Prep basketball: Cardinal Newman girls heat up at right time to escape West County

The atmosphere in West County’s gym didn’t fit the magnitude of the game that took place on Wednesday night.

In front of a nearly empty gym, cleared out by Sonoma County’s newest health order, Cardinal Newman and West County — the top two girls basketball teams in the county — squared off for the first time this season for supremacy in the North Bay League Oak division.

Aside from the six West County parents front and center in the bleachers, each masked and enthusiastically waving red and blue pom-poms, the gym was filled only by coaches, student athletes, officials and other game personnel.

“Unfortunate” was how Cardinal Newman head coach Monica Mertle described the scene. “Awful” was the word West County head coach Earl Pasamonte used.

“Our crowd was ready to go,” he added. “To me, it’s sad for the girls. For these seniors, it’s just sad that this is potentially how they have to end their careers, not getting to play in front of their friends and family. I really hope some things change.”

What didn’t change on Wednesday night was the hierarchy of Sonoma County girls basketball that has been in place in for nearly a decade.

The Cardinals won their 99th consecutive league game including tournaments, pulling away from West County in the fourth quarter for a decisive 73-54 win.

After a back-and-forth game that could have gone either way for three quarters, the Cardinals (13-4, 2-0 NBL-Oak) opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run and never looked back to turn a classic battle into another comfortable win.

Senior guard Reese Searcy scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in the second half and helped spur several runs in the fourth quarter to lead the Cardinals to their seventh straight win.

The dagger stretch came with just over two minutes left in the game. West County (13-3, 1-1 NBL-Oak), running on fumes, had cut the deficit to single digits but missed two close looks on a fast break that would have cut the lead to seven.

Instead, Searcy came down the other way and converted to push the lead back to 11. Minutes later, she assisted on back-to-back corner threes for Abbie Mullins to blow the game wide open.

Mullins finished with 12 points and was one of four Cardinals in double figures. She and Searcy each connected on four threes apiece, while Searcy also finished with four assists and a pair of steals.

“(Reese) has really good balance in her game and she understands when it’s time to score and when it’s time to hook up her teammates,” Mertle said. “I think her future is really bright after high school.”

As a team, the Cardinals hit 13 threes, a vast majority of which came after a slow first quarter.

West County went on a 12-0 run and took a 14-9 lead into the second frame before the Cardinals started hitting from deep. After trailing 22-15 early in the second, they rallied to take a 30-28 lead into halftime.

After three quarters, the Cardinals held a 49-45 advantage and the fourth quarter was shaping up to be a nail-biter. But the 9-0 Cardinals run in the first two minutes ultimately spelled the end of the road for West County.

“They caught fire, we couldn’t stop dribble penetration, we had a really hard time stopping that,” Pasamonte said. “That was the biggest problem tonight, staying in front of the ballhandler. One of the things we talked about was not helping, but when you don’t help you have to keep the ballhandler in front of you and we didn’t do that. … A team that shoots the three like that, you just can’t make those little mistakes and we did, and they made us pay.”

West County was led by Ellie Roan, who had a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Lucca Lowenberg, who turned in a solid performance with 14 points and six assists. Maya Salas added 14 points.

It’s the second straight loss for West County after an 11-game winning streak. But Pasamonte said he feels his team belonged on the court with Newman tonight, not something he could always say in past years.

“I feel like we belong this year, and hey, we get to go do it at their place now,” he said.

That game, currently on the calendar for Jan. 27, will likely determine the winner of the Oak division. Unfortunately, it too will likely be played devoid of the fanfare it deserves. The county health order limiting attendance at indoor sporting events is in place until Feb. 11.

“We’re going to focus on what we can control and that’s all we can do,” Mertle said. “Athletes have been through it at the college level, athletes have been through it at the high school level. The unfortunate part would be the inconsistencies. I’m talking to friends who are coaching in different counties and everything is normal. We obviously want to be mindful of where we’re at and keep everyone safe, but it is unfortunate for the kids and for the parents.”

The Cardinals, who haven’t dropped a league game since the 2013-14 season, will look for consecutive league win No. 100 when they play at Windsor on Friday.