SouthernCaliforniaPreps - Rams survive!

March 9, 2013

Two teams with mirroring styles of play squared off in the opening round of the Open Division Friday night at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. The higher seeded St. Mary's Rams narrowly escaped with a 63-62 win over visiting Miramonte thanks to the contributions of a trio of underclassmen.

Megan Reid, Miramonte, 2014: The junior guard's motor was carrying her nonstop. She might've had a negative play at one point in the ball game and then turnaround and negate the play with two quick hustle plays positively affecting her team. She seemed to find herself out in the open floor with the ball in her hands in a position to make a play frequently. While she struggled attempting to capitalize on her drives she was highly more affective on the plays that followed shots. Scrappy around the basket she kept possessions alive and extended plays by being able to find her shooters or get back in the offense off the rebound. One couldn't knock her relentless effort however her risky decisions took possessions away from the Mats. Down the stretch she was the one either starting the play from the defensive side of the ball or contributing at the other end to keep her team close.

Sabrina Ionescu, Miramonte, 2016: The 2016 guard was ready and played for the competition in the big game. The crafty guard with a scorer's mentality was used in a multitude of ways en route to having some success and production on the floor. More than once she took advantage of her size and length from out of bounds sets on lobs to catch and score over her defender. Against the Rams pressure she rotated in spots playing with and without the ball in her hands and from both spots she was ready to make plays. The ball in hand she seized dribble penetration lanes to get in for scoring looks and got good spacing away from the ball along the perimeter in getting quality outside looks, for which she was efficient. Aside from being her team's most effective scorer she was also her team's leading rebounder.

Uriah Howard, Miramonte, 2016: In the middle stretches of contest the left handed forward provide a spark with her play around the paint. The active wiry forward made plays with good bounce. In chances of second opportunities she remained an active part. She worked as an option from the middle of the high post from where she could catch and face or drift out along the baseline side making use of a 1-2 dribble attack. When attacking with the ball in her hands she showed herself to be a finesse finisher with soft touch.

Breanna Alford, Miramonte, 2014: The Mats used Alford as their outlet option countering the Rams vaunted press and as a bigger factor in the half court or drives into the basket. The undersized power forward put herself in available physical position ready at chances to receive the ball off the dribble and watching for those rebounds on the weak side. Whether it was her teammates getting the ball in her hands or from the account of her own hustle on the glass she got touches. In some of those instances she could've been a little more patient giving herself more of a chance to convert those high percentage looks.

Bri Moore, St. Mary's, 2015: The sophomore playmaking guard struggled with control in the early stage of the game trying to force a play or putting herself in a vulnerable position. Moore looked at her best and more effective when she attempted to do more with less. In the second half, she had some nice smooth drives finishing inside the paint and then on other situations she delivered nice easy give s to her teammates for scores. When she was able to find that nice compliment of control and composure she allowed herself to do a whole lot more for her team. Once she started a drive she was going all the way forward and could see the defenders attempt to draw several offensive calls against her. Once she adds a pull up to her scoring arsenal it is going to give her an opportunity to have a greater impact off the dribble.

Kat Tudor, St. Mary's, 2016: The Rams outside specialist saw pressure come her way constantly trying to take away her good looks from the outside, but this just forced her to get it off ith a quicker release. She got a good share of openings from around the perimeter before finishing the game with four of them made. At times she looked to put the ball on the floor to get into the basket for a drive or two, but more time was spent in her comfort zone. The skinny 5-foot-10 frosh did have a nice sequence where she came in weak side engaging in some contact of opposing players grabbed the rebound and drew a foul call attempting to put the shot back up. Tudor finished with a game high 19 points off her work from the arc and trips to the line.

Charise Holloway, St. Mary's, 2014: The power wing started the game off with the first basket and from that point owned her role for the Rams. Her teammates got her the ball when she took off in hard sprints straight down the floor and when she dove down baseline short corner to be an factor off the drive. The high level of effort and hard work she brought allowed her to be that threat to score from the open floor and half court. She also hit the glass well in efforts to get her hands on the ball when she didn't get those touches from kick outs. Her energy created a lot of chances, and chances she has become accustom to in her career, but now she just has to work at converting them at a higher level to be consistent. The junior forward finished the game with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Onome Jemerigbe, St. Mary's, 2013: The UCSB bound point guard has been absent most of the playoffs with an ankle injury, but was able to see time and contribute last night in the win. She limited her scoring drives and became the table setter for the Rams working off her dribble setting up for scores and finding them for others. She facilitated in good fashion getting her teammates looks at the right times and in the right spaces.

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