33 Saturday at Arco Arena, giving Poly an unprecedented four straight titles at the Division I level. Thompson, who is headed to UNLV next season, played on all four teams.
“Kelli has been through a lot of ups in her life,” said Poly coach Carl Buggs. “But she is the first to win four titles at the Division I level. Others might come after her, but she will always be the first to do it.”
Ariya Crook-Williams of Poly.
Photo by Gary Jones
Thompson acknowledges that she has been around Poly basketball for as long as she can remember.
“I’ve been going to Poly games since I was in fifth grade,” she said. “I knew the tradition and it feels good to be a part of it. In my eyes, this is the best team I’ve been on. I wouldn’t trade this team for anything.”
The road to the state championship wasn’t without a few bumps along the way. After losing two straight games in the middle of the season, Poly won 19 in a row before losing to Cajon in the Southern Section playoffs. Poly bounced back to win four SoCal playoff games to meet a Monte Vista team that was barely challenged in winning a North Coast Section crown and a NorCal title.
For awhile, it looked like Monte Vista might be able to handle the storied Poly program that had won three straight state crowns. But eventually the Jackrabbits’ depth (nine players logged at least nine minutes) and defensive pressure proved too much for the Mustangs.
“We played a great first half, a great first half,” said Monte Vista coach Ron Hirschman. “We threw a zone defense at them that I don’t think they were ready for and we played as good as we could play. And even then we were trailing by two points at halftime.”
Monte Vista’s senior standout, Niveen Rasheed, kept the Mustangs in the game throughout the first half. Rasheed, who averaged 20.4 points during the season, 10 of Monte Vista’s first 14 points and had the Mustangs tied with Poly at 17-17 late in the second quarter.
But an offensive foul with nine seconds left in the half proved to be costly.
“That really took our momentum away,” said Hirschman. “We had to do some offense-defense substitution in the second half and that really hurt us.”
Rasheed also noted that the frequent substitution kept her from getting in the flow in the second half.
“I get a lot of my points off of my defense, so it was hard to go into the game only on offense,” she said.
Rasheed scored four more points in the third quarter, but the period belonged to the Jackrabbits. The Poly defense pressured the Monte Vista ballhandlers, forcing 24 turnovers over the course of the game. The Monte Vista shooting percentage also went down to just .167 in the third quarter (2 of 12) while the Jackrabbits shot .500 in the quarter on 7-of-14 shooting.
“Monte Vista did a real good job in the first half. We forced too much,” said Buggs. “We made some adjustments at halftime to try and work the ball into the middle. We also picked up our defensive intensity. We wanted to constantly put pressure on them because we felt we could wear them down.”
The Jackrabbits had a pair of 7-0 runs in the third quarter. Monique Oliver sparked the first with a 3-point basket while Brittany Wilson also hit a 3-pointer to highlight a Poly run. Three free throws by Ta’Nitra Byrd and a bucket by Trenishia Session gave Poly a 5-2 run to end the quarter and put the lead at 38-25.
The Jackrabbits put the game away at the start of the fourth. Poly scored 10 straight points, including a couple of driving layups by Wilson, to give Poly a 48-25 lead.
Although Monte Vista countered with a 7-0 splurge, Rasheed fouled out with three minutes to play and the Mustangs offense went with her. The Poly reserves outscored Monte Vista 8-1 the rest of the way.
Rasheed led all scorers with 18 points and eight rebounds. Byrd topped Poly with 12 points while Oliver had 10 and seven rebounds.
The Jackrabbits finish the season at 32-3 while Monte Vista ends the year at 29-3.
DIVISION I
POLY 57, MONTE VISTA 33
Poly (Long Beach) 6 13 19 19 -- 57
Monte Vista (Danville) 8 9 8 8 -- 33
POLY (32-3)
Ariya Crook-Williams 2-11-4-4 8, Jazzmine Shirley 0-0 0-0 0, Brittany Wilson 4-11 0-2 7, Monique Oliver 3-5 3-6 10, Thaddesia Southall 3-6 1-2 7, Ashley Wilson 1-2 2-2 4, Jessica Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Oliva Montgomery 0-0 0-0 0, Tajanae Winston 0-1 0-0 0, Trenishia Session 1-6 0-0 2, Sheila Boykin 2-4 1-2 5, Sheila Boykin 2-4 1-2 5, Kelli Thompson 1-7 0-0 2, Ta’nitra Byrd 4-6 4-5 12. Totals 22-61 15-23 57.
