Mike Carey resigned as the women’s basketball coach at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Carey had been with the program for 15 years, the last three as the head coach.
In his three years as head coach, the Irish were 44-41, and won the last two CCS Division III titles, including a 61-56 win over a talented Terra Nova team in this year’s final.
2012 NCS Champion De La Salle has two wrestlers who have committed to college thus far. Joe Moita finished third in the California State Tournament this year and has verbally agreed to continue his wrestling career at Columbia University. Along with Moita, Justin Walker has also made his college decision. Walker finished fifth at state this year and has signed to continue his wrestling career at Cal Poly SLO. De La Salle outscored the runner up, College Park, at NCS by 130.5 points and finished fourth at state in 2012. The Spartans will be led by returning state placer Jon Jay Chavez (10th) in an attempt to win their fifth straight team title.
We’ll continue to update this page with links following the Saturday championship games.
BayPreps Notes, Stats, and Quotes
Division I – Berkeley falls to Mater Dei for second straight season
Division II – Mitty takes fifth state title
Division III – Bishop O’Dowd pounces on Laguna Hills early, dominated defensively
See more photos by Tony Rotundo below.
The Fightin’ Irish took a 40-32 halftime lead on the strength of Taylor Johns’ 11 points and 14 rebounds, and a 21-11 rebounding edge, but were outscored 23-11 in the third quarter, and never quite recovered in a 71-67 loss to Bishop Alemany in the CIF Division III championship game. The Warriors got a huge effort from Marqueze Coleman, who finished with 27 points, including 20 after halftime, and nine rebounds.
Alemany felt fortunate to only be down eight at the half, and Warriors coach Tray Meeks said he told his team to get five straight stops in the third quarter, and Alemany responded with six. When asked about the difference in the game, Sacred Heart Cathedral coach Darrell Barbour felt it was his team’s “lack of poise in the third quarter”. Barbour said his team was out of character, were rushed, and shot too many jumpers in those eight minutes.
See more photos from Tony Rotundo below.
Mater Dei shut down Berkeley in the second and third quarters en route to a 57-40 triumph in the CIF Division I Championship game. The three-pronged attack of Nirra Fields, Jordan Adams, and Alexis Williamson powered the Monarchs, with Fields scoring 24 points, and adding nine points and six assists.
See more photos by Tony Rotundo below.
Bishop O’Dowd captured its first ever state championship with a 62-24 thrashing of Laguna Hills in the CIF Division III state title game. The Dragons came out firing, staking a 10-0 lead and gaining a 34-14 advantage at halftime. K.C. Waters scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Aisia Robertson chipped in 13 points.
The Dragons converted 26 of 54 field goals, including 5 of 11 from three-point territory. Their stifling defense forced 26 turnovers and held Laguna Hills to an 18% field goal percentage. They also outrebounded the Hawks 52-26, and the 24 points allowed was the fewest ever allowed in a state title game.
See more photos by Tony Rotundo below.
Village Christian coach Jon Shaw told BayPreps.com that his team’s length would be a factor against St. Joseph Notre Dame in the Division V championship, and it certainly was in the Crusaders 62-51 win over the Pilots. Village Christian blocked 11 shots and altered many others, as they held St. Joe’s to just 28.6% shooting.
Archbishop Mitty made a 34-2 team look quite ordinary in their 78-57 triumph over La Costa Canyon to take their second straight Division II championship. Aaron Gordon scored 33 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, coming up a rebound shy of the title-game record he tied last season. Mitty doesn’t win 19 games in a row and 14 straight playoff games (dating back to last season) without players complimenting Gordon. Neil Vranicar scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished three assists, while Jack Biebel, Jordan White, Thomas Peters, and Connor Peterson all combined for 31 points, 15 rebounds, and 13-of-27 shooting.