NorCal girls basketball: Cardinal Newman’s season ends in 2nd round

The Cardinal Newman girls basketball team’s season came to an end Thursday night with a 62-58 home loss to Clovis in the second round of the CIF Division I Northern California tournament.

After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Clovis leading 12-11 at the end, the fifth-seeded Cougars went on a 19-12 run in the second frame and never looked back.

No. 4 Newman was just 4-of-15 from the three-point line at halftime, while Devin Miller, Sadie Sin and Deja Lee all made threes for Clovis in the second quarter.

“I thought they were scrappier than we were,” Newman head coach Monica Mertle said after the game. “There were times where I think we were fully engaged and playing as hard as we could, and then there were a few possessions where they beat us to loose balls. That was really the difference in the game.”

After the break, Newman came out on a 10-6 run, which was capped off by three-pointers from Kate Schat and Abbie Mullins. That made the score 37-33.

The Cardinals also tried working the ball inside more, which was paying off. Janelle Pena had four straight points in the paint during the third quarter.

But Clovis, as it had all game, had an answer. Buckets from Sin, Alyssa Kem and Yasmin Aguilera, among others, saw the Cougars lead 42-37 after three.

“I don’t think it was anything we didn’t expect,” Mertle said. “I think we just didn’t execute and weren’t as tight as we needed to be to win the game.”

The fourth quarter then showed what the state tournament is all about, as the Cardinals gave it all they had.

Down 59-50 with 54 seconds left, Newman’s Leah Martinez scored as a foul was called. She made the free throw and Newman was down by six. Both teams traded buckets before Schat hit a three-pointer for the Cardinals to make it 61-58 with just two seconds remaining.

Clovis, however, was able to make one of two free throws to seal the deal.

Schat and Kaida Angelo led the scoring for the Cardinals with 15 points apiece, while Mullins had 12 points with four three-pointers.

The Cougars will now take on St. Mary’s of Stockton in the regional semifinals.

Cardinal Newman finishes the season at 25-8 overall, having won third place in the North Coast Section’s Open Division last week. They also claimed another North Bay League Oak Division championship, going a perfect 8-0 in league play.

You can reach Staff Writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or kienan.odoherty@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kodoherty22.