MONTE VISTA (29-3)
Alexandra Whalen 1-9 0-0 2, Amil Amin 0-7 0-0 0, Niveen Rasheed 6-15 4-4 16, Dani Rabago 4-11 1-3 7, Nicole Vigar 0-1 0-0 0, Kaylie Williams 1-8 1-2 3, Alyssa Samia 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Smolen 1-4 3-4 5, Krystal Mizono 0-0 0-0 0, Christie Beeman 0-0 0-0 0, Kendyl Bachelor 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Oliveria 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-56 9-13 33.
Three-point shots – Poly 2-11 (Crook-Williams 0-2, Wilson 1-3, Oliver 1-1, Williams 0-1, Session 0-2, Thompson 0-2), Monte Vista 2-11 (Whalen 0-2, Amin 0-1, Rasheed 0-2, Rabago 2-3, Williams 0-2, Smolen 0-1). Fouled out – Rasheed. Rebounds – Poly 34 (Oliver 7), Mont Vista 37 (Rasheed 8). Assists – Poly 7 (Shirley 3), Monte Vista 2 (Amin, Rasheed). Total fouls – Poly 16, Monte Vista 16. Turnovers – Poly 12, Monte Vista 24.
First Quarter
The two teams play a sluggish first quarter with neither able to get much going on offense…Niveen Rasheed scores six of Monte Vista’s eight points in the period to help the Mustangs build an 8-4 lead… Monte Vista’s zone defense stymies the Poly offense, limiting the Jackrabbits to just two field goals in the quarter, one each by Sheila Boykin and Ashley Wilson…Long Beach shoots .182 in the first quarter, but Monte Vista isn’t much better at .286. Monte Vista 8, Poly 6.
Second Quarter
Ta’Nitra Byrd sparks an 8-2 run to start the second quarter and give Poly the lead. Byrd scores on a layup and makes the subsequent free throw for a 3-point play. Kelli Thompson adds a field goal and Ariya Crook-Williams adds a layup for a 14-10 Poly lead…Mont Vista gets four straight points from Rasheed to tie the game at 14-14…Two teams trade free throws for a 17-17 tie…Rasheed picks up third foul with nine seconds left in quarter on an charge…Boykin scores field goal to give Poly halftime lead. Poly 19, Monte Vista 17.
Third Quarter
Poly puts on the defensive pressure to start the second half…A putback by Monique Oliver, a 3-pointer by Brittany Wilson and a layup by Thaddesia Southall give Poly a 26-20 lead…Rasheed doesn’t start the second half, but enters the game in offensive situations. She scores a bucket to cut Poly lead to four points, 26-22…Poly puts together another seven-point run…Oliver sinks a 3-pointer and Wilson and Crook-Williams both score on layups for a 33-22 Poly advantage…Byrd scores three straight free throws and Trenishia Session sinks 3-pointer to put Poly up by 15. Poly 38, Monte Vista 25.
Fourth Quarter
Poly continues to hurt Monte Vista with press defense…Jackrabbits force 24 turnovers in the game and give up the ball just 12 times…Southall caps 10-0 Rabbit run to start fourth quarter and put Poly up 48-25…Alexandra Whalen scores first basket of the quarter for Mustangs with 4:28 left in the game…Whalen adds 3-pointer to cut deficit to 19…Rasheed scores her final two points on a pair of free throws and then fouls out with 3:04 remaining…Poly reserves end game with 8-1 run. Poly 57, Monte Vista 33.
Chelsea Gray of St. Mary's.
