Chari Smith had 16 pts and Tonicia Tademy had 14 to lead Mt. San Antonio (37-1) to an 80-51 win over Sierra (32-5) to win the California state championship for the third time in four years.
Mt. SAC began the game on a 13-0 run, pushed the margin to 21 at halftime and was never challenged. Sierra, which gained a berth in the finals with a surprise win over heavily-favored Pasadena in the semifinals, never had an answer for Smith or Mt. SAC's swarming defense.
Sam Cardeno drained a three to start the game, giving Mt. SAC a lead it would hold the rest of the way. Then a pair of free throws by Smith and a pair of free throws by playoff MVP Tay Hester made it 7-0. A short jumper by Tademy made it 9-0, and then Tademy grabbed a steal and sent Hester in for a lay-up that made it 11-0 just 3:05 into the game.
Sierra called timeout, but it did little to stop the onslaught. Tademy knocked down another jumper after the timeout to make it 13-0. Sarah McVicar finally got Sierra on the board with a free throw 3:59 into the game.
But Mt. SAC just kept expanding the lead. A jumper by Tademy pushed the margin to 16 at 21-5 just less than 8 minutes into the game. And a three by Tanisa Braxton pushed the lead beyond 20 points, making it 30-8. A steal & basket by Braxton pushed the margin to 23 at 34-11.
As Mt. SAC began substituting freely, Sierra cut the margin to 16 late in the half after a pair of free throws by Megan Gallagher, but when Mt. SAC brought the starters back in the lead went back to 23 at 43-20. A putback at the buzzer by Sierra's Sarah Hughes cut the margin to 21 at 43-22 at intermission.
But in the second half, Mt. SAC quickly expanded the lead to 27 at 53-26, and Sierra never got the margin under 20 again.
For Mt. SAC, Smith led the way with 16 pts on 5-of-7 shooting plus 6 rebs and 4 blocks. Tademy also had a very strong game with 14 pts, 5 asts and just 1 turnover. Hester, who had 8 points and 5 rebounds in the final, was named State Tournament MVP and joined Smith and Hester on the all-tournament team.
For Sierra, McVicar led the way with 11 pts. Annaelise Miller and Morgan Ragan each had 10 points. But Sierra shot just 26% from the floor and committed 25 turnovers on the day.
The championship for Mt. SAC and coach Laura Beeman is the third in four years for the Mounties. Mt. SAC also won last year, defeating San Joaquin Delta in the final, and in 2004, with a win over Pasadena.
box score
Sunday, March 11, 2007 - 3:30 pm
at Selland Arena, Fresno
2007 California State Championship Game - Women
Mt. San Antonio 80:
3-Sam Cardeno, SG - 1/6 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
10-Tonicia Tademy, PG - 6/11 fg, 2/3 ft, 2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 14 pts
23-Sahfiya Brown, PF - 2/5 fg, 0/1 ft, 6 reb, 2 pf, 4 pts
32-Tay Hester, SF - 3/8 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 8 pts
33-Chari Smith, C - 5/7 fg, 6/8 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl, 16 pts
22-Jazlyn Davis, G - 2/6 fg, 5/6 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 9 pts
42-Romeka Randolph, F - 1/1 fg, 3/3 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 5 pts
21-Tanisa Braxton, F - 3/5 fg, 1 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
24-ZsaZsa Lawson, G - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
25-Adrienna Hooks, G - 2/3 fg, 1/3 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
11-Brittany Murphy, G - 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 blk, 1 pf, 2 pts
31-Janae White, F - 1 ast, 4 pf, 0 pts
34-Susan Ott, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
44-Myra Lealaitafea, C - 1 pf, 0 pts
14-Lisette Whalley, G - 1/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 stl, 4 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 27/57 fg (.474), 22/30 ft (.733), 37 reb, 15 ast, 6 blk, 12 stl, 25 pf, 80 pts
3-pt fg (4): Braxton 2, Cardeno, Whalley
Turnovers (17): Smith 4, Hester 3, Davis 2, Tademy, Brown, Randolph, Braxton, Lawson, Hooks, Lealaitafea, Whalley
Sierra 51:
12-Sarah McVicar, PG - 3/13 fg, 4/7 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 11 pts
14-Tamar Gruwell, SG - 1/6 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
15-Dani Jackson, SF - 0/6 fg, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
25-Megan Gallagher, PF - 1/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 1 pf, 5 pts
31-Sarah Hughes, C - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
30-Annelise Miller, F - 2/3 fg, 6/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 10 pts
22-Megan Ragan, G - 4/7 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 10 pts
32-Katie Keilig, G - 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 4 pf, 0 pts
24-Haley Limpach, C - 0/1 ft, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 pts
20-Hannah Johnson, F - 1/1 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 3 pf, 5 pts
34-Tara Mortimeyer, G - 0/3 fg, 1 ast, 0 pts
45-Becca Arent, C - 1 blk, 0 pts
11-Kaitlyn Wise, G - 1 pf, 0 pts
13-Jessi Westlake, F - 0/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 pf, 1 pt
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 13/50 fg (.260), 21/27 ft (.778), 37 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 6 stl, 24 pf, 51 pts
3-pt fg (4): Ragan 2, McVicar, Gruwell
Technical Foul: Ragan
Fouled Out: Ragan 9:47 left
Turnovers (25): McVicar 8, Jackson 4, Gruwell 3, Miller 2, Keilig 2, Gallagher, Hughes, Ragan, Limpach, Westlake, team
Halftime Score: Mt. SAC 43, Sierra 22
Updated Records: Mt. SAC 37-1, Sierra 32-5
Mt. SAC began the game on a 13-0 run and cruised from there
Mt. SAC wins its 2nd straight state championship and 3rd in 4 years
All-Tourney Team included: Sarah McVicar (Sierra), Tamar Gruwell (Sierra), Chari Smith (Mt. SAC), Tonicia Tademy (Mt. SAC) and Tay Hester (Mt. SAC) (MVP)
