The NorCal Regional Division IV and V championship games, held at Folsom High, stayed true to the script as the top seeds all advanced to next week's state title games. Pinewood and St. Mary's of Berkeley got the victories for the girls, while St. Joseph and Salesian earned spots for the boys.
Division V Girls
Pinewood Panthers 41
St. Joseph Pilots 36
This game was a defensive struggle for both teams the entire game. St. Joseph took an 8-7 first quarter lead. Panther standout Hailie Eackles had five points to lead her team in the quarter.
In the second quarter, Panther Miranda Seto picked up the scoring as she hit three 3-point shots for her game total of nine points. Pilot Ashlee Wood had seven of her team high 14 points in the quarter. St. Joseph held on to a one point lead of 19-18 at the half.
Pinewood increased the defensive pressure as it limited the Pilots to six points in the third quarter. The Panthers hit another three of their eight total 3-point shots in the quarter. The quarter ended with Pinewood holding a 31-25 margin.
The Pilots only got as close as four points in the fourth quarter, had several open 3-point shot attempts that did not fall and made too many turnovers in the quarter.
Pinewood analysis: Pinewood was undersized but played big from the outside as it had eight 3-point shots. Eackles also showed some key hustle in the end of the fourth quarter as she was able to rebound her missed free throw and cause a jump ball situation on another Pinewood missed free throw to earn extra possessions. Pinewood will now face the fourth seed from Southern California, St. Bernard.
St. Joseph analysis: Big games require some clutch shooting and winning the 50-50 balls. The Pilots only hit one 3-point shot and lost out on some key possessions in the final quarter. They also had a size advantage in the post that could have been exploited more.
Division V Boys
St. Joseph Pilots 61
University Red Devils 43
The Pilots ran out to a 15-0 margin in the first quarter as University would not score until the 2:00 mark. The Red Devils were able to finish the quarter on an 8-2 run to trail 17-8. Dominic Lippi had eight points for the Pilots in the quarter.
The second quarter was not much better for University. Lippi had six points in the quarter while guard Jacari Whitfield was effective in breaking down the University press. The Pilots doubled up the Red Devils 32-16 at the end of the half.
The Pilots extended their lead to 20 points at 38-18 in the third quarter. University made a run to cut the deficit to 40-31 at the end of the quarter, but the nine point deficit was the closest the Red Devils would get in the second half.
St. Joseph would go on a 15-2 run to start the fourth quarter to lead 55-33, which was the largest lead of the game. The starters were gradually pulled midway into the quarter. The Pilots cruised to a 61-43 win and defeated University all three meetings for the year.
St. Joseph analysis: Having a 15-0 lead to start the game provided a comfortable cushion as Brendan Keane and Lippi had 19 and 16 points respectively to give an inside/outside scoring combination. Cal State East Bay commit Whitfield was a solid floor general in dealing with the press and in making passing decisions. St. Joseph will now face the 10th seed from Southern California, St. Bernard.
University analysis: Noah Springwater had only two points as he was battling an ankle injury. But give credit to his teammates as they never gave up and battled to single digits at the end of the third quarter. University falls short in the Northern California championship game again.
Division IV Girls
St. Mary's-Berkeley Panthers 70
Modesto Christian Crusaders 42
The Panthers jumped to a 12-1 lead in the first quarter and held that 11 point lead at 24-13 at the end of the quarter. Navy commit April Bernal scored five of her seven points in the quarter.
The Panthers would not let up in the second as they extended to a 20 plus point lead at 39-18. The quarter ended with Modesto Christian trailing 45-23. Fordham commit Cody Sims had seven of her 10 points in the first half.
Freshman Gabby Green added four of her nine points in the third quarter as the Panthers led 58-35. Green is a long and quick freshman who will be one to watch in the years to come. The Panthers graduate three Division I-bound college athletes.
The Panthers had their biggest lead in the fourth quarter at 68-37 and will now face second seed Windward of Southern California next week.
St. Mary's-Berkeley analysis: The Panthers won every quarter of this game and had no problems in their road to the state final as they won every Northern California playoff game by more than 20 points. The team is loaded depth wise.
Modesto Christian analysis: Once the Crusaders fell behind, they could not play catch up. The season was still solid with a Sac-Joaquin Section title. MC was arguably the best team in Division 4 after the Panthers.
Division IV Boys
Salesian Pride 59
St. Mary's-Berkeley Panthers 53
The first quarter was an offensive struggle as both teams had open looks but just had trouble making shots. The Panthers ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to lead 11-4. Despite the lead, they settled for perimeter shots and could have possibly had a bigger lead.
Salesian was playing somewhat unsettled basketball but shot the penalty free throw with 6:26 left. The Pride defense was also able to limit the Panthers to only seven points in the second quarter. Salesian grabbed the lead at the half at 22-18.
With less than seven minutes left in the third quarter, Panther starters Glenn Baral and Taylor Thompson picked up their fourth personal fouls. This allowed Salesian to run out to a game high lead of 33-22. The Panthers battled back to only trail 37-32 at the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was played at a frenetic offensive pace as Salesian's Jabari Bird picked up his fourth foul at 5:43 and then his fifth foul with 1:20 left as Salesian was leading 54-46. The Panthers cut the lead to 56-53 with 0:43 left and had two possessions to tie the game but could not convert. Salesian went on to win 59-53 to advance against second seed Windward of Southern California next week.
Salesian analysis: Salesian had an off game as they were able to score only four points in the first quarter. But an off game for the Pride is not an end all as they were able to score more than 15 points in the other quarters. Bird led all scorers with 19 points as he battled foul trouble throughout the second half.
St. Mary's-Berkeley analysis: The fifth meeting was the most competitive for the Panthers as they had a chance at the end. Isaiah Taylor and David Andoh had 16 and 14 points respectively. But the early foul trouble for some of the starters threw the rhythm off in the middle parts of the game.
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