The host Cardinal Newman Cardinals did not win their three-day Cardinal Newman Classic last weekend in Santa Rosa, but they had a solid showing and finished in third place.
What did happen, and to the delight of the Cardinals faithful, is junior Anya Choice took a huge step in showing why she is considered one of the top combo guards in Northern California.
For the second time this season, the flashy 5-8 Choice set the school single game scoring record. The first time was in the Cardinals season-opening blowout of Novato when she had 31 points to break the record of 28 points set by recent Seattle University transfer Hailey Vice-Neat.
Since that game Choice went for 22 points against Vintage-Napa in less than a half’s work, and 25 points in a Cardinal Newman Classic opening game victory over Encinal-Alameda where her time was also very limited with both games lopsided victories.
Choice and her Cardinals teammates, including Hawaii-Pacific bound fellow guard Avery Cargill, gave it everything they had against Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco in the semifinals, but her 28 points and six rebounds coupled with the 16 points, five rebounds and five assists of Cargill were not enough as Newman lost 66-64 in a game that was close all the way and they led 41-38 at the half.
They began new school records starting with the 2011-2012 season. That’s when Coach Monica Mertle, a graduate of the now-closed Ursuline that used to share the campus with Newman, started the program at Newman when the two schools combined.
The result is while the new single game scoring record broke once by Vice-Neat that wasn’t astronomical, the new one set by Choice isn’t stratospheric itself, but it’s more like a snapshot of things to come.
Not only that but Choice could not have picked a better time to score 35 points with six rebounds than in a third-place 71-63 victory over Bishop O’Dowd in a game where she and Cargill (15 points, four assists, three steals) came on down the stretch after Newman trailed 49-45 after three quarters.
After a 4-1 start with three games in which she barely saw the second half, Choice is averaging 28.2 points per game and around six rebounds, which is way up from last year, and just like over the summer when she performed well during the NCAA viewing period, Choice is showing she can do more than just attack the basket.
Not only did she impress this analyst last summer others had good things to say as well.
“Choice is so much more aggressive now,” said respected NorCal girls hoops analyst Kameo Williams. “Her baseline drives and athletic finishes through contact are a consistent thing now.”
The person that seen the improvement up close is Mertle.
“Let’s start with the things that make Anya unique,” Mertle remarked. “The first thing is her passion for basketball. She would stay in the gym all day and night if she could. The second thing is she has really bought into the idea of having a complete skill set.
“She’s always been able to attack the basket but now her outside shot, mid-range and pull-up jumper have improved, and she’s gotten better coming off screens and shooting on the move,” continued Mertle. "She’s always been solid from the outside but she’s worked hard on her shooting and has become a lot more consistent and confident.”
On offense is not the only place Choice has made improvements as evidenced by her bigger numbers on the glass.
“She really values her contributions to the team, and particularly more rebounding, and when she attacks she can pass off the dribble and that gets her teammates involved which is important to her. One way or another she’ll get you,” Mertle said.
With almost two full seasons to go in her high school career it’s a bit premature to anoint Choice as the best player Newman has ever had, but it’s a little hard to say she’s not, particularly if she continues to play like she has to start the season and improves at the same time.
Choice is by no means a one-girl team, particularly with Cargill sharing the backcourt with her.
Mertle calls Cargill, the only senior on the squad, “a coach on the floor that has tremendous court sense and a phenomenal basketball IQ.”
Another player that looked very good over the summer and fall and moves up from sixth girl as a freshman to starter is sophomore guard Aysia Dural. According to Mertle “she’s playing very well, improved in every aspect of her game, and her confidence level is up.”
Rounding out the starting five are juniors Emma Nordby and Christina Bacci.
And what about the glue that has held it together the past seven seasons since she started the program. It seems like only yesterday when Mertle took what for years had been a good but not dominant team in the North Bay into a powerhouse.
In her first year at the helm the Cardinals were 13-15 but improved to 16-9 in the second year. Since then they have gone 24-8, 26-7, 31-5, 30-4 and 27-6 to give Mertle a 167-54 coaching record.
Besides the two 30-win seasons her 2016-17 team won the NCS Division IV title and after beating both Carondelet and Pinewood on the road they made it all the way to CIF Northern Regional Open Division title game where they gave Mitty a game before bowing out.
Last but not least Mertle’s girls have won 73 straight games against teams in the North Bay League including playoffs, and it’s not looking like that streak will end this season.
We should get a good indication of how good Choice and her teammates are against even stronger talent when the travel to Los Altos Hills on Wednesday to meet defending CIF Northern Regional Open champion and Cal-Hi Sports No. 2 ranked Pinewood.
