Knights slay Dragons: Bishop Montgomery holds off O’Dowd girls in D-I championship

SACRAMENTO –  Bishop O’Dowd’s talented guards are quick. They are gifted passers. Proficient dribblers. Fearless.

But for all of their positive qualities, the Dragons are not tall.

Bishop O’Dowd met its match at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Tuesday night. Bishop Montgomery-Torrance also possessed all of those qualities, but were superior both athletically and vertically.

O’Dowd gave Bishop Montgomery everything it could handle down the stretch in the 52-40 CIF Division I championship loss.

The Dragons used a 21-7 second-half run to battle back from a 21-point halftime deficit, but ran out of gas down the stretch as their SoCal adversary won its first state title since 2003.

“They have such willpower,” O’Dowd coach Malik McCord said about his team. “We had a hole to dig out of, and they fought, but the ball wouldn’t go in tonight.”

It took three ½ minutes for Bishop Montgomery to take control. Jordin Blackmon made a short turnaround to start the game, and then sliced through the undersized Dragon defense for a layup. On her third score, the junior outran the defense down the floor for a 6-0 advantage.

Jayla Stokes briefly gave the O’Dowd supporters something to cheer about when she canned a corner three, but Blackmon returned with another layup to answer.

Cyriah Coleman used her size to power through the O’Dowd rebounders for another putback, and Blackmon put an exclamation mark on the run by splashing a 3-pointer from the Golden 1 Center’s NBA distance.

McCord called timeout as she ran down the court.

Bishop O’Dowd trailed 24-10 after one quarter, and then things went from bad to worse as the Dragons could only muster six points in the second. The Oakland private school was 6-30 from the field and was outscored 20-10 in the paint.

“I have three words for tonight’s game,” Bishop Montgomery coach and alum Rheina Ale said. “We. Did. That.”

Bishop O’Dowd slowly inched its way into the game, getting as close as 13 when Devin Cosgriff converted a tough double-clutch layup with a minute and a half left in the third quarter. On the other end, Bishop Montgomery struggled to get good looks as Savannah Jones spearheaded the re-energized O’Dowd press.

“(This run to the championship) meant everything,” Jones said. “Being with Malik for four years, you want to get there with him, and do it for him and your team. I’m lucky that I got to do it with this group right here”

Coleman answered with a layup, but Cosgriff got it back to 13 to end the quarter when she and Savannah Jones ran a perfect 2-on-1 fastbreak to make it 41-28 going into the fourth period.

The Dragons got it down to nine points in the fourth quarter, but a flurry of missed layups doomed the Dragons to a frustrating loss.

“It was in and out, it wasn’t bad misses,” McCord said. “But that just happens. That’s basketball.”

“That’s life. It doesn’t always go your way.”

Stokes led the O’Dowd with 11 points, and Madison Gordon had eight points and six rebounds. Jones led the team with nine boards and five assists. Blackmon paced Bishop Montgomery with 15 points.

Bishop O’Dowd’s loss in the program’s sixth trip to the state championship was a dismal end to an otherwise banner season for the East Bay power.

O’Dowd’s sensational sophomores Cosgriff, Jayla Stokes and company hit their stride after a disastrous MLK Day loss at home to No. 1 Archbishop Mitty.

The Dragons won 14 of their next 15, their only defeat coming at the hands of San Ramon Valley in the NCS semifinals.

O’Dowd, seeded second in NorCal, routed St. Francis and St. Ignatius before defeating Oak Ridge in a competitive semifinal game.

Cosgriff made the game-winning shot against Carondelet in the NorCal final, a short jump shot with three seconds left that handed the Dragons a 48-47 victory.

The Dragons entered the title game with winning momentum, but history showed that, like many medieval myths, their showdown with the Knights would not have a storybook ending.

Bishop Montgomery routed O’Dowd 57-33 at a winter tournament in Arizona, and the rematch wasn’t much different. But even with his players in tears after the game, McCord ended the year on an optimistic note.

“We have the talent, and now we’ve added to that with experience,” McCord said. “I’m extremely excited. Be on the lookout.”