Girls basketball: Redwood rallies late to win showdown with San Marin
The battle for first place in MCAL girls basketball between Redwood High and San Marin on Tuesday night was literally a fight till the end.
The hungry Mustangs surged ahead early in the second quarter and held off the defending league champs until the final minute, when Redwood senior Kitty White converted a pair of free throws and a bucket off an inbounds play for a 50-48 comeback victory.
“In MCAL, we’ve been looking for some exciting games,” said White. “We know MC and San Marin are definitely competitors and always have a chance. We bring out our best when we play them. It’s a lot of fun.”
Redwood (16-5, 6-0 MCAL) needed its best and then some to emerge as the lone unbeaten MCAL team. San Marin (14-8, 4-1) had already found success against perennial contenders Marin Catholic and Branson, and put a scare on the Giants.
“Tonight we proved we could play with them,” San Marin coach Tony Butler said. “Mission accomplished. We’ve proven we can play with anybody in this league.”
Thanks to an impressive second quarter that pushed them ahead by 13 points at intermission, the Mustangs were ahead the entire second half until White tied the game 48-48 with two free throws with 57 seconds remaining. Redwood sophomore guard Drew Schultz came up with a huge steal at the other end and pushed the ball upcourt before the Giants called timeout.
The inbounds play with 25 seconds remaining went to White, who was surrounded by three defenders. The 5-foot-11 forward soared above the Mustangs’ outstretched arms and launched her specialty one-handed shot through the basket for the Giants’ first lead since the first minute of the second quarter.
“When you need a moment, (Kitty) made those free throws,” said Redwood coach Zach Borello. “Then after the timeout, we called a play for her and she’s got that little push shot that we love, that we’ve seen for four years.”
White, who will play at Cal State Monterey Bay next season, was held to six points until the final minute and finished with 10. Senior center Brooke Denler led the Giants with 15 points. Schultz added 13, including 6 for 9 from the line.
The Mustangs were bolstered by a trio of freshmen. Addy Timmel had a team-high 15 points. Alaina McDowel and Norah Bentaleb came off the bench to combine for 16 points, including 14 in the Mustangs’ stellar first half.
“They’re just inching upward and upward, getting more confidence with experience,” Butler said about his freshmen. “They’re going to learn from it. They’ll be more comfortable every single time it happens.”
Bentaleb drilled a 3-pointer to end the first quarter as San Marin pulled to within 12-9. Then the Mustangs got back-to-back 3-pointers from Delaney Butler and Abigail Bartholo to jump ahead 15-12 early in the second quarter en route to a 32-19 halftime cushion.
The speedy Timmel drove inside for Mustangs’ final basket with 1:53 left to make it 48-43. Schultz came through with a three-point play 13 seconds later to pull the Giants to within 48-46, setting up White’s game-ending heroics.
The Giants have now won eight of their past nine games and are knocking on the door of a second straight MCAL title. After taking third in the North Coast Section Division I tournament last season and making NorCals, Borello was not surprised by his team’s comeback against San Marin, even if it took until the final minute to seal the deal.
“That’s who we are,” said Borello. “We talk about being champions and championship pedigree. I give credit to San Marin. They made some shots — that’s a championship-level game.”