ORINDA, Calif. – The final game of the 13th annual Peyo Classic Tournament at Miramonte saw a D1 prospect dominate, two Mustangs do everything possible to pull off a win, and a whirlwind of back-and-forth action. When the dust settled, Heritage had the championship trophy in hand after defeating Monte Vista, 69-63.
Amanda Muse, who recently reduced her field of college offers to six schools, earned Most Valuable Player honors after turning in a stat line of 19 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and three assists. The Patriots also got 16 points from Kendall McClure, 11 from Gabby Martini, and 10 points and seven boards from all-Tournament choice Zeni Purge.
“We were going 900 miles per hour in the first half,” Heritage coach Jeff Jonas said. “But they’re a good transition team. Once we got a little bit better spacing, and we were on pace with everybody, we got some good looks, that frees up the middle for Amanda."
Though the Patriots maintained a 5-to-10-point lead for much of the game, the victory did not come easy by any stretch. Monte Vista’s Alexis Woodson and Nia Coleman were unstoppable. Woodson had a game-high 30 points along with 11 rebounds, and Coleman scored 14 with 15 boards and five assists. Sarah Brans, who entered the game with a scoring average just a notch below them, had a fine all-around game with 10 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and two assists. Both Woodson and Coleman made the All-Tournament team.
Heritage (3-0) had a 20-14 lead after one. Monte Vista (4-1) shrunk that advantage to two, 30-28, with 30 seconds to go in the first half when Muse whipped a pass across the baseline to Martini for a three. Martini hit another key three in the third with 3:30 remaining that put the Patriots up by eight, capping an 11-2 run from which Monte Vista never recovered.
“We had a horrible shooting evening (but) I’m very happy with our performance - they played very good defense,” Monte Vista coach Jack Kennedy commented. “Give credit to Heritage, their pressure put us off. It told us that we need to execute a little bit better, a little more patience.”
“I think the key was making the extra pass and rebounding,” Muse remarked.
The Patriots defeated Logan 65-46 on Thursday and St. Mary’s 79-53 on Friday to earn a place in the championship game, while the Mustangs had convincing wins against Windsor, 73-49, on Thursday and versus Miramonte, 73-23, on Friday.
“Finally getting to play with each other in front of fans, is very exciting,” Woodson stated, adding that the team’s goals were “to grow from here, learn from our mistakes, and be better for upcoming games.”
St. Mary’s earns third
St. Mary’s-Berkeley turned in a solid if at times uneven performance in the third-place game at the Peyo Classic, handing host Miramonte a 58-45 defeat. Sydney Scott had 16 points and four assists, Anela Thomas tallied nine points to go along with five assists, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals, and all-Tournament selection Jada Johnson recorded seven steals and was instrumental beyond her six points for the Panthers (2-2).
Karena Eberts tallied 12 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, and two assists for Miramonte (1-3). Kendall Maurer also had 12 for the Matadors, while Chloe Breznikar had six points, 10 boards, and three blocks and earned an all-Tournament nod.
St. Mary’s led wire-to-wire and looked well in control at the half with a 35-18 lead. In the third, however, Miramonte clawed its way back in, getting as close as 41-35 with 1:52 to go in the quarter. Freshman Neiyah Thompson played little if at all through the first three periods but was key in the fourth. She assisted Scott on two three-pointers sandwiched around two of her own to help assure the Panthers of victory.
“We really only had two returners from a couple of years ago,” St. Mary’s coach Chris Toler said, referencing the Panthers squad that won the NorCal title in 2020. “We made a lot of mistakes, but the effort is there, which you can’t coach. Having this experience helps, but what hurts is that they haven’t had this experience before. So third quarter or big lead, they kind of get lackadaisical and relaxed, not understanding that teams are not just going to roll over. So we were fortunate to learn a lesson and still get a win.”
St. Mary’s had no trouble with Las Lomas on Thursday but lost to Heritage on Friday. Miramonte handled Archbishop Riordan in the first game but fell to Monte Vista in the second.
Earlier on Saturday, James Logan dispatched Riordan in the consolation championship, while Las Lomas defeated Windsor in the seventh-place game.