Photo by David Steutel
Division III Championship
St. Mary's 71, Inglewood 62
SACRAMENTO – The St. Mary’s Rams made their seventh appearance at the CIF state girls basketball finals on Saturday, but coach Tom Gonzalves says that winning a championship is tougher than ever.
“It is so hard to win a state championship,” he said. “Girls basketball has gotten so good and you have to go through so much just to get here. We feel real fortunate to come out here and we appreciate the experience.”
For three quarters, however, the Rams made a state championship look quite easy. Using a suffocating press that forced numerous turnovers and utilizing the talents of two of the country’s top players in Chelsea Gray and Afure Jemerigbe, the Rams topped the Inglewood Sentinels 71-62 to win the Division III championship game.
The title is the fifth for the Rams, who also won in 2000 and 2003 at the Div. IV level, 2002 at Div. II and 2004 at Div. III. Inglewood, which finished the season 19-17 due in part to 12 forfeit losses, was making its first state final appearance.
The Sentinels had the clear rebounding advantage over the Rams, especially in the second half when they grabbed 32 boards compared to just 13 for St. Mary’s. But St. Mary’s press defense and 3-point shooting proved to be the difference.
“I thought our press was just outstanding,” said Gonsalves. “They had no answer for it. We took it off in the fourth quarter because I didn’t want to give up any layups. They were able to go on a run, so maybe we shouldn’t have taken it off.”
St. Mary’s forced 36 Sentinel turnovers while giving up only 23 of their own. Meanwhile the Rams were able to put up 24 3-point shots and connected on six, including three by Alle Moreno.
“Things got away from us in the second quarter,” said Inglewood coach Anthony Scott. “It was just panic city. They’d hit a three or an and-one and we just didn’t respond.”
Momentum swung in the direction of the Rams midway through the second quarter. That’s when St. Mary’s All-American candidate Jemerigbe took the game over. With the Rams leading 26-20, Jemerigbe scored seven of the team’s final 10 points to highlight a 12-0 run that turned a four-point lead into a 16-point advantage.
Jemerigbe capped the run with a putback and a foul shot for a three-point play with 26.4 seconds left in the first half to put St. Mary’s ahead 36-22.
“After a couple of baskets, I just got excited,” said the junior forward. “I told my teammates ‘I’m hot, get me the ball.’”
St. Mary’s continued to build its lead at the start of the third period. Five different players scored during a 14-3 run including a pair of driving layups by Gray to give the Rams their largest lead of the game at 50-25.
Inglewood, however, never backed down. Lanise Lindsey led a 9-3 run by the Sentinels that helped get the deficit under 20 heading into the fourth quarter at 53-34.
St. Mary’s took off the press in the fourth quarter and that allowed Inglewood to play to its strength – rebounding. Once the Sentinels got the ball down the court, they were able to put up multiple shots due to their height advantage underneath. Tayler Champion finished with 13 rebounds on the night while Renee Golliday and Lindsey each had eight. Comparatively, Gray and Jemerigbe led St. Mary’s in rebounding with six apiece.
Champion sparked an 18-2 run by Inglewood with six points. She finished tied for high-point honors with Jemerigbe with 23 points.
Forced to foul, Inglewood sent St. Mary’s to the line five times in the final minute and St. Mary’s converted seven free throws to keep the Sentinels from getting any close than nine points.
“We played to the end and tried to finish it off,” said Golliday. “We did the best we could. We stuck together and played hard.”
Inglewood finished the season with 17 losses, but 12 of those came by forfeit. The Sentinels won 31 games on the court. Coach Scott said that the 12 losses did not motivate his team during the playoffs.
“Our goal was always to win league, win CIF and win a state championship and we tailored our schedule to play tough teams to test ourselves,” said Scott. “The forfeits were the last things on our mind. It was not a rallying cry for our kids. We were able to accomplish a lot this year. We won 22 of our last 24 games.”
Gonsalves said that winning the state championship was satisfying, not only for the win over Inglewood, but for the win the previous week over Sacred Heart Cathedral, last year’s Div. III state champion.
