Girls basketball: Spaulding leads Branson past Archie Williams

The Branson School girls basketball program is in good hands thanks to first-year coach Kayden Korst and sophomore point guard Kate Spaulding.

Korst already has a state championship on her resume after leading Marin Catholic to the CIF Division III title last season before taking over the Bulls’ program, and Spaudling is a known talent, earning all-MCAL honors as a freshman.

Together, they have the Bulls headed to the MCAL semifinals following a 36-29 first-round victory over Archie Williams High on Monday night at College of Marin.

“We’re a young squad,” said Korst. “We’ve got a lot of young talent along with great senior leadership. It’s been a good mix. We’re excited to see where we can go.”

Next up for the fourth-seeded Bulls is a date against top-seeded Redwood on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Larkspur. Regardless of the outcome, Branson (16-11) expects to receive a berth in next week’s North Coast Section tournament.

Archie Williams (14-11) also anticipates receiving an NCS invitation. Division assignments and first-round matchups will be announced Sunday.

On Monday night, Spaulding scored a game-high 14 points and was called on to bring the ball up court against the Peregrine Falcons’ sticky press. She scored back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second quarter and finished with eight points for the period to help push the Bulls ahead 21-13 at intermission

“She’s been great,” Korst said of Spaulding. “She’s made a huge step from her freshman year. She hits big shots.”

Spaulding’s feelings are mutual as she embraces her role as the Bulls’ leader on a team loaded with freshmen and sophomores.

“I feel I’ve grown as a player,” said Spaulding. “We have a really great team and really great coaches. We’re kind of starting new, but we also have players who have been here. I’ve been able to step up this year, and it’s been a great experience for me to be able to help the team out.”

Junior Alyssa Huang added seven points for the Bulls, while senior guard Barbara Hernandez had six.

The Falcons were led by junior forward Reese Patton with eight points. Sophomore Parker Conrad had six points, seven rebounds and two steals. Delphina Dong also scored six.

Although Archie only lost to Branson 54-49 in their regular-season meeting, the Falcons never got going offensively against the Bulls on Monday until early in the fourth quarter. Peterson scored a layup following a steal, and Dong also added on a fast break.

Victoria Anderson Lynch completed a 6-0 Falcons’ run with two free throws with 5:14 remaining in the game to cut their deficit to 31-28 — the closest they managed since the first quarter.

Spaulding answered the call, scoring two buckets in a row for a 35-28 edge that shut the door on the Falcons’ comeback.

“We’re a defensive team,” said Korst. “We’ve got to get stops. We’re not going to score a ton of points. Mixing up our defenses has been great. The kids are finally locked in on every defense we have. Good defensive effort tonight for sure.”

Archie Williams coach Ed Wiltz praised Branson’s defense, but left COM disappointed that the Falcons were unable to convert from close range. The Falcons missed five breakaway layups and only got two 3-pointers thanks to Patton.

“I feel like we stopped ourselves,” said Wiltz. “I can’t take credit away — they beat us twice this year. I felt like we could have played better. We had a bunch of opportunities. And we just didn’t seize the opportunities.”

Marin Catholic 61, Novato 24

Third-seeded Marin Catholic rolled to victory over No. 6 Novato in Monday’s MCAL playoff opener in Kentfield. The Wildcats (10-13, 6-2) advance to Wednesday’s semifinals against No. 2 San Marin (18-8, 7-1) at 6 p.m. for a rematch of their key regular-season showdown. San Marin edged Marin Catholic, 46-43, on Jan. 13.