Wolverines capture NCS title

Fresh off the upset of No. 1 seed Monte Vista, the Deer Valley Wolverines only needed to get past perennial power Berkeley for their 1st NCS title since 2005. The game started out close, as Deer Valley led 20-16 at the end of the 1st quarter, but that was as close as it would get. The Wolverines ended the 1st half on an 8-0 run and never took their foot off the gas as they went on to win, 57-47.

After going up 35-22 at the break, Deer Valley really had nothing to worry about from there on. Berkeley was down 15 points at the end of the 3rd quarter and had to sit guard Desire Finnie with four fouls.

The Wolverines' scoring attack was led by guard Sierra Dixon who had 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Guard Maranne Johnson and center Brandy Williams added 11 points each in the victory. Alejandra Cephas stepped up huge for Deer Valley on the boards, as she ended up with 16 rebounds, including many key second chance caroms.

The reason this game was not a blowout is the outstanding play the Yellowjackets received from Jaiamoni Welch-Coleman. The standout point guard had 23 points on 7-for-18 shooting to go along with four assists.

The win, improves Deer Valley's record to a mark of 25-5. The Wolverines have never lost a road game this season as they are 10-0. It has to be a great feeling for Deer Valley to one day upset the top seed en route to winning a championship the next.

MV Makes Dream Season Sweeter with NCS Title

The Monte Vista Mustangs looked to cap off a dream season as they took on Freedom High on Friday night at St. Mary's College for the North Coast Section title game. In a game that featured an outstanding shooting performance from individuals on both teams in the 1st half, the Mustangs found themselves with a 28-25 lead over the Falcons at the half. Monte Vista would go on to take over the 2nd half as senior guards Trevor John and Grant Jackson led the Mustangs to an NCS title, beating Freedom by the score of 57-41.

John had 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting and Jackson added 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists on 6-of-12 shooting. Spencer Rust came up huge for the Mustangs as well contributing eight rebounds and four huge blocks throughout the course of the game.

As for Freedom, an outstanding shooting performance from guard Rodney Pope, who went for 16 points kept them in the game up until the 3rd quarter. After halftime, the wheels started to fall off for the Falcons. Senior Joe Mixon was given a technical foul and the feeling was Monte Vista had already won the game just as the 4th quarter was starting. Freedom senior Elliott Smith was held to just eight points, but he did have a few nice looking shots here and there.

The Mustangs from Danville will now look to their last goal of the season - to win the state title. They now have a record of 28-1 which is a Monte Vista record for most wins in a season.

"If we play like we played tonight, the state title is coming back to Danville," said John.

Now the question is, will the Mustangs ask to move up to the Open division for NorCal play? Their Coach, Nick Jones, had a simple answer, "I'm going to let the players choose. It's their team".