Preps of the week: Marin Catholic girls cap perfect league campaign
Last week saw the MCAL basketball and soccer seasons wrap up with a slew of big performances and important results.
The Marin Catholic Girls basketball team capped an impressive undefeated campaign while the Redwood boys team prevented Branson from achieving that same feat — and taking the top seed in the playoffs in the process.
The Redwood girls soccer team also leapfrogged Branson for the title on the final day of the season. Terra Linda also enjoyed a big week, with the boys soccer team claiming a playoff spot and the boys basketball team picking up some big wins to force a play-in game.
Gracyn Lovette and Cecily Hadd, Marin Catholic girls basketball
The Wildcats capped off an undefeated league season last week with wins against Redwood, Terra Linda and Archie Williams. Lovette, the MCAL’s reigning Player of the Year, scored in double figures all three games, netting 10 against Redwood, 20 against TL and 23 against Archie Williams. Hadd scored nine against Redwood, 18 against TL and 12 against Archie Williams. MC also got double-digit scoring performances from Izzy McFadden and Madie Dayton against Redwood and by Dayton again against Archie Williams. The top-seeded Wildcats host Redwood in an MCAL semifinal at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Ains Fish and Jake Vasquez, Redwood boys basketball
Redwood went on an eight-game winning streak, with three of those victories coming last week, to finish 15-1 in league and claim the No. 1 seed in this week’s MCAL playoffs. Vasquez posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Novato on Thursday. Fish followed that up with a 26-point, four-rebound performance against Branson on Saturday to hand the Bulls their first league loss of the season. Redwood is set to host a Wednesday semifinal against the winner of Monday’s MCAL play-in game between Terra Linda and Marin Catholic.
Dylan Martin, Terra Linda boys basketball
Martin scored a game-high 29 points in a must-win matchup against Marin Catholic on Thursday. The victory kept TL’s postseason hopes alive. Martin then poured in 28 more points in another must-win against Novato on Saturday. Those results left TL and MC tied for fourth place with Monday’s play-in game set to determine the final playoff spot.
Ava Walkeryee, Redwood girls soccer
The sophomore scored a pair of goals last week but it was her second one that proved to be the most important one of the MCAL regular season. The Giants battled Branson on the final day of the season, needing a win to leapfrog the Bulls and claim the league title and the top seed outright. Redwood was in position to achieve that with a goal by Sarah Farese but Branson scored a late equalizer in the 79th minute by Carly Lowe. Walkeryee scored in stoppage time to vault the Giants back into first place. As a result, Redwood hosts Archie Williams in a Thursday semifinal while Branson hosts Tam.
Patricia DePalma, Branson girls soccer
The Bulls goalie was almost impossible to score against for most of the season, setting a new single-season record for shutouts in the process. DePalma posted 14 shutouts over 16 league games and conceded just once against MCAL opponents until Redwood scored a pair of goals on the final day of the season. DePalma, the reigning all-league first team goalie, posted 32 career shutouts in league play during her time between the sticks for the Bulls.
Chris Maldonado and Elvin Maldonado, Terra Linda boys soccer
TL’s free-scoring forwards were at their best when the Trojans needed them the most, with Chris Maldonado setting up Elvin Maldonado twice for goals in a wild 4-3 win at Archie Williams on Friday that propelled TL into the MCAL postseason. Chris Maldonado twice made incredible efforts to not only keep the ball in play, but serve it back to Elvin Maldonado in the process, leading directly to TL’s first two goals in that game.
Malcolm Zalayet, Marin Academy boys soccer
Zalayet produced a hat trick in a 5-0 win over Stuart Hall on Wednesday and scored the only goal in MA’s 1-0 win over long-distance rival Jesuit of Sacramento on Monday. Zalayet, a junior, is MA’s top scorer on the season with 13 goals to go along with three assists. The Wildcats have won 11 games in a row and will look to cap a perfect league campaign in the Bay Counties League West with games against Urban and University this week.