NorCal Girls Hoops: Priory Blows Out Hamilton and SHP Advances

By John Reid/Palo Alto Online Sports
Sacred Heart Prep 50, Union Mine 31
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After a few minutes of implementing a full-court press against No. 15 seed Hamilton of Hamilton City, Priory was able to coast the rest of the way.

The No. 2 seeded Panthers humbled the Braves to the tune of 67-19 in a first-round NorCal Division V girls hoops contest on Wednesday in Portola Valley.

Defending Division V state champion and top seed Eastside College Prep took care of business, overwhelming visiting Ripon Christian, 73-15. ECP hosts Urban-San Francisco at 6 p.m. Saturday.

In Division IV, Sacred Heart Prep topped Union Mine, 50-31, and will visit Foothill-Sacramento on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Division I top seed Menlo-Atherton had no trouble in its first game, a 72-26 victory over No. 16 McClymonds. The Bears host No. 9 Folsom at 6 p.m. Saturday.

No. 10 seed Palo Alto had to go all the way to Stockton to play No. 7 Lincoln and had to make the trip without a few key players. The Vikings lost, 48-41.

Eastside College Prep and Priory, who share the same nickname, could be heading on a collision course.

If the seeds hold, the two West Bay Athletic League teams would meet in the regional final on March 18.

Eastside (19-8) is a wildly talented team, centered around an efficient point guard in junior Kayla Tahaafe, who sometimes gets overlooked in the abundance of great point guards in the area.

Despite not having a senior among them, this team has come together. Tahaafe and fellow junior Ra'Anaa Bey have been down this road twice before and sophomore Zion Gabriel turned in a spectacular freshman season.

Against Ripon Christian, sophomore Mina Tameilau completely dominated the first half and would have accrued mind-goggling stats had coach Donovan Blythe let her play more than half the game.

With the game well in hand, there were other important matters, like getting KiKi Humphrey up to playing speed since returning from ACL surgery.

Kayla Mahan and Jillian David were also allowed in on the fun and both took full advantage.

Bey and Gabriel each scored 16 points while Tameilau had 13 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds.

Priory (19-9) hosts No. 7 Capital Christian of Sacramento (22-9) in a quarterfinal game on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Braves (16-12) had 15 turnovers in the first period, 32 for the game, as the Panthers' defense had itself a night.

Hamilton, located near Chico, scored just five field goals for the game. Priory coach Buck Matthews took out his starters early in the third period. Even so, the Braves scored just six points in the second half.

“It's about time,” Matthews said. “That wasn't there the last two performances. Everybody flying around, sharing the ball. Everyone was coming together and this is the right time to do it.”

Guard Tatiana Reese led the charge, scoring 15 points and registering seven steals. Reese also shined as a passer, peeling off some nice assists.

“I'm excited to be playing in NorCals,” Reese said. “Our dream is to make it to state.”

Matthews had 10 of his players get into the scoring column. Center Ila Lane, attracting attention from Pac-12 schools, didn't get into the flow, offensively, scoring just four points.

Lane, however, had a pair of steals, a block and three boards in limited action.

Reese hit two treys in the first period, adding a field goal for an eight-point frame.

Anna Barton had four of her six points in the first eight minutes, while others got into the act in the second quarter.

Freshman Annabelle North swished two 3-pointers, while freshman Dominique Robons drained her first of three 3-point goals.

Sam McCabe had six of her 10 points in the second period as the Panthers scored 48 points in the first half, a 96-point pace.

Gabby Ruiz stole the ball and scored midway through the second period. Reese lobbed a pass to Lane for a bucket. Reese, on the run, bounced a pass to McCabe for another bucket as the rout continued.

“I told Tatiana it's more than just making baskets,” Matthews said. “It's more about getting everyone else involved. The last five games, her points have gone down, but her assists have gone up. That's how you become a good basketball player.”

Freshman Lala Niu showed good hustle, grabbing a handful of rebounds, scoring six points and blocking a shot.

The Panthers are finally at full-strength, having had Lane, Reese and Ruiz injured at different periods of the season.

“We played a tough schedule,” Reese said. “We were happy to play in higher leagues. That got us ready for NorCals.”
 
Division I

M-A (29-2) advances to play host to No. 9 Folsom, a 68-50 winner over No. 8 Castro Valley, on Saturday at 6 p.m.

M-A’s twin towers -- Greer Hoyem and Ofa Sili -- had their way against McClymonds. The Bears jumped out to a 15-2 lead to start the game with Hoyem scoring 12 of those points and Sili hitting a 3-pointer.

Hoyem finished with 27 points despite not playing at all in the fourth quarter. In addition to her dominance in the low post, she also did a nice job of running the court.

“She always had the ability to run the court,’’ M-A coach Markisha Coleman said of Hoyem. “The guards did a nice job of getting her the ball.’’

Sili scored 15 in the first half and finished with 17. She made two 3-pointers.

“She is shooting the 3-pointer a lot better this season,’’ Coleman said. “She has gotten more confident with that shot. It’s great having a big girl who can go outside and hit that shot.’’

M-A led 19-6 after one quarter, 39-15 at halftime and 59-18 after three quarters. A running clock was used in the fourth quarter.

Palo Alto (22-3) went to Stockton without leading scorer Carly Leong, who took a blow to the head in Saturday’s CCS championship game and started experiencing concussion symptoms on Sunday.

The Vikings, who were also without backup guard Jackie Moore, had their season come to an end in a 48-41 defeat.

They trailed early but battled back to tie, 36-36. Lincoln took a 42-39 lead when an intentional foul was called on Palo Alto that pretty much decided the game.

“The girls played as hard as they could, they just ran out of gas,’’ Palo Alto coach Scott Peters said. “(Lincoln) box-and-one’d Lauren (Koyama). We did the best we could under the circumstances.’’

The Vikings end the season ranked fifth in the state in 3-pointers made, second in 3-pointers attempted, and third in the state in 3-pointers per game (9.5). That's also sixth in the nation.

Division IV

On the surface, No. 6 seed Sacred Heart Prep (15-13) appears to be the underdog against No. 3 seed Foothill of Sacramento (27-5).

The Gators, though, may be feeling a little about themselves after rebounding from an ugly loss to Half Moon Bay in the CCS Division IV final.

Foothill and Sacred Heart Prep also have a common opponent in Union Mine.

The Mustangs beat Union Mine, 70-49, in early January.

If they gain some momentum in this one, the Gators can surprise people. A lot of that momentum will be dictated by freshmen Denise Stine, who can ramp up a stagnant offense just by setting foot om the court, and Charlotte Levison, who could carry the scoring load should she happen to get into a rhythm.

The key with Levison is how she responds to her first shot. If its good, she's probably locked in. If it's not, she tends to fight herself.

The only two seniors, Natalie Zimits and Lagi Pakola, can make a difference without scoring. When Zimits gets going on the boards, she'll fight for every rebound.

Pakola showed an ability to both spark the offense and play like a wizard on defense.

There are three other players to watch, who can all be hot or cold: juniors Tatum Angotti and Grace Battles, and sophomore Zoe Zaharias.
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Sacred Heart Schools Atherton

Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton

150 Valparaiso Ave
Atherton, CA 94027
650 322 1866
Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, SHS is a Catholic, independent, co-ed day school for students in preschool through grade 12