Midway through the third quarter of Friday’s Central Coast Section Open Division girls basketball final, Pinewood School had Mitty right where it wanted. Withstanding the top-seeded Monarchs’ pressure defense and size advantage while containing their leading scorer, the third-seeded Panthers led by 12.
Then Pinewood ran out of gas and Mitty refueled, using its superior depth and length to rally for a 66-54 win at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.
“We had the desire, athleticism and skill, but we were worn out,” Panthers coach Doc Scheppler said. “It’s not the fault of the girls; it’s just what Mitty does to teams. They have depth and can bring in 6-footer after 6-footer after 6-footer, and they only have to play four to six minutes, so they can go all-out.”
One of those 6-foot reserves wound up playing even more than that because she was too good to take off the floor. Makayla Moore spearheaded the comeback by scoring 10 straight points in the final four minutes of the third and added 10 more in the fourth. The senior finished with a game-high 25, nearly four times her season average.
Meanwhile, Morgan Cheli – Mitty’s leading scorer with an average of 16 points per game – mustered just three. Guarded by Pinewood standout Elle Ladine, Cheli shot 1-for-7 from the field.
“Our job was to limit Cheli’s effectiveness, and we did, and Elle proved she was the best player on the floor,” Scheppler said. “But then the girl off the bench (Moore) gets what had to be her career-high for points. Good for her. She’ll remember that.”
Ladine led Pinewood with 18 points, but the senior was held scoreless after nailing a step-back 3 with just more than four minutes left in the third.
“Elle was done the last 12 minutes; she was so tired,” Scheppler said. “It’s all the coaches’ fault – the responsibility is on us. We ask her to do so much: rebound, score and guard their best player.”
Ladine had a stellar first half, leading all scorers with 13 points. Her layin off a steal gave the Panthers a 29-26 edge at halftime.
Pinewood (22-2) pushed the lead to seven early in the third quarter on a pair of low-post baskets from Skylar Chui, who totaled 10 points. Alex Facelo’s banker soon gave the Panthers their biggest advantage at 42-30.
The Monarchs (27-1) scored the next 13 points, however, with Sienna Guttadauro’s 3 giving them the lead at quarter’s end. Facelo’s corner 3 to open the fourth put Pinewood up 45-43, but that lead proved to be the Panthers’ last. Mitty went on a 13-2 run to take control.
“As we got tired, we made mistakes and were slower to react to the ball,” Scheppler said, “and we gave up too many rebounds.”
Pinewood was outrebounded 27-17, including 14-2 on the offensive end Friday.
Both teams now move on to the Northern California Open Division playoffs. The fourth-seeded Panthers host No. 5 Oak Ridge (25-5) 6 p.m. today. The winner travels to top-seeded Carondelet (25-2) for a semifinal game set for 6 p.m. Saturday.
LA, SF also advance
It turns out Los Altos’ season didn’t end with Thursday’s 45-37 loss at Los Gatos in the CCS Division I semifinals after all. The Eagles (17-9) made NorCal as an at-large team.
Seeded 14th in Division IV, Los Altos is scheduled to visit No. 3 Branson (19-8) at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 1. The winner faces No. 6 Gateway (22-5) or No. 11 Half Moon Bay (20-7) in the semifinals 6 p.m. Thursday at the home of the higher seed.
St. Francis made NorCal as the ninth seed in Division I after going 1-2 in the CCS Open Division round-robin tournament. The Lancers (17-8) visit No. 8 Laguna Creek (25-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round. The winner meets No. 1 Salesian (16-5) or No. 16 Acalanes (25-5) in the semifinals 6 p.m. Thursday at the home of the higher seed.