”We beat a good team to get here and we knew we’d have to go through that road in order to win a state title,” said Gonsalves. “It was probably Tuesday before we were able to come down from the emotional high of winning that game and focus on this game.”
The Rams likely enter next season as the No. 1 team in the country. St. Mary’s has no seniors in the starting lineup and Gray and Jemerigbe will be ranked as two of the nation’s most prized recruits.
DIVISION III
ST. MARY’S 71, INGLEWOOD 62
Inglewood 13 9 12 28 -- 62
St. Mary’s (Stockton) 14 22 17 18 -- 71
ST. MARY’S (31-3)
Afure Jemerigbe 9-17 3-5 23, Ali Gibson 1-13 2-2 4, Annissa Garcia 1-6 1-4 3, Alle Moreno 9-14 0-0 15, Chelsea Gray 6-9 2-2 14, Gabby Zanini 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Norcup 0-4 0-0 0, Kendall Kenyon 0-0 0-0 0, Sabrina Visperas 0-4 0-0 0, Emily Gonsalves 4-11 3-4 9, Shianne Solomon 2-6 0-0 3, Regina Camera 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-84 13-24 71.
INGLEWOOD (19-17)
Makeda Beadle 2-7 2-2 6, Tayler Champion 11-24 2-3 23, Hazel Ramirez 1-12, 2-3 7, Renee Golliday 3-9 3-4 9, Lanise Lindsey 4-7 0-1 8, Brionne Brister 0-0 0-0 0, Noeline Touisoa 1-2 1-2 3, Ryan Drear 0-0 0-0 0, Janelle Ross 3-5 0-2 6, Bailey Barbour 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-66 13-22 62.
Three-point shots – St. Mary’s 6-24 (Moreno 3-5, Gonsalves 2-5, Solomon 1-3, Jemerigbe 0-3, Gibson 0-4, Norcup 0-2, Visperas 0-2), Inglewood 1-6 (Champion 1-3, Ramirez 0-3). Fouled out – Gray, Gibson. Rebounds -- Inglewood 49 (Champion 13), St. Mary’s 31 (Gray 6, Jemerigbe 6). Assists – St. Mary’s 4 (Gibson 2), Inglewood 8 (Ramirez 4). Total fouls – St. Mary’s 21, Inglewood 24. Turnovers – Inglewood 36, St. Mary’s 23.
First Quarter
Inglewood gets off to the fast start on two buckets by Renee Golliday and two free throws by Makeda Beadle that put Inglewood up 8-4…Chelsea Gray drives to the basket, fakes a pass to the wing and goes up for the layup to give St. Mary’s the 10-9 lead…Inglewood ties the score on Beadle steal and coast-to-coast layup…Afure Jemerigbe sinks free throw to give St. Mary’s one-point lead after eight minutes. St. Mary’s 14, Inglewood 13.
Second Quarter
Jemerigbe scores first four points of quarter to give St. Mary’s five-point lead, 18-13…Tayler Champion sinks a layup and a 3-point bucket to get Sentinels within two points…Jemerigbe scores on a drive to the basket and Alle Moreno drives through traffice for a 24-18 Rams lead…Anissa Garcia bucket drops St. Mary’s lead to four points, 24-20…St. Mary’s goes on 12-0 run to end quarter…Jemerigbe has seven points during the run including 3-point play on a putback and free throw with 26.4 seconds remaining. St. Mary’s 36, Inglewood 22.
Third Quarter
St. Mary’s scores first seven points of third quarter and builds lead to 25 points…Gray continues to have success driving to the basket, hitting a layup in traffic…Jemerigbe scores field goal to cap 7-0 run…Janelle Ross scores Inglewood’s only basket in the first four minutes to end the St. Mary’s run…Gray basket and a Shianne Solomon 3-pointer put the Rams up 48-24…Champion sinks free throw for Inglewood, but Moreno’s long 2-pointer gives St. Mary’s largest lead at 50-25…Inglewood goes on 7-0 run to cut deficit to 18 points, 50-32…Moreno knocks down her third 3-pointer of the game to up lead to 21, 53-32…Inglewood is winning the battle on the boards, but turns the ball over too often against St. Mary’s defense. St. Mary’s 53, Inglewood 34.
