Tuesday, October 3, 2023
HomeNewsMt. Diablo girls eliminate top seed Berean Christian

Mt. Diablo girls eliminate top seed Berean Christian

Girls: Mt. Diablo stun No. 1 seed Berean Christian

How many times have we heard over the years that it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season? Mt. Diablo proved on Friday night that something is up there.

After two regular-season losses to Berean Christian, including one by 17 points, eighth-seeded Mt. Diablo defeated the top-seeded Eagles in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs 47-44 on Friday night.

The Red Devils (17-11) defeated Berean 26-14 in the second half.

MD visits No. 4 seed Upper Lake on Tuesday (27-1).

“We went in expecting to win,” coach Ronnie McGee said. “We played with a lot of resilience. At one point we were nine behind.”

Halfway through, the Red Devils trailed 30-21. After three quarters, they came back to 37-31.

A diamond-and-a defense after the break did the trick. Makayla Powell led the effort, holding Berean Christian star Gabrielle Abigor to 13 points. Powell had 12 rebounds.

Offensively, Natalie Dance, a 5-foot-1 sophomore point guard, led MD with 27 points. Stephanie Zuniga added 11 points, including two three-pointers in the fourth quarter. She and Jorena Olivar each had four steals.

Berean Christian went 22-5 this season.

Girls: Granada upsets No. 2 California

Junior forward Cassidy Bartolotto scored 20 points to lead the seventh-seeded Matadors past the second-seeded Grizzlies on their home floor in an NCS Division I quarterfinal game.

Granada (16-12) played a hard defense and allowed California (18-10) to score in double digits in only the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies scored 11 points.

Check Out:  Follow the Bay Area rain, Sierra Nevada snow

Alexa Pletschette had 11 points for Granada, all in the second half, including three 3-point baskets.

For California, who won a 54-46 victory over Granada on January 20 in an East Bay Athletic League game, Trinity Chu had 14 points and Taylor Lim had nine – all on 3-point baskets.

Boys: Clayton Valley coach praises Pittsburg

Clayton Valley Charter coach Frank Allocco Jr. wasn’t too surprised when he found out on Friday that his top-seeded team would host No. 12 Pittsburg in the semifinals of NCS Division I.

The Pirates have gone on a Cinderella run, following their win over No. 5 seed Berkeley on Tuesday with a win over No. 13 seed James Logan on Friday.

“I’ve been going for a long time and I knew going into these playoffs that there are a lot of good teams,” said Allocco.

Clayton Valley opened the season with a road win over Pittsburg. Although the Ugly Eagles won by 15, Allocco said the Pirates presented a challenge.

“They’re athletic and fast, they can really move up and down the field,” he said. “The first time they played against us, they harassed us a bit with their zone pressure and their pressure. They play hard and go for rebounds.”

Pinole Valley boys, girls reach semifinals

There was a lot of excitement within the Pinole Valley basketball programs when the NCS seeding was announced Sunday.

After a strong regular season, both tears were rewarded with No. 2 seeds.

So far, so good for both of them as they each continued in Division III on Friday and will play host to semi-finals on Tuesday.

Check Out:  How 2023 offseason is shaping up

The Pinole Valley boys avenged a season-ending 11-point win against Hayward in the playoffs last year by beating Hayward 70-21.

In the earlier Friday game, the Pinole Valley girls settled things by beating Maria Carillo 39-19.

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisment -

Most Popular

Recent Comments