O'Dowd hits last-second shot to win girls D-I title
Two sophomores led the Bishop O'Dowd girls basketball team back to the Division I state championship game.
Jayla Stokes hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining and Devin Cosgriff knocked down a short jumper with 3 seconds left to lead No. 3 O'Dowd over No. 4 Carondelet, 48-47, in the Northern California Division 1 girls basketball championship on Tuesday.
“Everyone crashed for the rebound and it landed straight in my hands,” Cosgriff said of her winning shot. “I looked up at the rim and I was like, `make this shot.' I focused so hard.”
It's O'Dowd's third NorCal title in five years and seventh in Malik McCord's 14-year tenure as coach. The Dragons (30-6) are 7-0 in NorCal title games.
They last won a NorCal crown in 2020, but never got to play in the state championship game due to the pandemic. Not counting 2020, McCord has won three state championships in five tries and hopes to make it four out of six on Friday, when the Dragons will face Bishop Montgomery at 6 p.m. at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“We'll celebrate tonight and tomorrow, but on Thursday we need to focus,” Cosgriff said. “We're going to win it. We're not just here to make it to states. We're going there to win it. That's our mindset.”
Neither team seemed totally in control Tuesday.
O'Dowd led 43-40 when Carondelet freshman Janel Nevares came off the bench and sank a 3-pointer to tie it. On the Dragons' next possession, sophomore Layla Dixon banked one in to put Carondelet (23-7) ahead, 45-43.
Stokes got a good look from behind the line and swished a 3-pointer to put O'Dowd back in front with just 25 seconds on the clock.
“I knew I had to make that shot,” she said. “It felt really comfortable, honestly.”
After a timeout, McCord told his team two things: don't foul on defense and, if Carondelet scores, be prepared to push it the other way quickly before the defense gets set.
Carondelet's Kamil Reid hit a layup with 13 seconds left to put the Cougars in front, 47-46, but Dragons senior Savannah Jones wasted no time rushing the other way to give her team a chance.
After their first attempt failed, Cosgriff pulled down the offensive rebound and knocked down a jumper that sent the packed gym into a frenzy.
“Devin is like the midrange queen,” McCord said. “When she gets in that midrange, it's a layup.”
The Cougars had one final chance with 3 seconds left when senior Keshia Vitalicio received a pass in her own end and launched up a half-court attempt that just missed.
“They're a great team,” Carondelet head coach Kelly Sopak said of O'Dowd. “We had our shot tonight, we just let it go. But I couldn't be more proud.”
O'Dowd senior Nyah Greenwood had 21 rebounds and 14 points while Jones had a game-high 16 points.
The Dragons said they dedicated this season to the late Gary Mason, the school's beloved dean of students who passed away last year. The players wear warmups with his name on the back.
— Jason Mastrodonato
DIVISION V: NO. 13 OAKLAND 62, NO. 7 CRYSTAL SPRINGS UPLANDS 50 >> Ojiugo Egeonu dominated on Tuesday night, wrecking host Crystal Springs Uplands on her way to a 30-point night as the Wildcats advanced to their first state title game since reaching the Division III championship in 2019.
Oakland, which played every game on the road, will face No. 1 seed Montgomery-San Diego at 10 a.m. on Friday. Oakland topped Half Moon Bay, Valley Christian-Roseville and Woodland Christian to reach the NorCal final.
All-Oakland Athletic League selection Daijha Teague scored 15, and freshman Kyla Smith scored 11 as Oakland (22-10) handled Crystal Springs (14-13). Isabella Greenblatt had 19 points in the loss.
— Joseph Dycus
Boys Division I NO. 2 SAN RAMON VALLEY 58, NO. 4 GRANADA 55 >>
In their fourth meeting of the season, the Wolves got past Granada at Dublin High to advance to Friday's CIF state title game in Sacramento.
San Ramon Valley (29-7) will face face St. John Bosco (27-7), a 71-68 winner over Mater Dei, for the division championship.
It was the Wolves' third win over the Matadors this season.
The score was tied 22-22 at halftime before San Ramon Valley took command in the fourth quarter.
As they did in a Feb. 15 win over Granada in the North Coast Section playoffs, the Wolves put the game away at the foul line. They hit 21 of 23 free throws and were 11 of 12 in the fourth quarter.
Guard Mason Thomas led San Ramon Valley with 17 points, with Luke Isaak adding 16.
Granada finished 26-5 a year after winning the NorCal Division I title last season. Spencer Langowski led Granada with 12 points, with Lennon Lomba adding 11 and Marco Wilde 10.
Neither team had more than a four-point lead until Isaak scored on a drive and was fouled by Taylor, converting the free throw for a 42-36 lead with 6:14 remaining. A jumper by Thomas with 5:19 left made it 4436, and another Thomas drive put the Wolves up 4839 with 3:54 left.
— Jerry McDonald
Division VI NO. 1 CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN 84, NO. 6 NAPA CHRISTIAN 59 >>
Cornerstone Christian of Antioch captured the Northern California Division VI title.
Freshman Benjamin Lukacs scored 18 points in the win. The Cougars also got 15 points from senior AJ McCoy and 12 from junior Kamel Johnson.
Shudhit Sooch and TS Drayden each contributed nine points. Sooch had three 3-pointers.
Cornerstone averaged 86.7 points per game in its three regional victories to complete a 28-6 season that also included the North Coast Section Division VI title.
— Darren Sabedra
Division V NO. 1 ATHENIAN 57, NO. 2 SAN DOMENICO 46 >>
Athenian will compete in its first state championship in school history after beating San Domenico behind 15 points from senior guard Surya Devasenapathy.
Down three at halftime, Athenian started to hit from deep to take a comfortable lead. When San Domenico came within five in the final minute, the Owls hit their free throws to punch their ticket to the state championship. Teni Salako had 11 points and Noah Olivier and Evan Lucas each added 10 points.
Athenian will play Verdugo Hills (25-11) in the state championship in Sacramento at noon Friday.