Mt. San Antonio overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to post a 65-57 win over Foothill, claiming its third straight state championship Saturday afternoon at the Spanos Center in Stockton.
Mt. SAC had three scorers in double figures, including Ctr Carmen Deal, who had 13 pts, 4 blocked shots and an astounding 22 rebs. She and PF Sahfiya Brown, who just missed a double-double with 9 pts and 10 boards, combined to dominate the inside as Mt. SAC rally after being behind, 30-16, with 3:40 left in the first half.
With strong contributions from SG Blaire Egardo, who had 12 pts and 3 threes, and SF Zequoia Williams, who had 16 pts and 3 steals, Mt. SAC took the lead for good midway through the second half. But Mt. SAC still had to hold off a late challenge from a stubborn Foothill squad that narrowed the margin to 4 points in the final minute.
Early on, Foothill showed they would not be intimidated by the two-time defending champions, taking an 8-2 lead after a pair of free throws by PG Claudia Nelson, a steal & basket by SG Jasmine Lowe and a basket by Lowe on an assist by Nelson.
And the Foothill lead grew as the half progressed, reaching double figures after a turnaround jumper by PF Jessica Montgomery made it 19-9 with 8:03 left in the half. After a basket from SF Ashley Marshall made it 23-11, Mt. SAC cut the lead to 7 with a bank-shot basket by PG ZsaZsa Lawson and a 3-pointer by Egardo. But then Foothill stretched the lead to 14 after a 3-point play by SG Leilani Martin, a putback basket by Ctr Amanda Tretheway and a lay-up by Nelson after a steal by Lowe. That made it 30-16 with 3:40 left in the first half.
Mt. SAC scored the last 6 points of the first half to cut the deficit to 8 at the break after a 3-pointer by Williams and three points by Davis in the final minutes before intermission. But when the second half began, Foothill got baskets from Lowe and Tretheway to push the margin back to double figures at 34-22.
After that, however, Mt. SAC went on an 18-0 run to take control of the game. It began with a baseline drive by PG Amber Scruggs, who scored her only points of the game on the play. But most of the damage was done by Deal, who scored the next 7 points to make it 36-31. Then a free throw and a putback basket by S. Brown closed the margin to 2 points, and Mt. SAC pulled even on a basket by SF Jazlyn Davis that made it 36-36 with 12:35 left in the game.
And that was hardly the end of Mt. SAC's run. A free throw by Deal put the Mounties into the lead, and a 3-pointer by Egardo made it 40-36. Foothill rallied to tie the game after a pair of free throws by Montgomery and a lay-up by Nelson that made it 40-40. After Mt. SAC scored on a lay-up by Williams, Foothill got a pair of free throws from Montgomery to again tie the score, 42-42.
But then came another Mt. SAC run, which saw the Mounties push the lead into double figures. A putback basket by Williams made it 44-42. Then Deal made a free throw after a rebound, and then scored a field goal after a rebound to make it 47-42. The lead reached 11 after a basket by Williams on an inbounds play from Davis that made it 57-46 with less than 3 minutes left.
Still, Foothill refused to give in, and rallied to cut the deficit late in the game. Mt. SAC still led by 11 at 59-48 when the Owls went on an 7-0 run, with Lowe scoring 5 of those points, including a free throw after a steal with 53.8 seconds remaining that made it 59-55.
And when Mt. SAC committed a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, Lowe had a chance to cut the lead to a single point. But her 3-point attempt missed, and Deal got the rebound. She got the ball to Williams, who was fouled and made one of two free throws with 44.8 seconds left to make it 60-55.
But then Foothill turned the ball over on the inbounds play, and S. Brown made a pair of free throws with 42.3 seconds left to push the lead back to 7 points. Nelson made two free throws for Foothill to make it 62-57, but then Mt. SAC got a pair of free throws from Williams with 23.3 seconds left to push the margin back to 7 and clinch the win.
