Dougherty Valley High’s girls basketball team made a statement at the Campolindo Shootout in Moraga on Saturday.
With a 61-60 victory over perennial Division II state power Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, the Wildcats, just a third-year varsity program, showed that they too plan on factoring into the Division II state playoffs this year.
“Anytime you beat Mitty or a program of their (level) it’s just an acknowledgment of some of the success you’ve had on the year,” Dougherty Valley coach Doug VanderHorst said. “Being able to come together and beat them is a great accomplishment.”
Junior guard Jackie Taylor and key reserve Briana Gaines made the biggest impact late for Dougherty Valley (15-2). After the Monarchs’ Desirae Sanchez hit her fifth 3-pointer of the night to tie the game at 57 with 20 seconds left, Gaines made a layup to regain the lead with 8.7 seconds remaining.
Taylor then converted a pair of free throws, which ended up being crucial as Mitty’s Ashley Watson hit a half-court shot at the buzzer.
The Wildcats earned the win even with Rayven Brooks, their top player, on the bench in foul trouble for much of the night. Brooks picked up three fouls in the first quarter and was scoreless when she fouled out early in the fourth quarter.
Taylor and Gaines picked up much of the scoring load, finishing with 23 and 13 points respectively.
“Jackie was incredible,” VanderHorst said. “(She and Gaines) definitely stepped up when they had to.”
The Wildcats trailed the entire first half but took their first lead of the game with 2:17 left in the third quarter on a Gaines layup. Dougherty Valley led 44-38 at the end of the third before Sanchez got hot from beyond the arc. The Monarchs (11-6) led by as many as five in the fourth quarter until Gaines and Taylor keyed the comeback.
Berkeley 65, Bishop O’Dowd 44: The Yellowjackets (17-1) used their speed and an aggressive defense to pull away from the young but tall Dragons in the second quarter of their Campolindo Shootout game.
Elisha Davis scored 11 of her 13 points in the second quarter to give Berkeley a 36-20 lead at halftime and the Dragons (10-7) never got any closer.
“It was rebounding and defense,” said Berkeley senior forward Chairese Culberson, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Dragons’ strong frontcourt. “That’s what our coach tells us before every game. Play defense, and the offense will come.”
Brittany Boyd, the Yellowjackets’ Cal-bound senior point guard, was a big part of the defensive effort, finishing with nine steals. She also had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Berkeley, the top-ranked team in the Bay Area News Group-East Bay poll, never trailed.
Sophomore guard Ariell Bostick led Bishop O’Dowd with 13 points, and teammate K.C. Waters had 10 rebounds and four blocks.
— Stephanie Hammon
St. Mary’s 66, Pinewood-Los Altos Hills 57: Senior Cody Sims and freshman Gabby Green powered the Panthers (16-4) past the defending Division V state champions in the Campolindo Shootout.
Sims had a team-high 16 points while Green added 13 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Pacific-bound Hailie Eackles had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Pinewood (13-4).
— Stephanie Hammon
Boys soccer
Berkeley 1, Acalanes 0: The Yellowjackets and Dons proved they were evenly matched on Saturday.
So evenly matched, in fact, that neither could score a goal on their own. Unfortunately for the Dons, the Yellowjackets took advantage of an own-goal to come away with a nonleague road win.
“I think they’re a very good team,” Berkeley coach Behzad Golemohammadi said. “We knew they had a good defense and we were prepared for that. We took advantage of the opportunity and were able to protect it.”
The game not only featured a top Division I team and a top Division II team (Berkeley the former, Acalanes the latter), but it also displayed two of the best teams in the East Bay, period. The Dons (11-3-2) entered the game ranked No. 6 in the East Bay, while the Yellowjackets (12-2-2) were just a spot behind at No. 7.
“They’re a very good team and they did a good job of executing and we didn’t,” Acalanes coach Paul Curtis said. “We need to work on our possession and get our rhythm and we didn’t do that today.”
Elder Alegria posted a shutout for Berkeley, coming up with three saves. Jackson Foote had four for Acalanes. The Dons got a little unlucky with under two minutes to go, as a shot hit the cross bar from about 35 yards out.
— Matt Smith, correspondent
Monte Vista 4, Richmond 1: The Mustangs picked up their 10th win of the season with a nonleague victory over the Oilers at home, scoring a pair of goals in each half for the win.
Monte Vista (10-4-3) went 2-0-1 over a week that included games with San Ramon Valley, De La Salle and Richmond. It started Saturday’s game fast and continued that pace for much of the game.
“Given what we’ve been up against, I couldn’t be anymore pleased with what we did,” Monte Vista coach Matt Zahner said. “Richmond is very skilled and if we weren’t organized they would make us pay and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Arman Salimpour set the tone early on with a goal in the sixth minute, and Matt Terlozo scored a pair of second half goals that opened up what was a 2-1 game.
Richmond (8-7-1) got a goal from Jose Morales in the 15th minute to tie the game, but Cody Sbrana broke the tie in the 31st minute.
— Matt Smith, correspondent
Girls soccer
California 2, Washington 1: Sophomore Rachel Feldman had two goals as the Grizzlies (10-2-5) took a come-from-behind nonleague win over the visiting Huskies (6-8-2). California enjoyed a big week, having also beaten Carondelet and Livermore in the East Bay Athletic League.
— Staff
