Miramonte heats up in second half, wins first NCS title in nine years

MARTINEZ — Miramonte coach Ace Wright waved her hands up and down, hyping the crowd, imploring them to scream and cheer. The game was all but over, her Matadors up 11 with 34 seconds remaining. But she as much as anyone understood the moment Friday night.

Miramonte upset the No. 2-seeded Benicia Panthers, 57-47, clinching a Northern Coast Section Division III championship. On the floor of Alhambra High, the No. 4-seeded Matadors celebrated the school’s first section championship since 2017. Back when Miramonte was the cream of the crop, peaking during the era of New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who graduated in 2016.

The nine-year title drought is over.

“It means everything,” Wright said. “We kind of went on a slump for a while … This is my first year here, so to be able to get in there and change some things around. And, we got the win.”

Next up for Miramonte is the CIF NorCal regional. The Matadors will learn their next opponent when the brackets are released on Sunday.

What they will take with them to the next level is Wright’s message of defense. They certainly implemented that approach to perfection Friday. Frustrating Benicia, forcing tough shots and turnovers all night long. Miramonte star guard Maegan Eichenberger finished with 15 points, Ava Noga and Lorelei Keenan added 11 and 10 points, respectively, to lead Miramonte.

The Panthers jumped out to an early lead. Behind sophomore captain Ella Lum, who had five of her 13 points to lead Benicia in the first quarter. Breaking the Matadors’ physical zone, with her shot making and passing. The Panthers held a 15-10 lead.

Tailua Scott-Gasologa, Benicia’s sophomore center, jumped the passing lane and finished a layup to put the Panthers ahead by seven. But Miramonte started tightening its defense, holding Benicia scoreless over the next four minutes. The Matadors turned turnovers and long rebounds into fast-break opportunities and slowly closed the gap. The Panthers clung to a 25-24 advantage at halftime.

“I think in the beginning, we were moving the ball pretty good,” Benicia coach Corey Ott said. “Swinging it around, a lot of extra passes … And in that third quarter, we kind of settled for easier shots. You know, one pass (and) shot, one pass (and) drive. We weren’t moving off the ball as much and trying to go inside before we kind of shot our threes. … So I thought to start the game we had great ball movement. and I thought in the third quarter we didn’t quite have that same ball movement.”

After the break, the Matadors went on a 20-4 run to blow the game open. Benicia committed six turnovers in the third quarter. Miramonte took a 44-29 lead and never looked back.

“We picked up intensity,” Wright said. “We knew that there was going to come up and come out and change some things. So we just had to be more aggressive and get the win.”