STOCKTON, Calif. – Day two of the 9th Annual St. Mary’s MLK Showcase saw nine games contested involving some of the top girls basketball teams in Northern California and one out of state national power post impressive wins.
St. Mary’s 69, Millennium-Goodyear (Arizona) 43
MLK Showcase host and Cal-Hi Sports No. 8 St. Mary’s bolted out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back en route to an easy win over Arizona No. 9 Millennium.
With a 56-46 win over Ontario Christian on the first day of the MLK Showcase on Friday, St. Mary’s has now won two straight since a 59-51 loss to Cal-Hi Sports No. 7 Centennial-Corona in the top division of the Nike TOC last December in Phoenix.
The Rams led 20-5 after one quarter, 34-18 at the half, 51-30 after three quarters and extended the lead all the way to the final buzzer.
Standout junior guard Brooklyn Perry led St. Mary’s (9-4) with 18 points (five three-pointers), five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Fellow junior guard Nia Anderson had four three-pointers and finished with 17 points, four rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks. Sophomore star Jordan Lee added 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Millennium (10-7) got 14 points and six rebounds from Arizona State-bound senior guard Trayanna Crisp and 13 points (two three-pointers) and six rebounds from sophomore point guard Elli Guiney.
St. Ignatius 81, Vanden 63
The game was close at the start with St. Ignatius (11-1) holding a 15-13 lead after one quarter. However, after falling behind 16-15 to start the second period, the St. Ignatius offense exploded for 27 points from there until the half and never looked back in what turned out to be an impressive victory for the Cal-Hi Sports No. 14 ranked Wildcats over No. 22 Vanden.
San Jose State-committed senior wing Sabrina Ma started a little slow with a three-pointer in both the first and second quarter, but when St. Ignatius really cranked it up in the second half, she was the catalyst and finished with a game-high 23 points (three three-pointers) and 11 rebounds with three assists.
Ma was not the only Wildcat who had a big second half. Senior point guard Jacqueline Acosta had no points in the first quarter and three buckets in the second quarter, but had 13 second-half points to finish with 19 in the game.
While Ma and Acosta carried the second-half load, their teammates did most of the first-half scoring. Senior center Claire Untalan, who also stars on the St. Ignatius volleyball team, had five points in the first quarter and finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Ennis sisters, senior Amalia and junior Emily, combined for 14 first-half points but did not score in the final two periods.
Vanden (10-3) got 21 points and five rebounds from junior guard Alyssa Jackson and 13 points from senior guard Kiari Roberts.
Folsom 80, Ontario Christian 56
Folsom (15-0) trailed 5-0 to start, but a 13-0 run turned things around quickly in what turned out to be a dominating victory for the Cal-Hi Sports No. 13 ranked Bulldogs.
Basketball quite often is a game of runs and this contest was a perfect example. Besides the first-quarter outburst, Folsom used a 25-8 run in the late second and early third quarter to take its biggest lead at 52-23, but Ontario Christian used a 14-0 run of its own to get it to 52-37 midway through the third quarter. However, the Southern California team was never able to get any closer as the Bulldogs coasted home.
Junior wing Charlotte Climenhage had a very solid performance and led three Bulldogs in double-digit scoring with 25 points (four three-pointers) and 10 rebounds. Sophomore center Kamryn Mafua added 17 points and seven rebounds, and senior point guard Makayla Jackson had an outstanding all-around game, finishing with 16 points, seven assists and five steals.
Junior standout Chloe Briggs led Ontario Christian (14-3) with a 22 points (two three-pointers) and 10 rebounds with four assists. Brigham Young-bound senior Shayla Gillmer added 12 points and 10 rebounds with two blocks.
Incarnate Word Academy-St. Louis 71, Mission Hills-San Marcos 32
Carondelet was supposed to play MaxPreps national No. 10 Incarnate Word Academy (11-0), but when the Cal-Hi Sports No. 4 ranked Cougars had to withdraw, Mission Hills stepped up to take on the girls from St. Louis.
“We don’t care. We’ll play anyone,” said Mission Hills head coach Christopher Kroesch.
Mission Hills was in a similar situation last weekend at the Mater Dei Matt Denning Classic when things were switched due to teams pulling out and his Cal-Hi Sports No. 18 ranked Grizzlies stepped up to play No. 7 ranked Centennial-Corona. They only lost that game 66-61, but against Incarnate Word they were simply overmatched.
Mission Hills only led once at 3-1 on a three-pointer by UC Santa Barbara-bound senior guard Jessica Grant, but by the end of the first quarter, a 20-10 deficit grew to 42-22 at the half and pretty much sealed the game.
No one on the Mission Hills roster could stop Incarnate Word star Natalie Potts. The 6-2 junior, who has several major D1 offers and is considered one of the top underclass players in the Midwest, had her way inside and finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds with three steals, three assists and two blocked shots.
Two other players had solid outing for Incarnate Word. Senior point guard Sania Tyler had 12 points (two three-pointers), four assists and three steals, and freshman power forward Brooke Coffey nailed two three-pointers and finished with 10 points.
Mission Hills (9-4) was led by Grant and junior Genessa Ong. Each had nine points on three three-pointers. In fact, 24 of the Grizzlies 32 points came on shots from outside the arc.
In MLK Showcase action on Monday, Incarnate Word will square off against host St. Mary’s in what hopefully will be an entertaining game. Mission Hills stays in Stockton as well and faces Folsom.
Piedmont 60, Lynwood 43
Piedmont (9-3) got huge performances from sophomore Natalia Martinez and junior Trinity Zamora. Martinez finished with a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds with two assists. Zamora was unstoppable in the paint and even made two shots from outside the arc. She finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds with three steals and two assists.
Lynwood (7-8) was led by junior guard San’iah Duma with nine points (three three-pointers) and 15 rebounds and junior wing Jaushlynn Ruffin with nine points and eight rebounds.
Antelope 65, Woodside Priory-Portola Valley 37
Junior transfer Mary Carter had a game-high 25 points to lead Antelope (9-3) to an easy victory. Sophomore Samaya Dillard added 13 points and senior Juliana Chavez knocked down four three-pointers for her 12 points.
Woodside Priory (5-6) was led by seniors Sunishka Kartik and Valentina Saric with 10 points apiece.
Antelope will meet St. Ignatius on Monday in MLK Showcase action
In other MLK Showcase games
Edison-Stockton 44, Rodriquez-Fairfield 41
Lincoln-Stockton 66, South Medford (Oregon) 49
Laguna Creek-Elk Grove 67, San Joaquin Memorial 59