For Mt. SAC, the win is the team's 37th in a row after a season-opening loss to Orange Coast. The championship is the third in a row and the fourth overall for coach Laura Beeman, who is just the third coach in California Community College history to accomplish that feat. Ventura womens coach Ned Marcetic and the legendary Jerry Tarkanian, who led Riverside to three straight titles and Pasadena to another the following year, are the other coaches to have won three straight championships.
Davis, who scored 44 points in Mt. SAC's 89-83 semifinal win over Fresno, was named tourney MVP. Deal and Egardo were named to the all-tournament team.
For Foothill, Lowe led the way with 17 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts and 5 steals. Nelson had a strong game as well with 12 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts and 2 steals. They were named to the all-tournament team. Montgomery added 10 pts and 6 rebs. Tretheway had just 4 pts but pulled down a team-high 14 rebs.
box score
Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 1 pm
at the Spanos Center, Univ of the Pacific - Stockton
State Championship Game - Women
Mt. San Antonio 65:
11-Amber Scruggs, PG - 1/3 fg, 1 ast, 2 pts
14-Alexis Brown, SG - 1/5 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
22-Jazlyn Davis, SF - 2/9 fg, 3/6 ft, 4 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 4 pf, 7 pts
23-Sahfiya Brown, PF - 3/5 fg, 3/5 ft, 10 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 9 pts
25-Carmen Deal, C - 4/12 fg, 5/15 ft, 22 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 2 pf, 13 pts
24-ZsaZsa Lawson, G - 2/4 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 4 pts
21-Blaire Egardo, G - 4/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 12 pts
3-Zequoia Williams, F - 5/10 fg, 5/6 ft, 3 reb, 3 stl, 4 pf, 16 pts
33-Kendra Calvin, C - 3 reb, 0 pts
31-Janae White, F - 0/3 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 22/61 fg (.361), 17/36 ft (.472), 58 reb, 12 ast, 7 blk, 9 stl, 19 pf, 65 pts
3-pt fg (4): Egardo 3, Williams
Fouled Out: Davis 35.6 seconds left
Turnovers (30): A.Brown 6, Davis 5, Deal 5, S.Brown 4, Egardo 3, Williams 3, White 2, Scruggs, Lawson
Foothill 57:
3-Claudia Nelson, PG - 3/14 fg, 6/6 ft, 9 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
11-Amanda Tretheway, C - 2/9 fg, 14 reb, 1 blk, 4 pf, 4 pts
21-Jessica Montgomery, PF - 3/12 fg, 4/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
23-Jasmine Lowe, SG - 8/23 fg, 1/2 ft, 9 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl, 4 pf, 17 pts
33-Ashley Marshall, SF - 2/14 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
14-Leilani Martin, G - 1/8 fg, 1/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 3 pts
20-Kelsey Grozier, F - 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 0 pts
24-Chelsea Price, G - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
42-Kayla Vantil, C - 1/1 fg, 1/1 ft, 1 blk, 5 pf, 3 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 21/84 fg (.250), 15/22 ft (.682), 56 reb, 12 ast, 4 blk, 14 stl, 26 pf, 57 pts
3-pt fg (0): None
Fouled Out: Vantil 3:50 left
Turnovers (22): Nelson 5, Lowe 3, Marshall 3, Martin 3, Montgomery 2, Price 2, Vantil 2, Grozier, team
Halftime Score: Foothill 30, Mt. SAC 22
Updated Records: Mt. SAC 37-1, Foothill 33-3
Foothill led by a much as 14 at 30-16. Mt. SAC went on an 18-0 run in the 2nd half to take a short lead, and a 13-2 run to take control. Foothill closed the gap to 4 in the final minute but could get no closer.
This is Mt. SAC's third straight state championship, and 4th in 5 years.
Davis (44 pts in semis) was named tourney MVP. Deal, Egardo, Nelson & Lowe were named to all-tournament team.
