Basketball V Ì Õi`ÊvÀ Ê«ÀiÛ ÕÃÊ«>}i®
Division I boys Menlo-Atherton kept its surprising season alive by advancing to the CCS title game for the first time since 2008 with a 60-46 win over No. 7 seed Homestead at Independence High. The No. 3-seeded Bears (18-8) will face No. 4 Bellarmine (11-16) in the finals after the Bells advanced with a 55-53 double-overtime win over No. 1 San Benito. Bellarmine has won five of the past six Division I titles. Menlo-Atherton advanced by scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Bears made 17 of 21 foul shots. Royce Branning led the way with 21 points.
Cardinal women set defend tourney title Ogwumike brings Pac-12 honors into conference playoffs; Stanford men struggling down stretch by Rick Eymer
Camille Steger
ÕÌV Ê >ÀV >
Open Division girls Fourth-seeded Pinewood and No. 7 Eastside Prep can set their sights in next week’s NorCal Division V playoffs after dropping semifinal games on Tuesday. Pinewood (25-3) fell to topseeded Sacred Heart Cathedral, 57-47, while Eastside Prep (18-10) suffered a tough 64-57 double-
Division IV girls Fifth-seeded Castilleja (20-9) reached its first-ever finale since moving up to Division IV with a dominating 48-28 semifinal victory over No. 1 seed and host Notre Dame-Belmont (10-17). Earlier in the evening on the same floor, No. 2-seeded Menlo (17-11) took a step closer to defending its D-4 crown with a 4340 win over No. 6 King’s Academy (21-7). “I’m stoked,” said Menlo senior Donya Dehnad, who finished with 16 points. “We’ve been working really hard and I think that it shows on the court. I think the fact that everyone underestimated us and didn’t think we would get here has really motivated us to work hard and prove them all wrong.” With 34 seconds left in the game, Menlo sophomore Mackenzie Duffner was fouled then sank one out of two free throws, giving Menlo a 42-40 lead. King’s Academy had a chance to tie the game, but a traveling violation turned the ball over to Menlo. Menlo took advantage of a great defensive effort that forced 29 turnovers. “We like to have an up-tempo game,” said Menlo head coach John Paye. “We did create a lot of turnovers and we did get in some foul trouble, but I was happy with our team play.” The Menlo defense was sturdy again in the third quarter as King’s Academy went on a fiveminute scoring drought and was able to score only two points for the quarter total. In the second semifinal, Castilleja avenged a 24-point seasonopening loss to ND-Belmont in December. In that game, Paige Vermeer did not play due to injury. Vermeer, this season’s WBAL Skyline Division MVP, made her presence felt against the Tigers on Tuesday with a career-high 26 points and six steals.
STANFORD BASKETBALL
ÕÌV Ê >ÀV >
everything into motion as the Titans moved to 10-7 and edged the No. 4 Pirates’ season at 20-9. “We want state,” Gunn firstyear head coach Melanie Murphy boldly stated. “I expect a CCS championship from them and they know that. Even in the locker room that’s what we’re looking forward to — those are our expectations.” Gunn senior guard Zoe Zwerling sank two clutch free throws to give her team a comfortable 37-27 lead with 22.6 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the next Titan possession, Zwerling went to the line again and drained two free throws, sealing the win. Gunn went on a 9-0 run in the second quarter when junior Meghan Mahoney scored on a layup, giving the Titans a 18-9 lead. The Titans’ defense was tough all game long as they held the Vikings to a 4:11 scoring drought during the quarter. “We got a lot of stops on defense,” said Murphy. “They were communicating and talking and did everything that we’ve asked them to do at practice. All positive thoughts, especially on our defensive effort.” Mahoney finished off the third quarter by sinking a free throw and giving the Titans a 27-24 lead going into the fourth quarter. The junior finished 7 of 10 from the line and totaled 11 points in addition to grabbing 13 rebounds. The Gunn defense came up big again in the fourth quarter and gave up only three points to the Pirates’ offense. In the first semifinal at Gunn High, No. 3 seed Palo Alto dropped a 51-41 decision to No. 2 North Salinas. The Vikings (12-13) forged a 17-17 halftime deadlock but were outscored 13-5 in the third quarter and couldn’t make up the difference. “We got the shots we wanted and we just missed them,” said Palo Alto head coach Scott Peters. “We played hard and I thought our defense was good. Sometimes you can’t control the ball going in the hole.” On North Salinas’ last eight possessions of the game, it converted 10 of 16 free throws. The Vikings shot an appalling 4 of 36 from the field and only 46 percent from the line in the first half. “The effort was good and we got the shots we wanted —they just didn’t go in,” said Peters. Palo Alto’s shooting stayed ice cold in the fourth quarter as it converted only 3 of 10 free throws. The Vikings suffered 24 turnovers and shot a dreadful 18 percent from the field.
overtime loss to host Mitty. Senior Leeana Bade led Pinewood with 19 points. Eastside Prep battled No. 3 Mitty (17-11) evenly throughout, deadlocking the game at the end of regulation (44-44) and again after the first overtime (51-51) before the Monarchs pulled away. Junior Destiny Graham led Eastside Prep with 20 points with Alexus Simon adding 19.
