Girls basketball: San Domenico wins game, but Marin Academy scores points
Despite a 15-point loss, Marin Academy head coach Kelly Thomas felt her team came out ahead in the end.
“We just competed with one of the best small-school teams in the state,” Thomas said after Friday night’s 40-25 loss to defending CIF State Division V champion San Domenico. “That was one of the best games we’ve played in my two years here. Our girls played amazing defense.”
San Domenico head coach Mike Fulton wants to see more from his own team, but offered praise for Marin Academy.
“It was a tough game,” Fulton said. “We have got to work on some things, but credit Marin Academy for playing a good game.”
Strong defense at both ends of the court saw the two Bay Counties League West rivals played to a near dead heat through the first half. Marin Academy (9-7, 2-2 BCL West) took a 9-3 lead over a slow-starting San Domenico squad (15-4, 3-1) in the first quarter, before the Panthers finally found the right gear in the second quarter.
The Panthers’ Lily Reeser hit a 3-pointer to break a 19-19 tie, then the Wildcats’ Amelia Thomas hit a free throw just before the teams went into the break with San Domenico leading 22-20.
“Part of our game plan was the slow game,” said coach Thomas. “We don’t have the scoring power that San Domenico does, so we wanted to slow them down. We did get some good shots, but we couldn’t capitalize on them.”
The game remained close through the third quarter, but the Panthers had enough energy left late in the game to finish with a 12-0 run to end the contest. San Domenico’s defense held Marin Academy to just five points in the second half.
“Obviously, defense kept us in the game,” Fulton said. “Marin Academy has improved a lot from even a year ago, and they played us hard.”
Maja Cykowska led the Panthers with a solid all-around game that included 12 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and two steals. Reeser hit three 3-pointers on her way to an 11-point night.
“We were asking Lily (Reeser) to do a lot against Marin Academy’s defense,” Fulton said. “All the girls had to do a lot tonight.”
Alexia Schwaegler was 7 for 8 at the free-throw line and finished with a team-high nine points. She and Thomas hustled to each grab six rebounds and two steals.
“Alexia (Schwaegler) played a gritty game,” said coach Thomas. “She’s been a solid player for us all season.”
Both teams are firmly focused on getting into shape for the postseason. Fulton is hoping junior Summer Jenkins will be fully recovered from a severe ankle sprain before the regular-season finale against league leading University (14-4, 5-0).
“We’ve been in a bit of a slump lately,” Fulton said. “We’ve been struggling offensively without Summer (Jenkins)… I might not play her again until the playoffs. I want to make sure she’s healthy.”
With freshman Sterling Colpitts and sophomores Schwaegler, Amelia Thomas and Sofia Garcia carrying a heavy load, the Wildcats are playing beyond their years. Senior captain Brooke Stimson has been an encouraging voice for her teammates, according to coach Thomas.
“Stimson has taken the team on her shoulders,” coach Thomas said. “She’s a big part of our success.”
The Wildcats finished 13-12 overall, 4-6 in the BCL, and managed to reach the North Coast Section Division V playoffs, where they went 1-1. Marin Academy graduated seven seniors from that squad, but the experience has rubbed off on this year’s team.
Coach Thomas is convinced her young Wildcats are better than their record, but during the next week they’ll have to prove it with two games against Lick-Wilmerding (10-7, 2-1) surrounding one game against University.
“The girls have grown a lot this season,” Thomas said. “Early in the season, they had to learn to compete. Coming off the winter break, we had a tough stretch that forced us to improve. We realized through practices that our toughest opponent is ourselves.”