After three-straight losses St. Mary’s of Berkeley makes a statement in Bentley Showdown win over Concord Carondelet while Miramonte (Orinda) rebounds from Richmond Salesian loss to handle Berkeley
The St. Mary’s of Berkeley team that took the floor in the marquee game of the 15th year of what is now known as the Lafayette Bentley/Moraga Campolindo Corner Bakery Showdown at Bentley, looked nothing like the team the Cal-Hi Sports Caravan observed losing two games last week at the Stockton MLK event, or that lost a third-straight game earlier this week, 64-63 to Salesian.
The Salesian loss was not observed but the team that lost big to Etiwanda last Saturday was sluggish and although they played better against Stockton St. Mary’s on Monday, that Panthers squad in no way resembled a rejuvenated group that took a 78-71 victory from Carondelet of Concord on Saturday night in Lafayette.
While the supporting cast had an admirable outing, the biggest difference was the Cal-bound duo of Gabby Green and Mikayla Cowling, and in particular Cowling.
Last weekend Cowling looked fatigued from the flu and the hop in her game wasn’t there. Against Carondelet her legs looked refreshed, the finger rolls were falling, as were the no feet down put-backs. Cowling finished with a game high 23 points, with 13 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals. Green also had a monster double-double considering the level of competition. She had 16 points and 19 rebounds, with seven assists and four blocks.
No. 4 St. Mary’s (16-5) also got 18 points and five assists from junior Ma’Ane Mosley.
“We just kind of had to regroup and take time, and we came back really strong,” replied Green when asked on Twitter about the team looking a lot different than last weekend and earlier last week.
Carondelet (14-3) was led by the 19 points of Loyola Marymount-bound Makenzie Cast and Nebraska-bound Natalie Romeo with 16 points, six assists and five steals, but both earned every bit of their production against an aggressive St. Mary’s defense. Gabriella Grupalo chipped in with 14 point.
Carondelet, ranked No. 6 to begin the week, led 16-15 after one quarter but by halftime they trailed 38-26, and before a final late rally they trailed 66-50 early in the fourth quarter.
In the other top match-up of the seven game Showdown No. 12 Miramonte (17-1) rebounded from the MLK Day loss to No. 8 Salesian with a solid 78-62 victory over Berkeley.
USA U16 star Sabrina Ionescu led Miramonte by lighting up the scoreboard for a double-double 29 points and 13 rebounds, with seven assists and seven steals. Fellow sophomore Keana Delos Santos had 15 points and Loyola Marymount-bound senior post Breanna Alford also had a double-double after finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
A Presentation of San Jose team coming off a 52-50 upset of Archbishop Mitty got to 12-6 after a hard fought 50-44 victory over a solid Concord Clayton Valley.
Junior 6-foot power forward Maeve Kavanagh led the way with a double-double 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Kayla Taylor led Clayton Valley ( 12-6) with 20 points and junior star Hailey Pascoe added 19 points (five three-pointers) and five steals.
