The Salesian Pride have picked up the new TCAL season right where it left off the last — with wins.
Salesian (13-2, 2-0) defeated St. Joseph Notre Dame, 71-49, on Thursday night at home. Minyon Moore and Jordan Hobson scored 12 points apiece, and Kian McNair, despite limited playing time due to foul trouble, added 10 in the balanced effort. For the Pilots (12-4, 1-1), Mira Love-Sangco scored 16 points on an efficient 6-for-8 from the floor.
Salesian jumped out to a 24-11 first quarter advantage and led 59-30 after three. Moore padded her effort with seven assists and seven steals, while a trio of freshman had solid outings: Sydni Stewart and Taisia Fleming chipped in 11 and nine points, respectively, and Taimane Lesa-Hardee pulled down seven rebounds.
“All of our freshman have really stepped up, and they’re young, and this is a new and different environment for them,” said senior guard Kian McNair. “And I’m really proud of them for the situations that they’ve been able to handle.” Thinking of her own role, McNair stated “This is a young team, there’s a lot of people that need to step up, so there’s a lot more responsibility on myself and on the entire team, but I like it, though.”
Note: Saturday’s contest between St. Mary’s-Berkeley and Salesian has been rescheduled for Tuesday the 13th at 5:30 p.m. at Contra Costa College.
Acalanes Gets Another Win Over Campolindo
For the second time in a week, Acalanes met rival Campolindo and emerged with a win. In the West Coast Jamboree, it was a 57- 53 victory; on Tuesday, the Dons (12-1, 1-0) vanquished the Cougars, 58-48. Brooke Panfili, making her first return to the site of her freshman year, scored 15 points despite a stretch of cold shooting to open the game, and Emma Godfrey added 14 points. Haley Van Dyke led the Cougars (7-7, 0-1) with 13 points, while Emily Lyall added 10. Both teams struggled in the first quarter, resulting in a 5-5 tie. Acalanes built a slim 4-point lead by the time the start of the fourth quarter. Godfrey scored 10 of her total in the second half. Panfili was a key player on a Campolindo team that went 8-4 last season in the DFAL, four games better than Acalanes.
“Campo dictated the tempo the first quarter and a half with their zone defense,” Acalanes head coach Chad Wellon remarked. “Eventually we got some good looks out in transition.” Speaking of his team’s early success this season, Wellon said, “Last year we had limited varsity experience…they’ve all embraced playing together as a team, the chemistry that comes along with that year of varsity experience has paid huge dividends for us.”
