There was a moment. Those who were paying close attention to the Bishop O’Dowd High bench between the third and fourth periods of the CIF Girls Open Division State Championship on March 23 might have seen it. It was merely a look. A look shared between the four star seniors. The look said it all. “At the start of the fourth quarter, all four of us got together and gave each other a look,” the Duke-bound Oderah Chidom said. “We knew this was it. It was time. And that’s when the big run happened and Windward wasn’t able to retaliate.” Windward-Los Angeles, which entered the game on a 32-game winning streak and sporting the nation’s No. 3 ranking according to MaxPreps.com, had beaten Bishop O’Dowd just three months earlier. But a highly-motivated O’Dowd had the Wildcats playing catch-up for much of the state final. The Dragons led 40-33 going into the fourth quarter. And the look between seniors was a “let’s end this now” moment. And they did. Outscoring the Wildcats 20-12 in the final quarter, Bishop O’Dowd (30-3) won the first Girls Open Division championship, for its second consecutive state title, and cemented its place among the most dominant girls basketball team of Northern California and Bay Area history.
Best Ever? Bishop O’Dowd delivered on its endless hype by winning the Open Division title
It was the four seniors that made it all go — the versatile wing/forward Chidom, point guard Ariell Bostick, and the two imposing post threats, K.C. Waters and Breanna Brown. All four have been part of the varsity program since their freshman year. “The seniors started with me when I took over as head coach,” Malik McCord said during the press conference following the state championship victory. “Every year is a special year with each team. What made this year really special is I started with these kids. I watched them grow, and they watched me grow as a coach. To end the right way, it can’t get any better than ending with a championship.” The four seniors all played a significant role in their final victory together. Waters and Brown each posted double-doubles, and together combined for 34 rebounds — nearly as many as Windward had as an entire team (36). Chidom posted nine points and 12 rebounds and Bostick
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played the spark plug for everything. The San Diego State-bound point guard had a team-high 17 points but finished the game in the distributor role, leading fast breaks as a fatigued Windward team tried to keep pace. She finishing with five assists. “Without her it’s a struggle,” Chidom said of Bostick. “Playing with Ariell has been amazing. She’s probably the best point guard I’ve ever played with. Her tempo, and her ability to calm us all down as well as her ability to get us all going. It’s huge.” Brown, who is bound for Virginia Tech, is probably the least-celebrated of the big four. For no reason other than she’s probably the least outspoken. However, her impact in the state final was obvious. She scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds — seven of which came off the offensive glass. She had never met Waters before the summer leading into their freshman year, but their dads had known each other
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and bragged to one another about their daughters’ basketball success. Waters was the first to bring up that summer before her freshman year,when the four of them all officially met for the first time and immediately began sharing their lofty goals. “To end this year the way that we did is amazing,” said the Cal-bound Waters, who had 12 points and 20 rebounds against Windward. “We came in eighth grade summer doing open gyms at Bishop O’Dowd and talking about what we’re going to do together. We said then that we’re going to go out on top, and for us to complete that dream is amazing. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up back in the hotel before this game even started. I’m so happy.” Whether the 2012-13 Bishop O’Dowd team goes down as Northern California’s greatest team will be talked about and debated in the coming months and years. The gravity of that may not be completely felt by these seniors, though they know they did it their way. And there’s pride. That look said it all. “It’s a great feeling leaving that legacy on the floor,” Bostick said. “We had a lot of support. It’s crazy. I still can’t believe it.” ✪ — Chace Bryson
April 1, 2013
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