Girls basketball: Amborn, San Domenico rally past Marin Catholic
Two of the best players to grace Marin County’s basketball courts in the last decade were on the sidelines at San Domenico on Tuesday night to watch another all-star caliber class.
On the court, the the marquee matchup was between 2024 MCAL player of the year Izzy McFadden of Marin Catholic (7-7) and 2024 BCL player of the year and Stanford University commit Carly Amborn of San Domenico (5-9).
McFadden, bound for Denison University, hit five of the Wildcats’ eight 3-pointers on her way to a 21-point night. Amborn scored 12 of her 21 points in the second half as the Panthers were able to tip the balance late in the contest for a 55-46 victory over the Wildcats.
“Izzy McFadden is an amazing shooter, so we knew she would be a big factor,” Amborn said. “She got off to a hot start and she hit her 3s throughout the game. We were kind of keying on her.”
The Wildcats, in turn, were focused on trying to shut down Amborn, with some success early on, but seniors Tosia Konczak and Amahji Cook helped carry the load for the Panthers.
“(Marin Catholic was) focusing on me, but when teams do that, I can dish the ball off to my teammates, and they did a great job tonight,” Amborn said. “Then, you can’t focus your defense just on one player.”
The Panthers hope to carry over the excitement to Wednesday, when they travel to nearby Marin Academy for their BCL West opener.
“Marin Catholic is a great team, so this was a good challenge for us,” San Domenico head coach Dave Levine said.
The atmosphere before tipoff Tuesday had all the hallmarks of a class reunion.
“I’m excited. It’s great to be back here,” Marin Catholic first-year head coach Kayden Korst said before Tuesday’s game with the Panthers. Korst scored 2,129 points between 2015-19 with San Domenico, and her No. 11 was retired in a ceremony last season.
Korst had been anticipating this meeting since she first saw it on the schedule when she took over for Ashley Saia as head coach in the offseason.
“The way I feel before a game as a coach is exactly how I felt as a player,” Korst said. “I get the same jitters and it just heightens when playoffs come around. But now I’m the one trying to make my kids feel as prepared as possible.”
Ahead of the varsity game, Korst bonded with her former Cal State San Marcos teammate, Shasta Parker, an assistant coach with San Domenico. Parker was a three-time All-MCAL selection and the MCAL player of the year in 2018 with San Marin, where she was coached by Dan Lucia, who has been an assistant at Marin Catholic for the past several years.
“I love that we both came back to Marin to give back and to help teach another generation of girls,” Parker said. “We can be role models for these players. And I think it’s nice for the players to have a coach who is close to their own age. It’s great to see KK on the bench with Marin Catholic.”
Four players scored for San Domenico, with three of them reaching double figures. Konczak had 15 points and junior Sanne Kostecki finished with 10 points, while Cook scored all nine of her points in the second half.
The Wildcats, who were without seniors Sienna Frazier and Jocelyn Gigounas, saw some of their younger players step up with impressive efforts. Freshman Simone Claxton tallied eight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter. Sophomore Brooke Spagnuolo also scored eight points and Cece Biernat finished with seven.
Korst made no secret that her game plan hinged on slowing down Amborn, so the Wildcats rotated McFadden, Biernat, Mikayla Marsten and Spagnuolo to double-team Amborn. The Wildcats didn’t have the height to match Amborn one-on-one, but Biernat’s pressure defense held the Panthers’ star to just two points in the first quarter.
The Wildcats, meanwhile unleashed their long-range offensive with McFadden, Claxton and Biernat combining for six 3-pointers in the first quarter for a 18-8 Wildcats lead.
“I think we weren’t playing as hard as we needed to at the beginning,” Amborn said. “But once we started focusing on boxing out and rebounding, I think we were able to slow them down.”
The Panthers, who trailed since the opening minute, started to show signs of life in the second quarter. Seven points from Amborn and a pair of highlight plays from Konczak closed a 10-point gap to just three points at halftime. A trey from Kostecki pulled San Domenico even at 27 points less than 2 minutes into the third quarter.
The Wildcats rebuilt an eight-point lead, but the Panthers remained hot on their heels until Cook drilled a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game.
That ignited a back-and-forth battle for the lead down the stretch. A pair of free throws from Amborn gave the Panthers a brief 43-42 lead, until McFadden put up a shot that rolled around the rim before dropping through to restore the Wildcats’ slim edge.
Amborn drove the lane and drew a foul from Spagnuolo on her way to the hoop for the basket. The ensuing free throw gave San Domenico a 46-44 lead that the Panthers would extend in the final 4 minutes. Amborn and Konczak took turns scoring. Then Amborn, finding the path to the hoop blocked, dished the ball to Cook, waiting in the paint, who settled the ball into the hoop for a nine-point Panthers lead in the final minute.
“(Cook) was amazing today, especially at the end of the game,” Amborn said. “She did an incredible job running the floor… I thought she did a good job handling the pressure.”
Marin Catholic is set to open its MCAL schedule on Friday at Archie Williams before taking on undefeated Menlo on Saturday, one of the staunch non-league opponents on a schedule that will test the Wildcats and their young coach.
“I didn’t expect to be varsity coach so soon,” Korst said. “It’s hard, it’s a challenge, but it’s been extremely fun and rewarding. … I’ve been trying my best to get the kids who come off the bench, to get them ready and to give them confidence. I think they’ve responded well. The best teams I’ve been on, everybody’s bought in to the sam program, and I think these girls have done that.”