Modesto Christian girls win opener; St. Mary's next

There were flashes of brilliance in the Modesto Christian girls basketball team’s 67-57 victory over Pleasant Grove in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I tournament.

Lailoni Gaines drove to the basket for two of her team-high 18 points, wearing a defender on her shoulders like a heavy shawl.

Lexia Bell-White and Rachel Smith led a third-quarter charge with feathery jump shots from around the arc. Smith finished with 11 points, shaking off early foul trouble.

And Jasmine Spencer whipped a pass through the post to Nicole Warwick (15 points), who converted the backdoor layup before the Eagles could turn and find her.

“Those are those stretches when we’re moving the ball freely,” coach Robb Spencer said.

And then there were moments of pure frustration.

Coach Spencer winced at every missed layup, reach-in foul and fourth-quarter blunder that kept the Eagles within shooting range late. At one point, Modesto Christian (21-6) went more than 6 minutes between field goals.

“We missed a lot of layups inside that could have helped stretch that out and make it more comfortable,” he said.

Fortunately, Tuesday was only a warm-up.

The real test — perhaps the final examination of these Crusaders — comes Thursday at St. Mary’s (24-0) of Stockton.

The top-seeded Rams are the prohibitive favorite at the section and state level. St. Mary’s is ranked No. 1 nationally by MaxPreps and USA Today, and the eight-time state champions frustrate their opposition with end-to-end, around-the-clock pressure.

To that point, the Rams advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinal round with a 102-25 victory over Edison.

Modesto Christian exited the locker room on Tuesday prepared for the challenge ahead.

“For an opportunity to play the best … that’s all we talk about. That’s how we make our schedule. We want to go out and play people. Why not play the best in the country?” Spencer said. “If you can’t get motivated to play the best in the country, you shouldn’t be playing.

“All us coaches, we want to coach against the best. Most players want to play against the best. That’s how you get the challenge and judged how good you are; where do you stand?”

In a side-by-side with Spencer, St. Mary’s coach Tom Gonsalves dominates the tale of the tape.

In 15 seasons at the helm of the Crusaders program, Spencer has won seven section championships in four divisions and one state title, but never celebrated a victory over “the monster” to the north.

His record: 0-8. The last seven have been decided by an average score of 88-54.

“I haven’t got them yet. … It is what it is. That’s the monster we’re trying to take down,” Spencer said, “and we accept the challenge.”

The stakes have never so great for the Crusaders — at least not this early in the postseason.

Modesto Christian has been featured in a section title game in 12 of the last 14 years, including 10 in a row. Each finals appearance has come packaged with a berth in the CIF state tournament.

Those streaks are in jeopardy Thursday. Only the section’s semifinalists advance to the state tournament.

“We’re going to leave it all out on the floor,” Spencer said.

Modesto Christian will try to match St. Mary’s all-out effort with efficiency. The Crusaders took care of the ball for the first three quarters against Pleasant Grove (18-10), but committed five turnovers over the final eight minutes to give the Eagles hope.

After trailing by as many as 16 in the final period, Pleasant Grove went on a 9-1 spurt to cut the deficit to 65-57. Briana Nguyen launched a deep three and Sarah Avila knocked down two free throws to make it a three-possession game with 1:18 left.

Spencer never felt threatened by Pleasant Grove, but realizes St. Mary’s won’t be so forgiving. A small lapse in judgment, he said, can turn into a 20-point gap on the scoreboard.

“You just have to take care of the ball. If you take care of the ball, you’re in the game,” he said. “That’s easier said than done. They’re 13 and 14 (players) deep. They keep it coming. That 10th and 11th person is bring that same pressure that one and two bring.

“We have to be able to play through that and if we take care of the ball, we’ll give ourselves a chance. If we don’t take care of the ball, we don’t have a prayer.”

Modesto Christian separated from Pleasant Grove with a 12-2 run to close the first half.

Gaines and Warwick provided the early pulse, scoring 11 points apiece through the first two quarters.

Smith and Bell-White built on the lead after the half with a long-range assault. Smith had back-to-back three-pointers to make it 40-37, while Bell-White operated out of the corners.

Inside and out, that’s the offensive harmony Spencer hopes to see Thursday.

“That’s all we talked about — timely shots and having confidence. We have a lot of good shooters. They just need to be confident in their shot,” he said. “We’re going to need both Thursday night, without a doubt.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Modesto Christian girls win opener; St. Mary's next."