HAYWARD – The July 27-29 Summer in the City at Chabot College, the only NCAA certified viewing event for girls in the Bay Area, also wrapped up the second half of the period in July when Division I coaches can attend events and observe the girls in person.
Not surprisingly host EBX Black, a perennial Bay Area club power coached by Mark Anger, the EBX director and the 1989 Cal-Hi Sports Division I State Coach of the Year (Miramonte-Orinda), won the 16-team Elite Division, in a 48-38 victory on Sunday over a scrappy NorCal Elite team with a roster of girls from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section. EBX Black has girls from the CIF North Coast, Central Coast and Sac-Joaquin Sections on its roster
As she has done all summer and through the viewing period, St. Mary’s-Stockton combo guard Naje Murray (2017) shined, and although she didn’t play her best, and disappeared at times in the first half, she was one of two girls that took over in the second half and finished with 12 points and five assists with three steals.
EBX trailed 21-20 at halftime but Murray came out strong on both ends to key a 7-0 run to open the second half.
The other girl that took over, and Murray’s backcourt mate, Kaliya Griffin (2016) of Inderkum-Sacramento, elicited high marks from the college coaches for her play over the 3-day event. Some even liked Griffin’s game better than Murray, and why not, the very quick two-sport star (track) is a bit under the radar after only one season of varsity basketball, and still not committed despite being an incoming senior.
Griffin, who has interest from Sacramento State, San Jose State and Tennessee State, led all scorers with 15 points, of which 12 came in the second half.
“She can score and handle the ball but one thing she needs to work on is she likes to gamble on defense,” said Anger, who now also coaches at Chabot where his women went 31-3 and won the junior college state championship last season for the second time in 18 years.
Layla Ybarra-Harvey (2016, St. Mary’s-Berkeley) only had six points but used her size and good positioning in the paint to snag 10 rebounds. Marissa Mondave (2016, St. Francis-Mountain View), who played very hard as usual, and was said to be a potential fit as a combo guard/small forward for some of the colleges in attendance, had six points (two treys) and six rebounds. Caitlin Keding (2017, Valley Christian-San Jose), a 6-foot forward that likes to shoot the 3-ball, and made both attempts in limited action, including one that put EBX up 40-33 with under 5 minutes remaining. Small forward Carolyn Gill (2017, St. Mary’s-Berkeley) had a solid game and finished with nine rebounds.
NorCal Elite Black was led by guard Veronica Preciado, a 2015 from Grant-Sacramento looking to land something. She can drive and shoot the ball, and finished with 11 points. Guard Daisia Williams (2016, Inderkum) had a solid first half but EBX cut off her driving lanes in the second half and she finished with nine points, but only one in the second half. Another girl on the team that is under the radar because of where she plays high school, but showed she has some hop in her game and has the height colleges like to go with it, is Cailyn Francis of River Valley-Yuba City. The 6-foot-2 incoming junior had six points and seven rebounds. Being a good volleyball player improves her athleticism.
EBX Black got to the title game by beating NP Force Gold with girls from Northern San Mateo County, Modesto Magic Black, and Team Tesh with girls mostly from Oakland and the other East Bay cities.
For the right to meet the hosts in the title game NorCal Elite Black beat NorCal Future (underclass girls mostly from East Bay), CA Ballaz (mostly East Bay and Sac-Joaquin players), and 3D Elite from Canada and the Vancouver, British Columbia area.
In the third-place game Team Tesh overwhelmed 3D Elite, 56-35. Team Tesh, coached and directed by veteran girls hoops Coach John Phillips, has a very solid roster of girls from the East Bay and a few from the Sac-Joaquin Section area.
Just as she has all summer 2016 combo guard Mylah Andrada of Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland shined at the Summer in the City. She already has mid-major interest but her performance this summer is raising her stock amongst the college coaches. Andrada had 21 points to lead all scorers in the 3D win.
Two other Tesh flashy guards played well over the weekend as they have all summer, 2016 Ny’Dajah Jackson of Piedmont, and 2017 Namiko Adams of West Campus-Sacramento.
Another girl that Phillips wanted to give kudos to is 6-foot-3 incoming senior post Katherine Mackenzie of Dixon. Mackenzie, who has an offer from Chico State and interest from San Francisco and Sacramento State, posted one of her many double-doubles this summer after finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds with seven blocks in the 3D victory.
"Mackenzie has come a long way," Phillips remarked.
In the fifth-place game between two teams missing players NorCal Sparks Black turned a close game at halftime (31-27) into a 67-43 rout of the South Medford Lady Panthers of Oregon.
Several girls played well for the mostly underclass girls from the Sacramento area, but the girl that really shined and one the college coaches liked a lot is 2017 Sasha Brown of Sacramento. It seemed like the 5-foot-10 wing was everywhere in the second half. Brown finished with a double-double 17 points and 11 rebounds.