Fourth Quarter
St. Mary’s builds lead back to 26 points, 62-36, with 9-3 run that includes a Moreno 3-pointer to start the period…St. Mary’s removes the press and Inglewood begins to cut into St. Mary’s lead…Sentinels go on 12-0 run to climb within 14 points, 62-48…Inglewood gets numerous second-chance shots due to size advantage, finishes with 49-31 edge in rebounding for the game including 32 in second half…Hazel Ramirez scores two baskets and two free throws to make it 68-56 St. Mary’s… Gray is called for third offensive foul in two-minute span and fouls out with 1:13 remaining…Basket by Champion gets final deficit under double digits. St. Mary’s 71, Inglewood 62.
Ebone Henry of Mater Dei.
Photo by Gary Jones
Division IV Championship
Mater Dei 54, Modesto Christian 51
SACRAMENTO – Since rebuilding the school campus and changing the school name from Marian Catholic in 2007, Mater Dei Catholic has strugged to establish its own identity due to its proximity to another fairly well-known school of the same name.
Winning a state championship should help solve the Crusaders’ identity crisis.
Mater Dei Catholic overcame a 10-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter and knocked off Modesto Christian 54-51 in the CIF Division IV girls basketball state championship game Saturday. The title is the first state crown of any kind for the school located in Chula Vista.
“We’ve been called the ‘fake’ Mater Dei,” said coach David Monroe. “But we’re the only Mater Dei here. When they look at the record books, they will see the name Mater Dei, but it will be the one from Chula Vista.”
Winning a state title was in serious doubt for the Crusaders up until the final minutes of the game. Mater Dei trailed throughout most of the contest since losing a 10-8 lead in the first quarter. With just four minutes to play, the Crusaders trailed Modesto Christina 49-39.
That’s when Mater Dei decided it didn’t want to get pushed around anymore.
“Our team has a habit of being too nice,” said Monroe. “We come out and fall behind by 10 points and we wait until someone pushes us around before we respond. That’s what happened in the SoCal finals, too.”
Ebone Henry began the slow climb for the Crusaders with a pair of free throws. Soulizah Evans also hit one from the line and Jhazmine Lynch scored two more to cut the lead to five points, 49-44. A Lynch layup and another field goal on an inbounds play cut Modesto Christian’s lead to one point with 1:31 remaining.
While Mater Dei was making its comeback, Modesto Christian put up some good shots, only to see them hit the back of the rim and into the hands of Henry, who had seven rebounds in the fourth quarter.
“We knew they were a comeback team,” said Modesto Christian coach Robb Spencer. “We just couldn’t get our shots to fall and we were getting good looks.”
Modesto Christian managed just one field goal in the fourth quarter and shot an abysmal .083 percent from the field (1-for-12). For the entire second half, MC converted just four of 28 shots.
Meanwhile Mater Dei was starting to see its shots fall. After shooting 8-35 in the first half, Mater Dei converted 42 percent of its shots in the second half (10-24).
The biggest shot came with 1:13 left in the game. After Modesto Christian’s Taryn Garza increased her team’s lead with a pair of free throws, Mater Dei’s Danae Johnson was fouled on a driving layup down the left side of the lane. The ball fell through the basket and Johnson converted the free throw for a three-point play that tied the game at 51-51.
The two teams traded turnovers in the last minute before Henry was fouled underneath the basket with 27.1 seconds left. She made both charity tosses for Mater Dei’s first lead of the second half.
Modesto Christian threw away the inbounds pass and had to foul Kamela Jackson with 18.8 seconds to go. Jackson sank one of two free throws, leaving Modesto Christian with one last chance.
Brendi Henton was able to get off a 3-point shot from the right side of the key, but like most of Modesto Christian’s shots in the fourth quarter, the ball bounced off the back of the rim and out.
Lynch led Mater Dei with 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t come all the way to Northern California to lose,” said Lynch. “So I knew I had to do something or try and get my teammates involved.”
