STOCKTON, CA – St. Mary’s sophomore guard Tai Sherman scored the game’s first five points and the onslaught never stopped in an 80-38 running clock victory by the MLK Showcase hosts over a very decent Nevada No. 5 Bishop Gorman-Las Vegas.
“Bishop Gorman is better than tonight’s score and I hope it’s because of how we played that was the difference,” remarked St. Mary’s Coach Tom Gonsalves. “The team in general played well.”
The backcourt duo of Sherman and freshman sensation Brooklyn Perry led St. Mary’s (10-4) with 17 points apiece and each had three three-pointers. Sherman added six rebounds, four steals and three assists while Perry had five rebounds and four steals.
Amaya Oliver, a 6-2 senior that has several D1 offers, was content to play defense in the first half but after Gonsalves told her to “go for it” on offense she easily scored 10 points in the third quarter, but after sitting most of the final period she still had a double-double after adding 12 rebounds plus two blocks and two steals to the 10 points.
Word is Arizona State is making a big push for Oliver but she would not confirm or deny her interest in the Sun Devils or anyone else.
“I’m waiting until after the Showcase to get over before I make a decision, but it will not necessarily be next week,” Oliver said. “I have a few offers and I’ll do more research and will probably make a decision by the end of the month,
Sophomore guard Sofia Lee and 6-5 sophomore post Ashley Lewis added nine and eight points, respectively.
Bishop Gorman (10-6) got a game-high 19 points (three three-pointers) from senior Bentleigh Hoskins.
Gonsalves and his girls face Bonita Vista-Chula Vista tomorrow in a full slate of nine games and then on Monday they face Nevada No. 1 Centennial-Las Vegas as part of an eight-game schedule that concludes the three-day event.
Free-throw shooting hurts Miramonte in loss to Regis Jesuit
Miramonte-Orinda let a 12-point third quarter lead get away but it was poor free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter that really cost the Mats in 78-74 loss to Colorado top 10 Regis Jesuit-Aurora.
Miramonte (14-3) led 34-27 at the half and 44-32 midway through the third quarter but after a 20-7 run by the Colorado girls they trailed 52-51 entering the final period. The fourth quarter saw it go back and forth but in the end Miramonte was 2-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth and Regis Jesuit (9-3) was 10-for-10 from the charity stripe including the game’s final four points, and that was the difference.
Free-throws may have been Miramonte’s woes but so were a few of the Raiders players, in particular senior Jada Moore. The 5-10 Kansas State-bound senior took over in the late third and early fourth quarters and at one point from when the game was tied at 48-48 she scored 10 straight Regis Jesuit points, and she was also 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter including the last four that closed out the scoring. Moore finished with a double-double 24 points and 11 rebounds with three assists and three steals.
Junior and Raiders leading scorer on the season Avery Vansickle heated up late and had 10 of her game-high 26 points (three three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Another player that impressed college coaches and analysts was Samantha Jones. The 6-0 junior showed she can finish around the basket and clean the glass and finished with a double-double 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Three girls were in double figure scoring for Miramonte led by senior Erin Tarasow with 23 points including four three-pointers. Idaho-committed junior Jordan Allred had 19 points, six rebounds and three assists, and senior Rebecca Welsh added 13 points with three-three pointers.
Miramonte is in action Saturday morning against Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco at the Bishop O’Dowd MLK Classic in Oakland.
Regis Jesuit stays in Stockton where they will face Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa
In other games
Bonita Vista-Chula Vista (9-5) came out ice cold and fell behind 18-4 after one quarter en route to a 72-50 loss to Nevada No. 1 Centennial-Las Vegas. Solid junior D1 prospect Sylena Peterson led the Barons with 16 points while freshman Madison Canon added 14 points.
Centennial (10-5) was led by senior Aishah Brown with 15 points and junior Aaliyah Ibarra with 13 points.
In the first game of the day preseason national No. 1 New Hope Academy of Landover Hills, Maryland took a bit to get going but after trailing 13-11 after one quarter they turned it on to lead 33-23 at the half en route to a 58-39 victory over Oregon Benson Tech-Portland.
Senior Delicia Pinnick led New Hope 14-7 with 14 points including four three-pointers. Junior post Maria Gakdeng added a double-double 12 points and 12 rebounds with three blocks.
Benson Tech (8-2) got 10 points from freshman Onna Brown.
