FOLSOM -- It wasn’t just a mirror the Modesto Christian girls’ basketball team was looking into, it was one of those carnival funhouse images in which everything appears larger than the real thing.
St. Mary’s of Berkeley is a very similar team to the Crusaders. The Panthers press, they swing the ball well on offense, they play man-to-man defense and they prefer to play up-tempo.
But that’s where that mirror comes into play, because everything MC does, St. Mary’s does in a bigger way.
That definitely was the case on Saturday, when the Panthers claimed their second straight NorCal Division 4 title by running away to a 70-42 victory over the Crusaders in a battle of the region’s top two seeds.
St. Mary’s will play for a state title Saturday morning at Power Balance Pavilion against Windward of Los Angeles — a team led by 6-foot, 7-inch, Imani Stafford, the daughter of former USC All-American Pam McGee.
The MC girls (25-9) will go at it hard again next season as they aim for their first state crown.
“They were a better team today ... today, and that’s all I have to say,” said senior guard Mariah Brown, reserving for herself and her teammates the concept that given a rematch the outcome might have been different.
And as good as St. Mary’s (30-4) was, Modesto Christian (25-9) certainly didn’t do itself any favors.
The Crusaders committed 38 turnovers, including 24 in the first half alone as they slipped behind 45-23 at intermission.
“That’s a turnover on almost every possession,” said Crusaders coach Robb Spencer. “They’re No. 1 for a reason, and you can’t turn the ball over 40 times and expect to win.”
This was not a case in which the better team managed to wear down its opponent, then pulled away for the win, because the Panthers dominated from the opening tip.
As a much taller team, St. Mary’s was able to throw over the top of MC’s press for easy baskets. And the first three times the Crusaders forced the Panthers into a half-court offense, St. Mary’s executed its passing game and got three easy looks.
“We’re not used to playing teams that are big, long and able to get in our faces like that,” said Danielle Thompson, who closed her MC career with a 12-point, eight-rebound performance. “The overhead passing was a different kind of play for us.”
So just 2 minutes, 25 seconds, into the action, MC was looking up at a 12-1 deficit.
“We don’t see a lot of presses, and when other teams do that to us, our girls start drooling,” said St. Mary’s coach Nathan Fripp. “We also haven’t played against a lot of man-to-man teams, so it was good to see us execute in the half court right away, getting three baskets off our first three plays.”
These Crusaders have seen deficits before, and always have been able to maintain their composure and stay in the game plan while doing whatever possible to cut into the margin.
But when their best efforts were turned away and the turnovers continued to mount, something very different and unusual happened to MC.
Looking up at a 35-18 deficit in the final four minutes of the second quarter, the Crusaders lost their focus. It didn’t come in the form of throwing elbows or playing out-of-control, but it did result in terminating seven straight offensive possessions in 3-point attempts.
Some were quick looks and others came in the flow of the offense, but only one of the seven found net as St. Mary’s was able to pull away to the 22-point halftime lead. Any chance for a late-half rally and the momentum that could have spurred a second-half rally died right there.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
reprint or license
