Mitty erases deficit, captures CCS crown
After 26 straight wins, Mitty’s girls basketball coach Sue Phillips learned something new about her No. 1 nationallyranked Monarchs on Friday. They can take a punch. Mitty overcame a 22-12 firstquarter deficit to win a third straight Central Coast Section Open Division championship, all over Pinewood-Los Altos Hills, posting a 76-62 win at Santa Clara University.
Junior Ania McNicholas, starting in place of injured Nicole Blakes, had a game-high 21 points, Haley Jones added 20 points and 14 rebounds and guard Karisma Ortiz added 13 points and 13 rebounds as Mitty (27-0) outscored Pinewood 25-5 in the second quarter to take control while winning its 27th CCS crown and No. 20 under Phillips.
Hannah Jump had 20 points and Klara Astrom added 12 points for Pinewood (25-2), which saw its 21-game winning streak snapped. Both teams advance to next week’s Northern California regional playoffs, both assuredly in the Open Division.
“That first quarter we weren’t playing Mitty basketball,” Phillips told Prep2Prep senior writer Harold Abend. “At the break I told the girls if we’re going to sit back and take their punches, we’re going to lose mightily.”
Despite playing a schedule that included the top-ranked teams in the nation, Mitty had only trailed once after the first quarter all season.
“We rushed our shots and tried to do too much,” Jones said. “I tried to keep smiling and stay positive. It’s a four-quarter game.”
Utilizing full-court pressure and nine points from McNicholas, the Monarchs went on a 25-5 run to lead 37-27 at halftime.
Pinewood opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run to cut it to 39-35, but that’s when Jones and Ortiz took over. By the time the teams entered the fourth quarter, Mitty led 56-39 and the starch was pretty much out of second-seeded Pinewood, which came in at No. 4 nationally, according to the MaxPreps computer rankings.
NORTH COAST SECTION
Carondelet-Concord 71, HeritageBrentwood 58: In the Division 1 title game at St. Mary’s College, Ali Bamberger points in scored the second 13 of her quarter game-high to help 28 erase an early 10-point deficit and set the stage for the top-seeded Cougars (22-8), who beat the Patriots (23-7) to claim their 13th NCS title in 16 seasons. Bamberger’s big second quarter came after she was limited to four points in a first quarter that was all but forgettable for Carondelet. The Cougars had nearly as many turnovers (seven) as points (eight) over the first eight minutes. “The first quarter, their crowd kind of razzed us a little bit and we were a little bit out of our element,” Carondelet coach Elgin Leslie said. “We settled down after that and started playing more of our game.” Heritage was led by Jordan Sweeney’s 16 points.
SAN FRANCISCO SECTION
Lincoln 41, Lowell 25: Yasmin Jimenez scored all 12 of her points in the first quarter, including three on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, as Lincoln (25-7) streaked to a 23-4 lead en route to its third straight section crown at Kezar Pavilion. Fiona Tam scored a gamehigh 16 points for the winners, who allowed just nine points in the second half, including two in the fourth quarter. Lincoln became the third team to win three straight San Francisco Section titles, joining Lowell and Washington. Jimenez and Tam were on all three title teams. “I’m really happy for all our seniors,” Lincoln coach Jason Lee said. “To win three in a row is a great accomplishment. Our defense was outstanding. We played a lot of zone and mixed things up. It was a great win.”