NorCal girls hoops: SHP bows out

Sacred Heart Prep was not at full-strength for Tuesday's CIF Girls NorCal Division III first-round contest with Marin Catholic of Kentfield. Even if the fifth-seeded Gators had been 100 percent healthy, it still might not have been enough to top the 12th-seeded Wildcats, a 61-47 victor.

Marin Catholic (24-7) had a super trio in guard Miranda Jacobson, 6-foot-1 center Erika Stromberg and guard Sydney Politzer. The senior troika combined for 57 of the team's 61 points.

Politzer hit the biggest bucket of the night, a 32-foot 3-pointer off a side-court inbound play to beat the halftime buzzer. That put the Wildcats up 36-27 at the intermission.

“Our girls came out and competed,” Marin Catholic coach Ashley Saia said. “We hit shots early. That gave us a lot of confidence. We were aggressive right from the start. We knew they were good. They had big kids inside and had good players on the perimeter. We knew we had to play well to win.”

The Gators, playing without guard Denise Stine, who was out ill, ended the season 16-12.

“It was a great season, a hard-fought season,” SHP coach Melanie Murphy said. “I'm excited for what our seniors have left for the program. They are emotional leaders. I'm hoping we learned from this experience and come back stronger next year.”

Senior Zoe Zaharias had 12 points, five rebounds, a steal and a block, playing her final prep game.

Zaharias, who had all 12 points in the first half, joins Ava Lessing as the team's only seniors.

Zaharias hit a 3-pointer to cut MC's lead to 17-16 early in the second period.

The Gators Kennedy Anderson wowed the crowd with some penetration down the lane before dishing to Megan Norris, who scored for 18-17 Gators. Anderson, who had 11 points and double-digit rebounds, passed to Zaharias for a layin.

The Wildcats got a layin from Jacobson, who had 17 points in the first half. Anderson stole the ball and scored to close the deficit to six points.

SHP came out strong in the third period, getting a 15-footer by Chance Bucher, who had 10 rebounds and eight points.

“Chance rebounded like crazy,” Murphy said.

A follow shot by Norris, who made a free throw after being fouled and it was 36-32 Marin Catholic.

Anderson scored on a banker and the Gators were within 38-36. Another assist for Anderson, this time to Caroline Barclay for a hoop, and it was 40-38.

A 3-pointer by Jacobson got the Wildcats going, the victors closing out the game on a 21-9 run.

It was the second straight game the Gators scored 47 points and the second straight game the Gators committed 18 turnovers. Norris had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Gators.

“Marin Catholic was very aggressive and ran their offense and defense well,” Murphy said. “They put us on our heels in the first half. We gave up 36 points in the first half, which we never want to do. It was a good-challenging veteran experienced team. We are a young team. We would have liked to have gotten the win, but we did the best we could.”

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