NCS basketball playoffs roundup: Montgomery girls hold off Concord

Montgomery's girls basketball team overcame Concord's height advantage and defeated the visiting Minutemen 54-48 Friday night to advance to the semifinals of the North Coast Section Division 2 tournament.

Next up for the Vikings is a Wednesday trip to Concord, where top-seeded Carondelet awaits. The Cougars defeated Mt. Eden 70-25 in their quarterfinal.

Montgomery had a 27-18 lead at intermission against Concord. However, the advantage was narrowed to two points midway through the fourth quarter.

Baskets by Julie Watson, Shayla Newman and Jessica Perez, plus two free throws by LaDonna Saint Louis, gave the Vikings breathing room again.

Concord enjoyed a decided height edge with 6-foot-2 Ciara O'Kelley playing center. Montgomery's tallest starter was 5-foot-9 freshman Kylie Newman. O'Kelley wound up with 13 points.

“The girls really worked hard on defense,” coach Steve Bell said. “Overall, they played as hard as they could and fought for everything.”

Five-foot-8 Shayla Newman led the Vikings with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“I was able to get good position by boxing out and that enabled me to get that many rebounds,” Newman said. “I just jumped as high as I could.”

Newman said this was the best game her team has played.

“It was a really good team effort,” she said. “Everyone put something in. I could tell in the locker room that this was going to be a big game for us. We were prepared and wanted it bad.”

Also scoring in double figures for Montgomery were Saint Louis (13) and Perez (11). Destiny Grayer added nine points and seven rebounds.

Concord, the No. 5 seed, came into the game with an 11-game winning streak. The Minutemen were 12-0 in the Diablo Valley League.

Montgomery, the second-place finisher in the NBL, is now 20-9.

In other girls action involving a Redwood Empire team:

CAMPOLINDO 72, SONOMA VALLEY 41

At Moraga, the Dragons' 14-game winning streak was snapped in emphatic fashion.

It was 37-18 at halftime of the Division 3 quarterfinal game.

“We ran into a much better team,” coach Sil Coccia said. “It's that simple. Campolindo can do everything.”

The Cougars made 10 3-pointers and were led by Haley Van Dyke's 23.

“She's a sophomore and definitely a Division I college player,” Coccia said.

“While we were out-talented, we never quit trying. This one game doesn't define our season.”

Jenny Eggers led the Dragons with 15 points.

Sonoma the No. 11 seed, finished 21-9 and tied with Analy for the SCL regular-season title. The Dragons won the league tourney.

In boys action Friday:

MOREAU CATHOLIC 83, ANALY 40

At Hayward, the Tigers were no match for the top-seeded Mariners in the Division 3 match up.

“They're by far the best team we've seen this year,” Analy coach Brett Page said. “They can run, jump and shoot. It was pretty obvious why they're No. 1.”

Moreau put 33 points on the board in the first quarter while holding the Tigers to 11. The Mariners scored 29 more in the second.

“Only their starting five scored,” Page said.”It was scary, they were that good.”

Moreau nailed nine 3-point shots and pressed the entire game.

Nick Fujii was Analy's leading scorer with 11. Jordan Armstrong had 10 points and added 10 rebounds and four blocks.

For Moreau, Demari Millstead scored 23, including 20 in the first half.

The Tigers, the SCL champs, wind up 20-9. Moreau is 22-4.