ORINDA, CA – St. Joseph Notre Dame had a big first half that sustained them through a cooling-off second half, topping Clovis 55-42 in the second game of the Elite Showcase at Miramonte High School. Randi Harding, a 5’6” sophomore point guard, did a fine impression of last year’s starting 5’6” point guard Zhane Duckett, netting 16 points on the strength of four three-pointers, and Malia Mastora and Maila Lepolo added nine and eight, respectively, in the victory.
St. Joseph Notre Dame (3-0) used a 13-0 run bridging the first and second periods to change a 9-9 tie to a 22-9 lead, and amassed a 40-23 advantage by halftime. Though Clovis (3-2) made some headway into the deficit in the third quarter, the Cougars could never get it down to a single digit and were unable to capitalize on the Pilots’ weakening offense in the second half. Chloe Van Ness and Megan Esler provided the most a combined 17 points and 13 boards for Clovis.
“We haven’t seen that much zone yet,” St. Joseph Notre Dame head coach Shawn Hipol said. “The first thing we had to do was match (Clovis’s) intensity. We’re a better team when we’re ahead, because we know we dictate the tempo of what we want.”
Only one other Cougar besides Van Ness netted a three, while four Pilots struck from beyond the arc. Five of St. Joseph Notre Dame’s eight long distance dial-ups came in the 26-point second quarter.
The Pilots, who came close to capturing the NCS Division III Championship last season, are contending without the fiery, speedy Duckett. Mastora, last year’s leading scorer, along with Sophie Nilsson, who missed her entire junior year after scoring 11.3 points per game as a sophomore, are expected to be the one-two punch of Hipol’s offense. The Lepolo sisters (Maila and Talana) and Mastora’s younger sister Makena Mastora should all figure in the mix as well.
Hipol helped organize this event along with Miramonte coach Kelly Sopak. This was the first year in the event’s seven-year history it was at a high school.
“We like to move it around a little bit,” he said, adding that this season it occurred a week earlier than normal due to Finals schedules.
Valley Christian’s late comeback falls short against Del Oro
In the Elite Showcase opener, Madison Parry had a monster game of 28 points, 14 boards, three steals, and two assists, and Del Oro held off a furious comeback as the Golden Eagles downed Valley Christian 64-55.
Madison Butcher added 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists for Del Oro (3-0), which raced out to a 10-1 lead to start the game. Valley Christian (3-2) warmed up in the latter part of the period but trailed by 17 to begin the fourth. Within two minutes of the final frame, the Warriors cut the lead to nine, and Nina Barry’s three-pointer with 2:45 remaining tied the score at 54.
Parry banked in a shot to break that tie, and then was at the center of the biggest play of the game. The 5’10” senior captain came up with a steal in the backcourt and fired it ahead to Natalie Moulos for three. Parry had the back-breaking bucket when she converted a layup in traffic with the shot clock about to expire.
Fallon Dexheimer paced Valley Christian with 20 points, including seven in the fourth, while Jessi Barry chipped in nine and Nina Barry had a fine overall game with six points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Jael Butler also found ways to contribute with seven boards, three steals, and two blocks.
Del Oro, which finished middle of the pack in the Sierra Foothill League last year, had additional help from Moulos (nine points, five rebounds), Megan Williams (nine points), and Maya Strautman (10 rebounds).
The Golden Eagles were outshot 9-2 from three-point land and committed 26 turnovers to Valley Christian’s 12. However they dominated with points in the paint (30-12) and were far more efficient from the free throw line (20-for-26 vs. 10-for-18). They also doubled up the Warriors on the glass, 47-24.
“We focused more on our defense,” Parry said of the first and third quarters.
Parry, who averaged a double-double last season and has career marks of nearly 15 points and just over nine rebounds per game, made of eight of 13 field goal attempts and netted 11 of 14 free throws.
“We are hoping to win league and go to the Division I playoffs,” she added. “That’s our goal.”