Zoe Zwerling Division IV boys Sacred Heart Prep will play for its fourth CCS Division IV title in five years after the topseeded Gators (19-7) rolled to a 62-45 semifinal victory over No. 4 Palma (16-10) on Tuesday night at Menlo School. The Gators will face No. 6 Harker (18-9) in the title game on Saturday. Sacred Heart Prep and Harker played twice during the WBAL regular season, with the teams splitting. The Eagles’ victory in the second meeting cost the Gators sole possession of first place. Junior Corbin Koch had a gamehigh 22 points for SHP with sophomore Mason Randall adding 18, 15 coming on 3-pointers. A 35-23 advantage in the second half, during which Randall drained a trio of 3-pointers, proved to be the difference for the Gators. Division V boys WBAL rivals Pinewood and Priory will meet for a third time this season, this time for the CCS championship on Friday after both won in Pacifica. Top-seeded Pinewood (22-4) advanced with a 59-49 win over host Alma Heights while No. 2 Priory (16-9) moved on with a 55-53 overtime win over No. 3 St. Francis-Central Coast Catholic. Andy Isokpehi led Priory with 20 points while Scott Harris added 13 and Connor Bonfiglio 10. Pinewood will be seeking its fourth straight CCS title while making its fifth straight appearance. Ryan Brice led the Panthers with 23 points with Greg Naumann adding 11. N
W
ith the No. 1 seed in hand, the fourth-ranked Stanford women’s basketball team heads to the scene of its only conference loss to open the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinal (28-2) visits Seattle as the odds-on favorite to repeat as tournament champion. The Feb. 9 loss to Washington has either been forgotten or is being used as a reminder to pay attention. Pac-12 Player of the Year Chiney Ogwumike often takes time to remind herself and teammates, which also include all-Pac-12 selection Amber Orrange and allfreshmen pick Lili Thompson, that playing hard takes care of results. “Honored to be named Pac-12 POY & DPOY for 2nd year in a row!” Ogwumike tweeted. “I have the best teammates & coaches! Excited for the best month of the year!” Results are what drive Ogwumike, though it’s more about the team winning than her own statistics, which are certainly impressive. The senior leads the conference in scoring (27.0) and ranks third in the country. Her 12.1 rebounds per game are eighth in the nation, second in the Pac-12, and she is third in the country in field-goal percentage at 62.2. She is the only player in the country to rank in the top 10 in all three categories. Ogwumike became the Pac12’s all-time leader in rebounds and is within 49 points of tying the all-time scoring record (currently held onto by former Stanford great Candice Wiggins). Ogwumike, who also has 54 blocked shots, was voted Pac-12 Player of the Week for a record nine times this season. She scored at least 30 points in 13 games and 28 in 16, leading the Cardinal in scoring in all but two games. “With regard to basketball, my defining moments have not come during my triumphs but rather my struggles,” Ogwumike wrote in a blog for ESPNW. “No matter how hard you try to spruce it up, it doesn’t matter: Losing sucks.” Orrange averages 10.1 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds. She also carries an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.1-1. “Her work ethic is really special,” hall of fame coach Tara VanDerveer said. “A lot of it is just keeping her poised and keep playing hard every game.” Thompson averages 7.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game. She started 26 games this year, shooting 42.5 percent on 34 of 80 from long range. VanDerveer recorded her 900th career victory earlier this season
to become the fifth women’s basketball coach in NCAA history to reach the milestone. She was also voted (by her fellow coaches) as the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the 14th time. Mikaela Ruef has developed into a potent inside threat, especially on the boards. She averages 9.5 rebounds and 6.9 points. She’s also second on the team with 3.1 assists per game. Eight other players have started at least one game, giving the feeling of depth along the Cardinal bench. Freshman Karlie Samuelson has logged the most minutes, while older sister Bonnie Samuelson, Taylor Greenfield, Erica McCall, Sara James, Kailee Johnson, Alex Green and Briana Roberson have all seen plenty of action. The sixth-seeded Huskies (1712) and Stanford, winner of six straight, can only meet in the championship game. Washington must win three games in three days to reach the final contest. Stanford has an extra day off. Stanford opens play Friday at noon against No. 9 Colorado, which upended No. 8 UCLA, 7665, on Thursday in the tournament’s first game. Men’s basketball Stanford continues to flirt with danger. Well, in the metaphorical sense at least. It’s dangerous in the sense that the Cardinal entered the week as a solid choice for the NCAA tournament. Now? Not so much. Stanford will need to put everything on the line Saturday morning for its 11:30 a.m. regular-season finale against visiting Utah. That’s because everything (read NCAA postseason) just might be on the line. The Cardinal is possibly looking at a must-win just to get back in good graces with the NCAA selection committee. “I haven’t even thought about it,” Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said after a 59-56 loss to visiting Colorado on Wednesday night. “All I can think about is a very disappointing loss on our home floor. I know we have to regroup for Saturday.” Things looked promising when Anthony Brown finished off a layup with 3:58 remaining to play in the game, giving Stanford a slight edge over the Buffaloes. Less than two minutes later, things were a lot brighter for Colorado in a critical Pac-12 game for both teams. The Buffs (10-7, 21-9) grabbed the upper hand for the fourth seed, holding their own fate when they visit California on Saturday night. Stanford (9-8, 18-11) likely cost itself a first-round bye in the conference tournament, to be held in Las Vegas. N
ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÀV ÊÇ]ÊÓä£{ÊU Page 65