Justin-Siena gains control of game with second quarter run, uses strong defense in third and trio of scorers to beat Moreau Catholic in section semifinals
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When you’re playing a solid team, the game can change with just one momentum swing.
In Wednesday night’s CIF North Coast Section Division 2 semifinal, this is what Justin-Siena did as they beat No. 4 Moreau Catholic-Hayward, 67-57, in a game played at the Daniel J. Clark Gym.
The Braves (27-2) took control of the game midway through the second quarter, going on a 10-0 run and taking a 30-25 lead after a somewhat slow start.
What changed was that Justin-Siena finally started converting their layups after failing to capitalize on some good looks earlier in the game.
“A college coach once told me that it’s funny that at all levels, it comes down to layups and free throws,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt explained. “And early on, I thought we missed a couple layups that we usually would make, and that hurt us because we could have had a little more separation than we did early in the game. We kept battling. The kids stayed positive with each other.”
The Braves delivered the knockout blow in the third quarter, holding Moreau Catholic (21-8) to just 7 points.
“I think it starts with defense, and when we’re able to shut down their main scorers,” Justin-Siena senior forward Naveena Jackson explained. “It makes it easier for us to get energy on offense, get it going, and when we get big rebounds, it lets us kind of get going in the full court, and teams, most of the time, can’t stop our ball handlers taking it down really fast.”
But maybe the biggest thing that helped them in the game was their trio of scorers with double-digit points. Leading them all in the contest was newly crowned two-time Vine Valley Athletic League Player of the Year Jordan Washington who finished with a double-double of 27 points with 15 rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots. Washington scored 15 points in the first half and made 3 of 4 free throws in the game. She also took over whenever a bucket was needed for the Braves.
“Jordan’s incredible,” Bettencourt added. “She just continues to show that she’s one of the best players that’s ever played at this school. It is so much fun to watch her. She’s such a great teammate and when we need her, she steps up. And it felt like every time we needed to play tonight, Jordan made one, and it’s just a joy to coach her. We just we just feel so lucky to have her on our team.”
After that, Lauren Keller finished with 19 points and 3 rebounds. She scored 13 points in the second half of the game and made 5 of 6 free throws in the game. She even had a wild layup where she showed what type of crazy athlete she is as she was falling to the floor and the bucket went in on an and-one. But all of this is nothing new because Keller does stuff like this all the time.
“I always say that Lauren’s actually kind of annoying, because no matter what she does, she’s good at it,” Bettencourt said of Keller’s wild athleticism. “I say that in complete jest, but it’s so cool to have her on the team. She has a knack for finding the basket. She can hang in the air, which I think is something that’s overlooked. She is able to just get up in the air and then hang there and wait for you to start going down and finish. She’s tough, she’s strong, and she’s just a joy to coach, and she was big for us tonight.”
Rounding out the trio was Naveena Jackson. The senior forward added 12 points and 7 rebounds. She scored 7 of those in the second half and 2 of 6 shots from the line. She was the beneficiary of a focused effort to stop Washington and Keller, which meant she had tons of open looks under the bucket.
“I think what’s good about having Jordan on the team is that she attracts a lot of attention, and even though she can make plays for herself, she’s also really good at like, creating stuff for the rest of us,” Jackson explained. “And I think the attention that she drew in the second half made opportunities for the rest of us, and we were able to capitalize on that.”
Others scoring for the Braves in the game were Madyson Carson (4 points, 2 rebounds), Dylan Zapolski (4 points, 2 rebounds), and Taylor Stoppello (1 point).
With the win, Justin-Siena will head to the CIF North Coast Section championship on Saturday at 7 pm at Napa High and face No. 3 seed Marin Catholic. In the other semifinal, Marin Catholic beat No. 2 University 60-53. This will be a rematch of a January 25th game where Justin-Siena won 78-59.
But it’s also a historic trip to the title game as this will be the Braves’ first trip there since 2008.
“It’s a really big moment for our program, and all the credit goes to our players,” Bettencourt said of the return trip to the title game after a 17-year drought. “They have worked so hard, they put in so much time, the unseen hours that this team puts into their game, puts into being together and being the group that they are. And when we needed it tonight, this group pulled together and got us to the championship game. I’m humbled sitting here knowing that the last time was coach Mike Boles that this school went to the section championship game. (Former coach) Marsha Niemann being in the stands tonight. Those are two coaches I just admire so much, and to know that we’re going to play in a game that those coaches coached in so many times, it’s pretty cool.”
The other thing that comes with this bid is an automatic berth to the CIF Northern California regionals that begin next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Moreau Catholic will meet University at Kezar Pavillion in the new third-place game. The winner of that game gets the final berth to the NorCal Regionals. You can view the updated bracket.
