The Mid-Peninsula boys’ basketball team hasn’t been tested much during a 19-2 season. That will all change next week when the Dragons head into the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs.
Mid-Peninsula earned its ticket to the postseason with a 101-71 crushing of Mountain View Academy in the championship game of the Private Schools Athletic League playoffs on Thursday at Alma Heights Christian in Pacifica.
Lydell Cardwell poured in 32 points after tallying 34 in the semifinals to pace the Dragons. Nick Seyer added 25 points and 15 rebounds while Reggie Williams contributed 18 and Sam Aiken tallied 15, all on three-pointers.
The Pinewood boys, who could face Mid-Peninsula in the CCS playoffs, put the finishing touches on a second-place finish in the West Bay Athletic League with an 88-54 blasting of visiting King’s Academy on Thursday night.
The Panthers (11-3, 19-5), expected to be the No. 1 seed for the CCS Division V playoffs, were led by senior Kyle Riches with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Junior Solomone Wolfgramm added 14 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two assists while junior Kevin Sweat added 16 points and six rebounds on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range. The Panthers hit 12 three-point shots and held USC-bound football standout Amir Carlisle to 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting. Pinewood also limited the visitors to just two points in the fourth quarter.
In the Peninsula Athletic League quarterfinals, host Menlo-Atherton (12-13) was eliminated following a 54-50 loss to South San Francisco on Thursday. McKinley Mathon scored 17 points and Marquise Tolson added 16 for the Bears, who missed nine free throws. M-A beat SSF twice during the regular season.
The Palo Alto-Lynbrook boys’ and girls’ games scheduled for Friday night at Lynbrook have been moved to Paly, due to leaks in the Lynbrook gym. The varsity girls will play at 6:15 p.m., followed by the boys at 7:45 p.m. The Paly girls are 11-0 and shooting for what may be the first unbeaten season ever in the De Anza Division. Both teams already have clinched their respective titles.
Girls basketball
Jasmine Williams drilled the game-winning basket with 39 seconds left in overtime to give the Menlo School girls’ basketball team a 48-46 overtime triumph over Castilleja in the quarterfinals of the West Bay Athletic League playoffs on Thursday night at Menlo School.
The Knights (16-9) will face Pinewood (19-5) in the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m. In the other semifinal, Pinewood (19-5) will take on Mercy-San Francisco at 7 p.m. The winners will meet in the finals on Saturday at 3 p.m., also at Menlo School.
A 41-41 tie at the end of regulation turned out to be the only one of the contest as Menlo set the tone early in the overtime period, scoring the first five points to take a 46-41 lead. Castilleja hit two of four free throws to pull to within three, but it was Williams drilling the game-winner to put Menlo up 48-43.
The Gators’ Olivia Nicholls hit her second three-pointer of the game to give her a game-high and career-high tying 17 points. Leading 48-46, Menlo could not convert from the foul line and Castilleja had one last prayer from Riya Modi, who heaved a 30-foot shot that drew iron wide right.
Castilleja erased a 12-point deficit to force overtime on a layup by Nicholls with three seconds remaining in regulation.
Freshman Maddy Price led Menlo with 15 points and three steals while Castilleja senior Natasha von Kaeppler contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds with senior Laura Rose grabbing a career-high 14 boards.
Meanwhile, Sacred Heart Prep will have a few extra days to get ready for the CCS playoffs that begin next week after the Gators were eliminated from the WBAL playoffs following a 46-32 loss to Mercy-San Francisco in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Menlo School.
Sacred Heart (12-10) held a 14-11 lead after one period, but the Skippers chipped away and took a 23-19 halftime lead, holding the Gators to just three points in the final period. Melissa Holland led SHP with 10 points while Erin Sheridan added nine.
In the Peninsula Athletic League playoffs, host Menlo-Atherton grabbed a 34-21 halftime lead with tough defensive pressure the first two quarters, but the Bears wilted under Burlingame’s pressure following intermission and wound up dropping a 67-59 decision in the quarterfinals on Thursday night on the Bears’ floor.
Burlingame (11-14) overcame M-A with a 26-12 third quarter and wound up outscoring the Bears in the second half, 46-25, to bounce M-A out of the playoffs and likely out of the postseason. Anna Crookston Herschlag led the Bears (7-18) with 18 points while Tennyson Jellins contributed 13 and Alex Flowers 11.
Girls soccer
Menlo School has finished third in the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) soccer race three times in three years. Perhaps the good news is that the Knights also have advanced to the Central Coast Section playoffs all three seasons after winning a WBAL playoff game for the league’s third automatic berth.
Menlo accomplished that once again on Thursday with a 1-0 victory over WBAL Skyline champ Notre Dame-San Jose in Atherton. The Knights (6-4-9) got the winning goal from freshman Amanda McFarland, who scored from 15 yards out in the 21st minute of the first half off an assist from senior Kelly Cavan. Menlo controlled the ball for much of the match despite not scoring again. Shannon Lacy, Alex Tom, Maya Norman, and Sophie Sheeline led the Knights, who will begin CCS playoff action next week.
In the PAL Bay Division, junior Taryn Thiele-Sardina scored a pair of goals to pace Menlo-Atherton to a 5-0 victory over visiting Hillsdale to close the regular season on Thursday. The Bears finished 6-7-1 in league (11-7-2 overall) while finishing the season on a three-match winning streak. Lindsay Keare, Zoe Pacalin and Meryssa Thompson also scored for the Bears.
Boys soccer
Priory qualified for its first-ever appearance the CCS playoffs following a 2-1 victory over host Harker on Thursday to wrap up the West Bay Athletic League season with an 11-3 mark, good for second place.
Priory kicked off the scoring when John Jernick beat his defender, then sent in a cross that Austin Mirabella calmly placed in the corner on a first-time shot. With under five minutes to go, and the game tied at 1, Kyle Kosling scored a very clutch goal from an Evan Filipczyk corner kick, to clinch the historic victory.
— Palo Alto Online Sports
— Palo Alto Online Sports
— Palo Alto Online Sports
Go Dragons!!!