The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Santiago can’t keep pace with Brentwood in final
ONTARIO >> Every time the Santiago girls basketball team took one or two steps forward, Brentwood took three.
Unlike many teams, Brentwood had no problems adjusting to playing inside a bigger arena. The top-seeded Eagles put on a shooting clinic Saturday evening, draining 13 of 27 shots from beyond the 3-point arc en route to a 7053 victory over No. 3-seeded Santiago in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title game at Toyota Arena.
Santiago (21-12) was looking to capture the program’s fourth section championship and third in six seasons. The Sharks were unable to trade shots, making only 3 of 22 from 3-point range and 17 of 55 overall from the field.
“They shot the ball well. You have to give that to them,” Santiago coach Mike Mitchell said of Brentwood’s dazzling display. “I thought we’d been defending better a few weeks ago. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”
Santiago’s Zawadi Ogot scored a game-high 22 points and tied two of her teammates with a gamebest nine rebounds. Ogot scored six of those points during the opening quarter to help the Sharks remain within arm’s length.
But Santiago suffered a dry spell in the second quarter and misfired on its first 10 shots from the field. The Sharks scored 26 points in the paint Saturday but also hoisted up several shots from behind
the NBA 3-point line.
“We sure did,” Mitchell replied when asked if his players settled for too many long-range shots. “Our goal
was to try to get at least 30 touches in the paint and get them in foul trouble. We did some of that during moments of the game, but not the entire game. I think we could’ve done more damage on the inside.”
Brentwood (24-8) put together a 16-4 run over a span of 6 minutes, 14 seconds to extend its lead to 31-17. Aariah Roa sank two 3-pointers in that run, and Payton Sugar and Reena White also connected from distance.
Sugar knocked down two of her four 3-pointers in the third period, as Brentwood extend the lead to 56-34.
“The goal was to push the ball, push the ball and get out in the open floor,” Eagles coach Charles Solomon said. “We did that and were unselfish and moved the ball. … We found open players, and our kids shoot well.”
Ogot made sure the game wasn’t a total runaway for Brentwood, as she scored 10 points in the final period. But despite her best efforts, the closest Santiago managed to get down the stretch was the 17-point margin at the end of the game.
Lev Feiman had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead Brentwood. Jocelyn Pascul added 15 points.
Rylee Ghent finished with 13 points and nine rebounds and also made all three of Santiago’s 3-pointers in Saturday night’s game. Jayda Cobbs added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Sharks.
Santiago reached the CIF State Division I championship game last season and will try to put together another run in the coming weeks.
“I think a game like this is only going to fuel the fire,” Ghent said.