 | | | Photo Kevin Nguyen
| | | | | | The Miramonte girls' basketball team had an extremely successful year. They finished with a record of 31-2. Their only losses came at the hands of North Coast Section rival Bishop O'Dowd. They lost to the Dragons in the NCS final at St. Mary's College and at the CIF Division III Northern California championship game at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento.
The Mats took on Bishop O'Dowd for the second time on St. Patrick's Day. Despite wearing green, the Lady Mats had no luck against their East Bay rival and lost, 71-50.
"Obviously there are several highlights and great moments (of the season) but I enjoyed the van drive to Sacramento before the championship game--Just being in the moment with such a great group of kids," head coach Kelly Sopak said of the final game.
Although the venue and experience made for a fun trip, the game was tough. The Mats led only one time in the game at 8-7 after a layup from senior Devon McDonald. The Dragons then went on a 14-0 run. The Mats hit three three-pointers, one from junior Carly Gill and two from senior Janine Loutzenhiser, to pull within four. However, Dragons ended the period on a 14-3 run and never looked back. The closest the Mats got in the second half was 54-41.
After the game McDonald, who led the team with 13 points, remarked, "It was difficult to take the ball inside against the tall players but we hoped to draw contact and score. The worst case is that the shot would be blocked."
In order to have an opportunity to play at the home of the NBA Sacramento Kings, the Lady Matadors had to make an earlier trip on March 13 to the state capital-this time to Sacramento High where they won, 71-64.
Sophomore Megan Reid had a monster game as she posted 14 rebounds to go with 12 points and six assists. Loutzenhiser hit six three-pointers on her way to a team high 21 points.
"I could not have asked for a better senior season. We all played our hearts out. It was an amazing experience," Loutzenhiser said.
Despite ending with a loss, the team treasured the season. Season highlights included: winning more than 30 games; finishing undefeated in DFAL regular play season; winning the DFAL championship; winning the Willits Tournament, their own Mats Tip-Off Classic and the West Coast Jamboree Emerald Division.
"The journey began on an interesting trip to Willits. It was there that Coach Sopak encouraged us to have 'the one game winning streak' that was our motto the whole season. It is a dream to get to play at Arco (now Power Balance) and that was an incredible experience," said Reid.
"We really established ourselves when we won the first Dougherty Valley game and ended their long DFAL win streak. That gave us new momentum and then we beat them again," Gill said.
Gill knew that their team had been underestimated. "It was nice to prove our critics were not right."
With only three seniors on the roster, the Mats hope to return next year and repeat as DFAL champions.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA