Bay Area girls basketball preview: Rankings, players to watch, more
Who’s No. 1?
Archbishop Mitty was Northern California’s undisputed No. 1 team when COVID hit last year. The Monarchs had just beat St. Joseph Notre Dame for the NorCal Open Division championship, earning a trip to Sacramento for the Open state title game. But the bus never left San Jose. Because of COVID, a Mitty team led by longtime coach Sue Phillips didn’t go to Sacramento to face La Jolla Country Day and hasn’t played since the victory over SJND more than 13 months ago. That’ll change today when the Monarchs play host to St. Mary’s of Stockton to open this season. Mitty’s task this spring is to attack each day as if a championship were on the line. “We’re going to play like it’s the state finals,” Phillips told the Bay Area News Group this month. “We’re happy to play the game. The score isn’t the point. The point is competing like it’s a state final. Relishing the opportunity to lay it out on the floor like there’s no tomorrow.” With a loaded roster that includes Olivia Williams, Katie Springs, Hunter Hernandez, Sydney Bourland, Marley Langi and Amelia Scharpf, Mitty is No. 1 in NorCal once again.
Others in mix
Pinewood’s bid for a third consecutive NorCal championship fell short last season as the Panthers lost to Salesian in the Division I semifinals. But longtime coach Doc Scheppler has another roster filled with experience and talent. Seniors Annika Decker, Maia Garcia, Una Jovanovic and Courtni Thompson, plus the addition of guard Elle Ladine, a transfer from Lowell, should have Pinewood challenging Mitty once again atop the Central Coast Section. But maybe that’s not the real goal this spring. “Our goal for the season is to get better every single day and be grateful that you get to be in the gym now,” Scheppler said. “The season is more intrinsic than getting to the state championship or league championship. Those things are meaningless now. The joy of playing is a goal.” … Bishop O’Dowd and Salesian return quite a bit of talent, too. O’Dowd’s top two players last season, Kennedy Johnson and Amaya Bonner, are back for a team that beat Salesian in the NorCal D1 final. Salesian returns its top two scores, junior Silivia Fonongaloa and senior Alexsandra Alvarado, along with its fourth-leading scorer, senior Amira Brown.
Familiar names, new places
Carondelet made the coaching splash of the off-season, filling its vacancy with longtime Miramonte coach Kelly Sopak, who figures to quickly turn around the Concord private school that fell off the radar last season. Might not be this spring, but it’ll probably be soon. … St. Joseph Notre Dame hired former Cal and Oakland Tech standout Alexis Gray-Lawson to take over from Brian Sato, who went from assistant coach to interim head coach when Shawn Hipol stepped away after 10 games last season because of a dispute with the school’s administration over lopsided results in league play. SJND went on to win the inaugural NCS Open Division championship and finish as the runner-up to Mitty in the NorCal Open regional. … Hipol, who coached at SJND for seven seasons and Skyline before that, has resurfaced as the head coach at Berkeley, which has a rich history in girls basketball but is coming off an 8-18 season. Sato and Hipol shared the Bay Area News Group’s coach of the year honors in 2020.
Early riser
Mia Mastrov graduated from Miramonte early and enrolled at Cal this winter. She was added to the Cal roster in January. Mastrov played in six games for the Bears, including five starts, and averaged 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. As a junior last season at Miramonte, she averaged 15.1 points, 5.6 rebounds 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game and was named first-team all-Bay Area News Group.
Will there be playoffs?
The Central Coast Section has had spring playoffs on its calendar for months. Given that it’s now OK for teams to travel beyond adjacent counties to play, the section isn’t likely to change course. The CCS playoff dates are June 4 through June 12, with the seeding meeting on June 2. Furthermore, the state CIF office has left open the possibility that there could be regional games for sections that hold playoffs, so there’s a chance the season could stretch beyond June 12. The North Coast Section, which includes O’Dowd and Salesian, has said it will not have playoffs this academic year, so its schools will finish in late May and early June.
READ MORE: Look here for FAQ about playing basketball amid COVID-19.
Players to watch
Alphabetical order
Jordan Allred, Miramonte, senior
Idaho commit averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as a junior.
Alexsandra Alvarado, Salesian, senior
San Francisco State commit, was a steadying presence at point guard last season.
Amaya Bonner, Bishop O’Dowd, junior
Named third-team all-Bay Area News Group as a sophomore.
Sydney Bourland, Archbishop Mitty, senior
Will play next season at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
Annika Decker, Pinewood, senior
Plans to continue basketball journey at Tufts University.
Silivia Fonongaloa, Salesian, junior
Coach Stephen Pezzola considered Fonongaloa the team’s MVP last season.
Maia Garcia, Pinewood, senior
Will continue her basketball career at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
Hunter Hernandez, Archbishop Mitty, senior
Overcame ACL injury to return last season, will play college basketball at UC Irvine.
Kennedy Johnson, Bishop O’Dowd, senior
Signed with UC Santa Barbara. Named first-team all-Bay Area News Group.
Marley Langi, Archbishop Mitty, senior
Her basketball career will continue at UC Davis.
Avery Lee, Menlo School, senior
Yale commit, led Menlo in scoring last season at 14.2 per game.
Makena Mastora, St. Joseph Notre Dame, senior
First-team all-Bay Area News Group last season, bound for Saint Mary’s College.
Amanda Muse, Heritage, sophomore
One of the Bay Area’s top freshmen last season.
Amelia Scharpf, Archbishop Mitty, senior
Another of Mitty’s seniors headed to UC Irvine next season.
Katie Springs, Archbishop Mitty, senior
UC San Diego-bound, was a second-team all-Bay Area News Group pick in 2020.
Olivia Williams, Archbishop Mitty, senior
UC Irvine-bound standout was first-team all-Bay Area News Group last season
Bay Area News Group Top 15
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty
No. 2 Pinewood
No. 3 Bishop O’Dowd
No. 4 Salesian
No. 5 Menlo School
No. 6 St. Joseph Notre Dame
No. 7 San Leandro
No. 8 Cardinal Newman
No. 9 San Ramon Valley
No. 10 Heritage
No. 11 Carondelet
No. 12 Oakland Tech
No. 13 Miramonte
No. 14 Lynbrook
No. 15 American