Girls basketball: Redwood survives scare from MC, remains perfect in league
Redwood High has been the favorite all season to win the MCAL girls basketball title, but suddenly the Giants found themselves in a catfight to live up to that mantle.
The Giants saw their double-digit lead slashed to just three points against Marin Catholic at the start of the fourth quarter Friday night before Redwood found some energy still in the tank to pull away for a 51-43 victory in Larkspur.
The win sets up a showdown between the MCAL’s two remaining undefeated teams on Tuesday when San Marin (14-6, 4-0 MCAL) visits Redwood (14-5, 4-0) with the top seed in the league playoffs at stake.
“This win keeps us hungry, it keeps us focused and locked in,” Redwood head coach Zach Borello said. “With only one game against each team in league, every game matters that much more.”
The Wildcats (5-11, 2-2) haven’t beaten the Giants since the 2023-24 MCAL championship game, and the odds were against Marin Catholic on Friday. Head coach Rachel Yarnold was missing four players, including starters Simone Claxton and Krystal Rose Huff. But with a lockdown defense and clutch shooting, the Wildcats reminded everyone that they are the defending CIF State Division III State champions.
The Wildcats held Giants senior Kitty White to 10 points, although she grabbed 12 rebounds, while Drew Schultz led Redwood with 11 points, including six during a key stretch in the fourth quarter.
“Brooke Spagnuolo face-guarded Kitty White all night, and did a great job,” Yarnold said. “The plan was to make sure Kitty didn’t score her usual number of points, and she didn’t.”
White scored 25 points in Redwood’s 55-41 victory over Marin Catholic at the LadyCat Classic in December.
Sophomore Bailie Buresh led Marin Catholic with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman Ella Hyman had 12 points. Cece Biernat added nine points.
“Bailie Buresh had the game of her life tonight,” Yarnold said. “She was rebounding, shooting, everything.”
Redwood enjoyed its largest lead of the game — 14 points — midway through the third quarter and seemed to be in control. Then Lauren Bailey lofted in a layup, Hyman hit a jumper and the Wildcats went to the line three times as they re-energized their offense. Buresh dropped in a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the gap to 38-31.
Hyman and Bailey charged onto the court in the fourth quarter with back-to-back baskets to close the game to 38-35.
“Ella Hyman is one of the big-time players who really stepped up tonight,” Yarnold said. “You could see she wanted it more than they did at times.”
After leading the entire game, the Giants were feeling the pressure in the fourth quarter. Schultz, Maddie Petersmeyer and White scored as the Giants went on a 6-0 push to create some breathing room. Schultz went to the free throw line four times in the final 3 minutes to seal the win.
“I’m happy with the win,” Borello said. “We haven’t really had a close one like that in league this season, so this was a good challenge for us. Resilience, that’s what this team is about. But this game was a credit to both teams.”