Preps of the week: Redwood’s D-I triumph a highlight of section playoffs

Five Marin programs took home section titles last week, led by the Redwood High girls basketball team securing the North Coast Section Division I championship at home on Friday night.

The Branson girls basketball team also brought home a first-place pennant in the D-III tournament. A trio of soccer teams — Terra Linda girls, Branson boys, and Marin Catholic girls — also won section titles. Branson and Marin Catholic ended more-than-a-decade-long droughts while TL tasted victory for the first time.

Kitty White, Hindi Copeland, and Brooke Denler, Redwood girls basketball

The Giants became the first basketball program from the county to win an NCS D-I title following a 47-46 semifinal win against Acalanes and a 57-42 championship win against Heritage. The Giants don’t get to the championship game without White’s 23 points against Acalanes, including the game-winning bucket with 3 seconds left to cap a huge rally after they trailed by as many as 15 points. Copeland added eight points and 15 rebounds in that game while Denler scored six of her nine points in the fourth quarter. The trio was at it again in the final, this time led by Denler’s 16 points and 11 rebounds. Copeland almost posted a triple-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and eight blocks. White added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Juliette Caldwell-Little and Kate Spaulding, Branson girls basketball

Caldwell-Little posted game highs of 12 points and nine rebounds as the Bulls began the week with a 40-25 semifinal win against Marin Academy – keyed by a 15-0 run in the third quarter. Spaulding was second on the team with 10 points against MA but took center stage in the NCS D-III title win – 44-36 against Rancho Cotate – by hitting a trio of 3-pointers en route to a 20-point night. Caldwell-Little added five points and seven rebounds. Ava Gordon (10 points, five rebounds) and Alyssa Huang (nine points) were also key contributors against the Cougars.

Jonah Sher, Jaya Breene, and Larry Calle LaBou, Branson boys soccer

The Bulls scored seven times last week en route to the NCS D-IV title despite getting shut out for the first 60 minutes of their semifinal against Piner. Sher and Breene combined for the breakthrough against the Prospectors with Sher launching a throw-in that Breene flicked inside the far post with a header for a 1-0 lead. Cooper Little tacked on a second goal in the 2-0 win. Branson battled Petaluma to a 2-2 tie through halftime of the final – both goals courtesy of Calle LaBou. Sher to Breene worked again for the go-ahead goal at 3-2 then Drew Holden assisted Sher for what stood as the game winner at 4-2. Mateo Trammel scored late for the final margin at 5-3 as the Bulls won their first section title since 2011, when boys soccer was a fall sport.

Ava Korich and Nora Snearly, Marin Catholic girls soccer

The Wildcats won their first section title since 2013 – when the girls competed in the spring – after Korich bent in a shot directly off a corner kick for a 1-0 victory against Analy in the NCS D-III final. MC reached that stage with a 4-0 victory against Alhambra that featured two goals by Snearly and one by Korich. Kate McConneloug had MC’s other goal. MC went the entire tournament without conceding a goal, outscoring opponents by a combined 13-0. Goalie Julianna Sokolov kept four clean sheets behind the back line of Lexi Ferguson, Siena White, Savannah Browne, and Brooklyn Blackman.

Nina Iyer, Isabelle Rossetti, and Daisy Ruiz, Terra Linda girls soccer

The Trojans had quite the week, qualifying for their first section semifinal ever, then their first final. TL had to battle Benicia for all 100 minutes of regulation and overtime but secured the first section title in program history when Ruiz scored following a corner taken by Rossetti in the final seconds of the second overtime to secure a 3-2 win. TL trailed 1-0 in the 31st minute but ended the first half with a flourish as Iyer assisted Rossetti in the 38th minute to make it 1-1. Iyer scored two minutes later on an assist by Seda Sankey.

Oliver Myers and Dom Tarantino, Marin Catholic boys basketball

The Wildcats had already secured a spot in this week’s NorCal playoffs courtesy of being selected into the NCS Open Division tournament. Still, the Wildcats didn’t want to come back empty handed after their first foray into the Open and defeated Moreau Catholic 82-72 in the fifth-place game held to help determine NorCal seedings. Myers scored a team-high 21 points in the win and Tarantino added 16 points. The victory was essentially worth an extra home game as Marin Catholic snagged the No. 8 seed in the NorCal D-I playoffs. Moreau Catholic opens on the road as the No. 11 seed.

NJ Gray and Tyler Wells, Branson boys basketball

The Bulls made it back to the NCS D-III championship game – a title the program had won three times in the past four seasons. Gray poured in 33 points against Cornerstone Christian in Friday’s final but the Bulls faded in the fourth quarter of an 81-65 loss. Gray and Wells combined for 40 points in a 70-52 victory against Brave Christian on Tuesday. Gray scored a game-high 22 points while all of Wells’ 18 points came from behind the arc on six 3-pointers.

Grant Means, Jackson Young, and Miller Morgan, San Marin boys basketball

The Mustangs secured a spot in NorCals following an 86-68 win against Alhambra in the NCS D-IV tournament. Means had team-highs of 14 points, seven assists and four steals while Young had 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Morgan had a stat line of 12 points and seven assists after leading the way with 15 points and eight rebounds in a 49-45 semifinal loss to Mission San Jose.

Penelope Lee and Navah Bailey, Marin Academy girls basketball

The Wildcats got a balanced scoring effort to qualify for NorCals for what is believed to be the first time in program history following a 54-50 road upset of Las Lomas in the NCS D-IV playoffs on Friday night. Bailey scored 12 points for MA, including making seven of her eight free throws in the second half. Lee scored 11 points in the first half and, as the point guard, helped MA keep the lead down the stretch. MA’s post combo of Sterling Colpitts and Lucy Robinson scored 10 points each.

Sanne Kostecki, San Domenico girls basketball

The Panthers are also still playing thanks to a 38-29 semifinal win against Sonoma Academy in the NCS D-V playoffs. Kostecki led the way with nine points, seven rebounds, and a block. San Domenico fell 44-37 to Healdsburg in Saturday night’s title game but Kostecki had a strong game with 18 points, six steals, and five rebounds.

George Chaput, Jack Ellis, and Dylan Chelew, St. Vincent de Paul boys basketball

St. Vincent might be located in Petaluma but the basketball team was powered by players from Novato en route to the NCS D-VI title. Chaput scored 23 points in a 58-52 semifinal win against Averroes. St. Vincent, which also got 13 points from Ellis, needed a 26-11 run in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Chelew scored 25 points in a 78-38 victory against Mendocino in the title game. Chaput added 16 points and Ellis scored 13.