The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders and Bonita Vista Barons have developed quite a girls basketball rivalry.
The teams met twice in Mesa League play last season, then again in the San Diego Section Division I championship game at SDSU’s Viejas Arena, then once again in the second round of the Southern California Division III regional playoffs.
The Barons won the Mesa League title, winning both encounters against the Crusaders, and made it three wins in a row on the season against Mater Dei Catholic with a 68-59 win in the CIF title game.
But the Crusaders won the one that perhaps counted the most by eliminating top-seeded Bonita Vista, 75-57, in the regional playoffs.
Mater Dei Catholic, seeded ninth, would upset fifth-seeded Mission Oak to advance to the regional championship round, finishing one win from advancing to the state championship game.
The Crusaders finished 22-14 overall to cap the 2017-18 season, including a 9-3 league record.
Bonita Vista finished 28-7 overall, 11-1 in league play.
The teams met last Friday at Mater Dei Catholic High School with sole possession of first place in the league standings on the line. Both teams entered the game with a 3-0 league records.
Mater Dei Catholic led 36-31 at halftime before breaking open a close game en route to claiming a 71-58 victory.
The win was the 10th consecutive for the second-ranked Crusaders, who since tacked on a 62-41 non-league win over Westview at last Saturday’s MLK Showdown and a commanding 71-28 league win at Eastlake on Wednesday to extended their winning streak to 12 games.
“The game against Bonita Vista was a big win for us,” MDCHS head coach David Monroe said. “They won our league last year and are a very good team. We expect to get their best shot every time we play them. I am hoping we continue to get better into the second half of league play and into the playoffs. We have the potential to make good playoff run.”
Mater Dei Catholic enters its remaining six games in the regular season ranked second among section teams. The Crusaders next play at Olympian on Friday.
Junior Marissa Sanchez led Mater Dei Catholic with 22 points in the win over Bonita Vista while senior Chloe Webb turned in a monster game with 13 points and 18 rebounds.
Sophomores Teanna Alaman and Kayana Spriggs each dropped in 13 points while Spriggs collected 10 rebounds
The Barons trailed by six points at halftime but a third quarter rush by the hosts extended that deficit to 17 points before the visitors rallied late to trim the score to five points.
The Crusaders’ veteran players admitted they were motivated by the losses to Bonita Vista in last year’s race for the league banner and in the Division I championship game.
Webb dropped in 24 points in Wednesday’s win at Eastlake as Mater Dei Catholic improved to 5-0 in league, 16-5 overall.
Bonita Vista topped visiting Montgomery, 57-48, on Wednesday to improve to 4-1 in league play, 11-9 overall. The Barons outscored the Aztecs 11-5 in the second quarter to take control of the scoreboard.
BV senior Laryssa Kure led all scorers in last Friday’s game with 23 points.
Sweetwater Red Devils lead South Bay League, Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders top Mesa League in boys basketball banner chases
Some good boys basketball is being played in the Metro Conference this year and both leagues seem to have championship races developing at the midpoint of the 2018-19 season.
The Sweetwater Red Devils, Southwest Raiders and San Ysidro Cougars have separated themselves at the top in the South Bay League standings.
The Red Devils managed to top both the Raiders and Cougars in first-round match-ups while Southwest nipped San Ysidro to move into the runner-up spot.
Sweetwater out-scored host Hilltop, 81-38, on Wednesday to tip off second-round league play. The Devils improved to 7-0 in league play, 15-6 overall, while the Lancers dropped to 2-5 in league play, 6-17 overall.
C.J. Jackson led the visitors by scoring 18 points while Julian Torres dropped in 16 points and C.J. McMillan had 14 points.
The Devils topped visiting Mar Vista, 70-29, last Saturday as C.J. Jackson collected 15 points and 16 rebounds.
Southwest tipped off second-round play with an 83-55 win at Mar Vista to improve to 6-1 in league play, 16-6 overall.
San Ysidro ran past visiting Castle Park, 114-26, on Wednesday to improve to 6-2 in league play, 16-7 overall.
Five Cougars hit for double figures. Jason Martinez led the quintet with 21 points, followed by D.J. Dudley with 20 points, Kailen Rains with 12 points, Alberto Maldonado with 12 points and Raheem Nowlin with 11 points.
Dudley, a freshman, is averaging 23.1 points per game while Rains, a junior, is averaging 22.6 points per game.
Mar Vista is 3-5 in league play, 10-10 overall, while Castle Park is 0-7 in league play, 2-17 overall.
Chula Vista, which had a bye Wednesday, is 1-5 in league play, 5-17 overall.
Sweetwater, Southwest and San Ysidro have similar records and will be out to grab top-end seeds in the upcoming San Diego Section playoffs.
Southwest won last year’s Division V championship.
San Ysidro hosts Sweetwater on Feb. 1, Southwest hosts San Ysidro on Feb. 6 and Sweetwater hosts Southwest on Feb. 8.
Mater Dei Catholic won a 67-54 duel at Montgomery on Jan. 16 in a match-up of Mesa League unbeatens to move into sole possession of first place. The Crusaders have maintained their perch on top of the league standings after defeating host Bonita Vista, 56-48, last Friday and visiting Eastlake, 69-46, on Wednesday.
Mater Dei Catholic, which topped Rancho Bernardo, 76-70, in Monday’s MLK Showcase event at Christian High School, is 5-0 in league play, 13-7 overall.
Adrian Calderon led the Crusaders with 12 points in Wednesday’s game while Jake Tawhiao dropped in 11 points and Jessie Campbell had 10 points.
Montgomery improved to 4-1 in league play, 17-3 overall, after topping visiting Bonita Vista, 79-71, on Wednesday. Kyle Paranada led the Aztecs in scoring.
Otay Ranch is third in the Mesa League standings at 3-2 (13-9 overall).
Mater Dei Catholic hosts Montgomery on Jan. 30.
Hall of Fame
Sweetwater inducted its latest class into its Hall of Fame last Saturday. Inductees included Carlos Campbell, Aaron Combs, Jim Finnerty and Spencer Mattox.
Campbell was a member of Sweetwater’s San Diego Section Division I championship team in 1990 during which he earned all-league and all-section honors.
Combs, a 1982 SuHi graduate, captured a CIF championship his sophomore year. He earned honors as a Street & Smiths All-American his senior year.
Finnerty, a 1965 grad, earned first team all-league and All-CIF honors in three sports his senior year. He earned a full scholarship in basketball to UC Santa Barbara.
Mattox, a 2014 grad, was a member of Sweetwater’s Division III runner-up team. He broke Michael Pitts’ 35-year-old scoring mark while helping Sweetwater to a 28-0 start during the 2013-14 season.
Mattox earned first team All-CIF honors and league player of the year honors his junior and senior years. He received a basketball scholarship to Northern Christian University in Oregon. He graduated this past spring.
His younger brother, Jimmy Mattox, is a member of Sweetwater’s current team.
This is the fifth year that the Sweetwater boys program has held its Hall of Fame night.
“The night was special and everyone in attendance has nothing but good things to say,” SuHi head coach Jesse Aguirre said. “This event always brings everyone back together. The community comes out and supports it also. I just love this community and school. The spirit at our school is amazing.”
Basketball Standings
2018-19 Girls Season
Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 5-0, 16-5
Bonita Vista 4-1, 11-9
Olympian 3-2, 13-9
Eastlake 1-4, 10-12
Otay Ranch 1-4, 15-7
Montgomery 1-4, 7-13
South Bay League
Chula Vista 6-0, 15-6
Hilltop 5-1, 14-8
Castle Park 5-2, 7-13
Mar Vista 4-3, 8-14
Sweetwater 2-4, 5-15
San Ysidro 1-7, 10-12
Southwest 0-6, 2-9
Basketball Standings
2018-19 Boys Season
Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 5-0, 13-7
Montgomery 4-1, 17-3
Otay Ranch 3-2, 13-9
Bonita Vista 2-3, 8-14
Olympian 1-4, 15-6
Eastlake 0-5, 6-14
South Bay League
Sweetwater 7-0, 15-6
Southwest 6-1, 16-6
San Ysidro 6-2, 16-7
Mar Vista 3-5, 10-10
Hilltop 2-5, 6-17
Chula Vista 1-5, 5-17
Castle Park 0-7, 2-17
