Girls basketball: San Marin beats Archie Williams, streaks into postseason
The San Marin High girls basketball team wrapped up the MCAL regular season with an exclamation point, shutting down scrappy Archie Williams High, 58-39, on Thursday night.
Boasting a four-game winning streak, the second-place Mustangs seem to be peaking at the right time heading into next week’s MCAL playoffs.
San Marin (18-8, 7-1 MCAL) has a first-round bye and will face either third-seeded Marin Catholic — which hosts sixth-seeded Novato on Monday — or the winner between No. 5 Archie Williams (14-10, 4-4) and No. 4 Branson at College of Marin.
Top-seeded Redwood will face the lowest seeded team left standing after Monday night’s first round. Both semifinals are on Wednesday. The MCAL final is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Terra Linda.
After losing back-to-back games against Maria Carrillo and then a nail-biter at Redwood, the Mustangs have been on a tear over their last four outings, with all key components igniting simultaneously.
“I think we’re playing some of our best basketball,” said San Marin coach Tony Butler. “There are always tough lessons from losing. We lost a couple of tough ones and these girls never flinched. They kept grinding and kept working hard. They’re headed in the right direction and we’re happy.”
On Thursday, junior guard Eleanna Schram’s relentless defense — she had five steals — finally got her offense going en route to a game-high 15 points. Junior guard Delaney Butler has finally overcome her broken hand and she knocked down four 3-pointers for 12 points.
Senior center Gianna Garbarino steadied the Mustangs’ wobbles to start the second half with six unanswered points for a 41-25 cushion that the Falcons were never able to penetrate. Garbarino finished with eight points.
Schram admits that she was in her head too much earlier in the season, but has found a new comfort zone to elevate her offense.
“I’m really happy,” said Schram. “I really haven’t been playing my best in these MCAL games. I’m happy to finally prove myself.”
Schram came alive in the second quarter with nine points to help the Mustangs pull away for good. After Archie Williams forced two turnovers to start the period and close to within 12-9, Schram spearheaded the Mustangs’ 18-0 run that proved way too big for the Falcons to overcome.
Archie was led by junior Reese Patton with 11 points. Freshman Valentina Diaz came off the bench to add eight points.
Sophomore Parker Conrad got into early foul trouble and was limited to three points. Although Conrad had an off night, Archie coach Ed Wiltz was pleased with her shot selection and believes she’ll rebound in the playoffs.
The last time the Falcons faced Branson, they played without Patton, who missed the game due to an illness. Considering Archie only lost 54-49, Wiltz believes his team could pull off an upset in the first round of the MCAL playoffs.
“We feel that if we’re at full strength, we’re happy to get another opportunity,” said Wiltz. “We need to be a little more composed. We have to start fast and stay consistent.”