SACRAMENTO, CA - Mariya Moore, Zoe Correal, and the rest of a Salesian team that won three NorCal Championships did not realize their dream of winning it all. Instead, it was a plucky freshman center and several whistles that made Salesian 0-3 in state title games.
Long Beach Poly captured the State Championship with a 70-52 victory over Salesian.
Ayanna Clark, a 6-foot-2 first-year player off the bench, had team highs of 19 points and 15 rebounds, all in just under 18 minutes of action. Long Beach Poly also received a boost from Tania Lamb, who made two three-pointers right off the bat and finished with 13, and Lajahna Drummer, who had 11 points and nine rebounds. Long Beach Poly dominated the boards, 48-27, including 19 offensive rebounds.
“It feels great as seniors to go out as champions of the Open Division," Jackrabbits forward Jada Matthews said.
Said Long Beach Poly coach Carl Buggs: “We have some kids who were called upon and did a tremendous job when they stepped on the court. It’s a team effort.”
Moore had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pride, but fouled out with 5:47 to go in the game. At that time, Salesian trailed by six. Kian McNair and Minyon Moore had 11 and 10 points, respectively, but the Pride shot just 24 percent from the field. In total, 58 fouls were called and 77 free throws were attempted. Long Beach Poly was 28-of-39 and Salesian 29-of-38 from the line.
In a game filled with so many stoppages, there was still plenty of drama. The Jackrabbits built a 19-9 first quarter lead and were ahead 36-23 at the break. Salesian opened the second half with a 16-0 run, during which time Moore had eight points and a pair of assists. Long Beach Poly, which had feasted off Salesian turnovers and came up with a number of steals in the first half, was suddenly put in the opposite position, themselves losing control of the basketball while the Pride stepped up their defense.
“We went to our most aggressive press, our energy level picked up we were able to turn them over," Salesian coach Steve Pezzola said.
Moore’s three-point play gave Salesian its first lead of the game at 37-36, but it was short-lived. After going up 41-38, the Jackrabbits closed the quarter with a 10-1 run. During that stretch, Clark collected a rebound off a teammate’s missed free throws and converted a three-point play.
“I think they made an adjustment, too, it took them awhile to adjust to the press and they made a good adjustment, and I think it was more them adjusting to us than us running out of gas," Pezzola said.
“We were just too congested, and we held the ball too much," Buggs said. "Once we spread the floor and started attacking, we started having success.”
In the fourth quarter, things unraveled quickly for Salesian following Deja Stallworth’s pair of free throws. Moore picked up her fourth foul on a charge with 7:19 remaining, then less than two minutes later was called for another charge, this time sending her to the bench. Salesian would draw no closer than five thereafter. With some intentional fouls in the final minutes, two more Salesian players fouled out. Long Beach Poly’s Arica Carter, a future of teammate of Moore (both will play at Louisville), got a fifth foul call as well.
“I go hard as a I can and if it’s a charge, it’s a charge," Moore said. "I probably should have pulled up, but I was more focused on just getting to the rim. (In the second half) we just wanted to go out there and leave nothing on the court. We came out of the locker room and said, ‘This is it.’ And it just didn’t go as far as we hoped.”
But Pezzola summed it up best: “I think there are about 800 other schools that would trade places with us.”
