Dragons prove their No. 1

In a battle of the top two teams in Northern California, Bishop O'Dowd defeated Mitty with a 51-40 victory. The Dragons were led by Duke signee Oderah Chidom who scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

Bishop O'Dowd started the game on a 7-0 run, but the Monarchs fought back and only trailed 21-20 at the half. The Dragons never trailed and eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter behind nine points from Chidom in the final session.

The Dragons had a major size advantage with the 6-foot-4 Chidom, 6-foot-2 Kendall Waters, and 6-foot-4 Breanna Brown. The senior trio combined for 29 points and 29 rebounds to form a dominant frontcourt. These three Division I commits should be almost impossible to stop in the regular season with their rebounding and low post scoring.

San Diego State-bound Ariell Bostick is a speedy point guard for Bishop O'Dowd who was able to slash to the basket with a quick first step. Bostick finished with seven points, five rebounds, and three steals in addition to multiple passes that should have been easy finishes.

For Mitty, they were without senior guards Vanessa Garner and Kalyn Simon due to injuries, but still contended with the tough O'Dowd squad. They relied on perimeter shooting as freshman Jahnay Anderson led all scorers with 17 points including four threes. The freshman was a spark off of the bench and had a deadly jump shot.

Future Brown shooting guard Emily Dinger also provided a perimeter threat with eight points that included two threes.

Bishop O'Dowd proved why the Dragons are the top team in the area, but the Monarchs should not be too disappointed with the result. These should be the top two teams to watch this year and they could very well meet again before the season is over.