Defense leads Alameda over Redwood, into semis
Alameda knew what to do when it grabbed the lead in the second half of its North Coast Section Division II quarterfinal Saturday night at Redwood.
It had to keep standout Jake Vasquez from taking charge.
So Alameda coach Miles Tarver dialed up a box-andone defense that worked better than anyone could have imagined.
The visitors held secondseeded Redwood to one point in the fourth quarter, turning a three-point deficit after three periods into a 44-32 triumph.
Instead of a somber trip home, seventh-seeded Alameda will now get ready for a semifinal game on Wednesday night at thirdseeded Las Lomas, a winner over Montgomery on Saturday.
“It did work,” Tarver said of the late-game defense. “It seemed like it kind of caught 'em off guard. They kind of passed the ball around and when they couldn't get it to their main guy who play-makes — No. 12 (Vasquez) — it was like a hot potato.”
Redwood can be an intimidating place for visitors, given that the home student section is set up behind one of the baskets.
Saturday, the gym wasn't all that imposing.
“I don't know if it was because of the holiday weekend or what,” Tarver said. “But the group I saw when they played Branson multiple times — people looking like it was Cameron Stadium at Duke — that was non-existent tonight. We'll take it.”
Gabe Garcia scored 14 points and point guard Jackson Yep added 10 to lead Alameda.
BOYS: CAMPOLINDO REACHES D-II SEMIFINALS >> Campolindo, which won last year's NCS Open Division title and is now the No. 1 seed in Division II, used its experience to capture a quarterfinal win at home Saturday against Benicia.
The Moraga school rolled to an easy 66-49 victory.
“Once we played in the Open, we saw the magnitude of those games,” said Campolindo senior Logan Robeson said. “Not to say these games are any less, because the magnitude of these games are high too. But it's great experience, and it doesn't hurt to have played in that division beforehand.”
The Cougars went down 8-6 three minutes into the first quarter, but quickly retook the lead on a Robeson reverse layup and a Clay Naffziger free throw. The Cougars never trailed their league rival again. Campolindo (21-7) was the champion of the Diablo Athletic League's Foothill Division, while Benicia (22-6) claimed the lowerlevel DAL-Valley crown.
Robeson led all scorers with 25 points and Shane O'Reilly scored 21.
Campolindo will play host to No. 5 seed Cardinal Newman on Wednesday. GIRLS: COACHING CHANGE HASN'T STOPPED MOREAU >> Moreau Catholic advanced to the semifinals of the NCS Division II playoffs, cruising at home past a familiar foe, Newark Memorial, 74-27.
The Mariners had already beaten Newark twice in league play, so the result wasn't unexpected.
What was unexpected: Moreau had a coaching change in January, with assistant principal Toni West taking over after the school parted ways with the previous coach for reasons not made public.
The Mariners will bring an eight-game winning streak into their semifinal Wednesday night at home against third-seeded Miramonte.
West gives all the credit to the players.
“They could have chosen to just throw the season away,” she said. “But instead they dug in.”
In the victory on Saturday, Madeline Bader and Madison Thomas each finished with 17 points and Dymonique Maxie had 16. BOYS: LAS LOMAS FINDS A WAY TO ADVANCE >> Las Lomas didn't play its style Saturday night at home against Montgomery but met the one objective at this time of the season.
“We survived,” coach Sly Hunter said after a 67-60 victory. “We found a way to get the job done tonight. Our guys were scrappy. Their guys were scrappy. It was a very physical game.”
As usual, Jake Davis, Jack Halpin and Mike Wood led the Knights.
GIRLS: MIRAMONTE'S KARENA EBERTS LEADS PLAYOFF PUSH >> Miramonte junior Karena Eberts has averaged at least 10 points per game in her first three varsity seasons and is scoring 17.8 points per contest in 2022-23.
When the Matadors need a big performance, as they did in Saturday's 54-46 NCS Division II quarterfinal win over Redwood, the 6-foot-2 forward has stepped up.
And she did, scoring a game-high 24 points.
But on the night Eberts surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career, it was her newfound leadership qualities, not her shotmaking, that had coach Vince Wirthman raving.
“She's our captain, and she's really taken over the team,” Wirthman said. “She's just the heart and soul of the whole team, and gives everything she has every night.”
Aside from Eberts' big game, Courtney Scheingart scored 12 points, and her sister Katherine Scheingart scored all eight of her points in the second half to help No. 3 seed Miramonte stay ahead late.
GIRLS: O'DOWD CONTENT IN DIVISION II >> The way in which Bishop O'Dowd has breezed through the first two rounds of the NCS Division II playoffs makes one wonder: Should the Dragons have been selected for the Open Division?
Longtime coach Malik McCord says no.
“We haven't beaten an Open team all year,” he said after top-seeded O'Dowd rolled past No. 8 seed Ukiah 58-23 on Saturday. “It made sense. Had we beaten an Open team, we should have been in the Open. But we lost to Acalanes, we lost to Cardinal Newman. We're at where we need to be.”
Because of injuries, O'Dowd started three freshmen Saturday. Two of them, Devin Cosgriff (15 points) and Lizzy Quinteros (11 points) were the Dragons' leading scorers.