Soulijah Evans added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Henry scored 11 points and had 11 rebounds.
Henton topped Modesto Christian with 14 points and nine boards. Garza tossed in 13 points and also had nine rebounds.
Mater Dei finishes the season at 30-3 while Modesto Christian ends the year at 27-8.
MATER DEI 54, MODESTO CHRISTIAN 51
Mater Dei (Chula Vista) 12 7 13 22 -- 54
Modesto Christian 18 13 8 12 -- 51
MATER DEI (30-3)
Jackson 1-4 1-2 3, Lynch 6-15 6-10 18, Henry 3-18 5-5 11, Evans 5-13 4-8
14, Johnson 3-9 2-2 8, Tamayo 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Escalante 0-0
0-0 0, Baumgardner 0-0 0-0 0, Erb 0-0 0-0 0, Tobe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-59
18-27 54.
MODESTO CHRISTIAN (27-8)
McKeever 0-3 0-0 0, Henton 5-17 1-2 14, Agostini 1-8 0-0 3, Lucchesi 1-7
4-4 6, Garza 3-14 7-10 13, Thompson 5-7 0-0 10, Moore 1-3 3-3 5, Cagle 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 16-59 15-19 51.
Three-point shots -- Mater Dei 0-3 (Henry 0-2, Johnson 0-1), Modesto
Christian 4-13 (Henton 3-7, Agostini 1-5, McKeever 0-1). Fouled out --
None. Rebounds -- Mater Dei 49 (Henry 11), Modesto Christian 47 (Henton,
Lucchesi, Garza 9). Assists -- Mater Dei 6 (Henry 3), Modesto Christian 4
(Henton, Agostini, Lucchesi, Garza). Total fouls -- Mater Dei 18, Modesto
Christian 21.
First Quarter
Mater Dei takes early lead, 10-6, behind a press defense that forces several Modesto Christian turnovers. Four different Mater Dei players score with Ebone Henry tossing in four points…Brandi Henton takes control for MC. Junior guard scores 10 straight points to spark a 10-2 run that gives the Crusaders a 14-10 lead… Henton hits pair of 3-pointers in the run along with a pair of field goals…Danielle Thompson concludes the quarter with two putbacks for a six-point Modesto Christian lead. Modesto Christian 18, Mater Dei 12.
Second Quarter
Mater Dei can’t find the basket throughout much of the quarter and scores just one field goal, a putback by Soulizah Evans early in the period…Modesto Christian gets six points from Thompson and four points from Taryn Garza in the quarter… Garza sinks two free throws in final minute to give Modesto Christian 12-point lead at the break. Modesto Christian 31, Mater Dei 19.
Third Quarter
Mater Dei scores two quick baskets to start second half on field goals by Danae Johnson and Jhazmine Lynch…Lynch drops in two free throws and a layup to keep MC lead at eight points 37-29... Both teams get into foul trouble by end of the quarter… Lynch tosses in three free throws allowing Mater Dei to creep within five points, 37-32… Valerie Moore scores for MC for a seven-point lead heading into fourth quarter. Modesto Christian 39, Mater Dei 32.
Fourth Quarter
Modesto Christian goes to the line and opens a 10-point lead, 43-33, on three free throws by Moore…Mater Dei makes it a six-point game on free throws by Evans and a layup by Lynch…Modesto Christian gets two free throws apiece from Garza and Lucchesi for another 10-point lead, 49-39…Mater Dei chips away at lead from free throw 49-48…Garza scores final two points for Modesto Christian on free throws at 1:21 mark…Henry ties the game on a three-point play when she is fouled on a layup and makes the free throw…Two teams trade turnovers until Henry is fouled with 27.1 seconds left…Henry makes both free throws…Modesto Christian throws away inbounds pass…Kamela Jackson sinks one of two free throws with 18.8 seconds left…Henton takes final shot for Modesto Christian, a 3-pointer that bounces off the back of the rim no good. Mater Dei 54, Modesto Christian 51
