Preps of the week: Girls teams claim four section titles
It was a banner week for many of the top girls programs around the county with four of them winning section titles including a pair of historic firsts. The girls basketball teams from Redwood and San Domenico broke through to win North Coast Section championships for the first time in program history in divisions II […]
It was a banner week for many of the top girls programs around the county with four of them winning section titles including a pair of historic firsts.
The girls basketball teams from Redwood and San Domenico broke through to win North Coast Section championships for the first time in program history in divisions II and V, respectively. Marin Catholic, competing in D-III, picked up its third consecutive section title.
The Tam girls soccer team capped the weekend with a 2-1 victory against Las Lomas to win the D-II title on Saturday night. All four of those teams, plus four others from the county, continue their postseason journeys this week in the NorCal playoffs.
Kitty White and Brooke Denler, Redwood girls basketball
Redwood got massive contributions from a pair of sophomores en route to its first section title. White scored a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds in Friday’s final after putting together a 13-point, 12-rebound line in Tuesday’s semifinal. As good as White was on the glass, Denler was even better, pulling down 17 rebounds against Moreau Catholic then topping that with 22 boards against Northgate. The No. 12 Giants go to San Jose to face No. 5 Evergreen Valley at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Carly Amborn and Averey Conklin, San Domenico girls basketball
Amborn capped off a dominating run through NCS with a 24-point, 10-rebound game in the semifinals followed by a 27-point, 15-rebound effort in the D-V title game on Friday. Meanwhile, Conklin put up a career-high 16 points in the title game. Amborn scored 14 points in the second quarter against Mt. Diablo as the Panthers rallied from an early deficit en route to a 43-35 victory on Tuesday. Amborn then delivered 16 of her 27 points against Cornerstone Christian in the fourth quarter of Friday’s final. Amborn averaged 30.5 points per game across the Panthers’ four section playoff victories. No. 15 San Domenico travels to face No. 2 Vanden at 7 p.m. in Fairfield.
Julia Costle and Lauren Willard, Tam girls soccer
Pretty much everyone who took the field for Tam last week stood out in some way, helping guide the No. 4 Red-tailed Hawks to a pair of road wins in the D-II playoffs against No. 1 Casa Grande and No. 2 Las Lomas, respectively. Costle scored three of Tam’s four goals in the two games, including both in a 2-1 title win over Las Lomas. All told, Costle scored six times in four section playoff games. Willard got Tam rolling with a first-half goal on a free kick against Casa Grande. Willard was also part of a key tactical switch against Las Lomas, moving back into the middle to help Tam try to limit the influence of the Knights’ two Division I midfielders, Paige Thompson (Alabama) and Kyleigh Sekulich (UC Riverside). Tam opens NorCal play as a No. 2 seed and hosts No. 7 Granite Bay at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Izzy McFadden and Cecily Hadd, Marin Catholic girls basketball
The Wildcats claimed their third consecutive MCAL title behind a pair of strong scoring efforts from McFadden and Hadd, who combined to score 37 points in a 56-41 title game win against Maria Carrillo. McFadden scored a game-high 19 points in the title clincher, followed immediately by Hadd who scored 18. McFadden also led the way in the semifinals with 21 points. Madie Dayton (15) joined Hadd (10) in double figures. No. 10 MC hits the road to face No. 7 St. Ignatius at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Semetri Carr and Jase Butler, Branson boys basketball
The Bulls went 1-1 in the Open division this past week, losing a close game on the road against De La Salle on Wednesday before holding off San Ramon Valley at College of Marin in the third-place game on Saturday. Carr paced the Bulls in scoring in both games, pouring in 25 points in a spectacular effort against the Spartans then adding 24 more against San Ramon Valley. Butler was the team’s second leading scorer against De La Salle with 14 points then put up a nine-point, six-rebound, four-assist line against SRV, including a pair of clutch free throws in the final seconds of the 69-66 win. Branson took the sixth seed in the Open Division and faces No. 3 Clovis North in Fresno at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Owen Bugas, Archie Williams boys basketball
Archie Williams was stopped one game shy of the section title game despite Bugas turning in an all-time performance in a 64-61 loss against Piedmont on Tuesday. Bugas scored 47 points, including 24 in the fourth quarter alone, as he tried valiantly to rally the Peregrine Falcons back from a 19-point deficit. Bugas made six shots from three-point range during his fourth-quarter barrage.
Luana Stathopoulos, Redwood girls wrestling
Stathopoulos had the best week of any Marin wrestler, running off three consecutive wins to make the semifinals in the 140-pound bracket at State. Stathopoulos, the No. 3 seed, lost a 9-7 match to No. 2 seed Olivia Davis of Monte Vista to tumble into the consolation bracket. Stathopoulos lost again before rebounding with a win in her last match to claim fifth place. Stathopoulos managed to place for the second consecutive season after finishing in eighth last year.