NCS girls basketball roundup: Cardinal Newman rolls to easy win against Middletown, 63-22

Cardinal Newman's girls basketball team continued its relentless quest for an NCS Division 4 championship by dismantling seventh-ranked Middletown 63-22 in a quarterfinal game Saturday night.

The No. 2 seeded Cardinals (26-4) will host Saint Mary's of Albany, which held off Marin Catholic 59-53 Saturday night, in a semifinal game Wednesday.

Newman sprinted to a 25-4 lead at the end of the first quarter behind six 3-point baskets. The Cardinals led 36-12 at halftime and the Mustangs (23-7) had no path for a comeback.

“We came out ready to play. Our focus was fantastic,” Cardinal Newman coach Monica Mertle said. “We did a good job moving the ball against their pressure.”

With the Cardinals bigger physically in the interior and converting from the perimeter (11 threes for the game), it was a game with little suspense.

The Cardinals were guided by Avery Cargill (20 points, 5 assists) and Hailey Vice-Neat (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists).

CLOVERDALE 46, COLLEGE PREP 42

The No. 2 Eagles (24-6) squeaked out a tight affair against No. 10 College Prep (Oakland) in a Division 5 quarterfinal.

Cloverdale was led by Angel Bernardi with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Gillie Gelson led the Cougars (17-9) with 15 points.

The Eagles host No. 3 Urban (San Francisco) on Wednesday night in a semifinal game. Cloverdale has won nine games in a row.

Cloverdale took a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and lead 25-19 at the half.

“We had a good first quarter. We made some big shots,” Cloverdale coach Rick Berry said. “Our defense played well at the beginning but we got a little tired in the middle of the game and College Prep took advantage of some of our miscues.”

The Eagles iced the game with seven seconds to play as Carsyn Stewart (12 points, 7 rebounds) sank two free throws to give Cloverdale a 46-40 lead.

EMERY 50, POINT ARENA 30

A litany of offensive turnovers doomed the visiting No. 10 Pirates in a Division 6 quarterfinal loss to No. 2 Emery (Emeryville). Point Arena (15-12) surrendered 26 turnovers for the game, 16 in the first half.

“Emery converted almost every turnover into quick points and that killed us,” Point Arena coach Leonard Bechtol said. “They were quick and our kids weren't used to that.”

Point Arena was in a 30-13 hole at halftime and couldn't dig out.

“We didn't get off to a very good start and we didn't shoot the ball well the entire game,” Bechtol said. “Defensively we did fine. We executed what we wanted to do.”

Krystal Woods led the Pirates with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Unique Smith led the Spartans (15-5) with 19 points.

ST. BERNARD'S 52, RINCON VALLEY CHRISTIAN 25

The visiting No. 8 Eagles bid for an upset against No. 1 St. Bernard's (Eureka) but were derailed in large part to poor shooting.

RVC (20-9) shot a dismal 9-41 (22 percent) from the floor and 5-12 from the free-throw line.

“The difference was the shooting. We only had 11 turnovers but we didn't shoot well,” RVC coach Richard Higgenbottom said. “We actually played pretty good defense.”

Kylie Olson led the Eagles with 12 points and 9 rebounds. McKenna Schoenhofer had 18 points for the Crusaders (19-9).

RVC trailed 34-12 at halftime and couldn't mount a second-half rally.

SALESIAN 73, KELSEYVILLE 18

The visiting No. 9 Knights were no match against No. 1 Salesian (Richmond). Kelseyville (23-6) trailed 27-1 after the first quarter.

“It's hard to wrap my head around it right now,” Kelseyville coach Jim Hale said. “Salesian (24-5) is hard to compete with at that level. The difference in programs is rather dramatic.

“Whenever we dribbled the ball Salesian would just take it. They blocked our passing lanes. If they let me put eight girls on the court it might have helped.”