Lady Mats Finish Season With Only One NCS Victory

By: Kristen Craig

The first quarter score matched the teams up as equals with the Matadors 16 and the Gauchos 14. The early score was 6-2 until forward, Tori Markey stepped up with five straight points. The second quarter gave Miramonte a commanding 24-point run on the Gauchos where seven Matador players scored. Markey put in eight points with a combination of put backs and strong post moves. Markey grabbed several steals that led to fast break lay-ups for herself and her teammates. Miramonte finished the half with a 40-22 lead into the break. Despite the lead, the Mats were a bit down due to the lay-ups they had missed in the early portion of the game.

"We always make mistakes during the game, especially early, and we just hung in there and then we got a roll in the second quarter," said Miramonte co-coach Darrell Hirashima.

The Matadors depth on the bench allowed them to stay in the game as the referee's calls were tight. Junior point guard, Jenny Brasch received a quick technical foul at the start of the game. Brasch had inbounded the ball then ran along the baseline before stepping onto the court. Because she did not come directly onto the court, the referee gave her the technical. To fill the point guard's shoes, Natalie Rudd entered the game and quickly scored off a steal by Tori Markey. When senior forward, Amanda Brecht, picked up her forth foul in the second half, juniors Kristen Craig and Austin Sutta filled her space down low.

The third quarter was not as high scoring for the Matadors. Austin Sutta picked up four of her total ten points through aggressive rebounding. Markey continued as high scorer as she put in 20 points overall for the night. By the end of the third, Miramonte was up by 21 points.

The forth quarter allowed Miramonte to clear its bench, which is a very unusual thing in a North Coast Section game. Ali Sperling got a steal and break away lay-up for the Mats. Lizzy Wanken got a put back. Kim Manley and Shanon McIntyre were powerful on the boards in the third and forth quarter. Nearing the end of the game El Cerrito's Marquita Green put together a three-point play to keep the Gaucho spirit alive, but it was too late to close the 31-point gap between the teams. Just before the buzzer, Mariko Minamoto put the final points in for the Mats with yet another steal and coast-to-coast lay-up conversion. The final score was Miramonte 76, El Cerrito 39.

Now the real test of endurance came for the Matadors. It was an up at 7 a.m., 6 hour bus ride to Arcata High School on Wednesday, March 1. Miramonte was seeking revenge as they had lost to Arcata in a pre-league game by five points. The first half gave the Mats high hopes as they had lead the way in scoring up until the close of the second quarter. Nearing the end of the fourth quarter Miramonte was behind by 14 points, but they keep up their intensity and the game was back and forth down to the last few seconds. The Matadors were unable to pull out the win and fell to the Tigers 57-54, despite a valiant effort to regain their original lead.

"Arcata is a very good team," said Darrell Hirashima. "As I last looked they're ranked second in the state in Division 3. We helped them get there by losing to them in the second game (of the year)."

Miramonte is proud of their accomplishments this year. Wining a NCS game was the first the Lady Mats had won since 1995 and the team is hoping to succeed even further next year.