Top-ranked Archbishop Mitty scored the game’s only goal on its first offensive possession of the second half as the Monarchs edged No. 2 St. Francis 1-0 in a girls soccer showdown on Thursday in San Jose.
Senior midfielder Murphy Walsh stole the ball and passed it to forward Tvesa Vathulya, who continued to push the ball toward the St. Francis net. A couple of Lancer defenders managed to get their feet on the ball and tried to push it back toward their goalie, but it slipped past her and into the net. It was scored as an own-goal against St. Francis in the 41st minute.
“It was an excellent game,” Mitty coach J.T. Hanley said. “I’m proud of my kids the way they kept their composure and concentration.”
Mitty improved to 8-0-2 overall and 2-0-1 in West Catholic Athletic League play. St. Francis is 9-1-1 and 2-1, one point behind first-place Mitty in the league standings.
Sophomore goalie Layla Tucakovic had four saves for Mitty and center back Angie Cao also had an excellent game for the winners.
“St. Francis is an excellent team,” Hanley said. “We knew we had to keep the game in front of us. They have scored (51) goals. We pressed hard from the opening kickoff.”
Mitty has a non-league game against Homestead on Saturday, then returns to league play Wednesday with a visit to Sacred Heart Cathedral. St. Francis returns to action Saturday with a league game at home against Valley Christian.
Girls basketball
No. 4 San Ramon Valley 75, Livermore 15
Alyssa Rudd scored 19 points and Ella Gunderson chipped in 14 to lead the Wolves past Livermore. Earlier in the week, San Ramon Valley beat Carondelet 59-55, but the Wolves’ coaching staff didn’t have to worry about their team coming out flat against Livermore. SRV is now 14-2 for the season and 3-0 in the East Bay Athletic League. Livermore is 7-12, 0-4. The Wolves next play Saturday when they visit fifth-ranked Pinewood at 4 p.m. Livermore is off until Monday, when it hosts Newark Memorial in a non-league game.
No. 8 Priory 62, Notre Dame-Belmont 35
The Panthers, perhaps still smarting after a 25-point loss to Pinewood two nights earlier ended a 10-game win streak, erupted in the second half against Notre Dame-Belmont. Priory outscored the home team 37-12 in the final two periods to improve to 11-2 overall and 1-1 in West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division play. “We went to a little smaller, quicker lineup,” Priory coach Buck Matthews said. Vienn Sheng led Priory with 15 points, all coming on five 3-point baskets. Sasha Johnson, a 5-11 sophomore, had 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. Gabby Wickham, also a sophomore, contributed nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Notre Dame fell to 12-2, 1-1.
No. 16 Salesian 68, Richmond 9
Vanessa Parilla and Emma Bryant scored 12 points apiece as Salesian improved to 4-0 in TCAL Rock play. The Pride, now 11-6 overall, led 43-7 at the half. Parilla had seven steals and Emnet Goitom added five more. Salesian forced numerous turnovers against Richmond, which fell to 0-11 on the season. Madison Blue had four rebounds for Salesian.
Moreau Catholic 50, American 40
The Mariners broke open a 19-19 defensive struggle with 31 points in the second half en route to their sixth straight Mission Valley Athletic League victory without a loss. Ava Bowens led Moreau with 16 points and Elisa Ortega had 12. One game behind Moreau (10-7 overall) is James Logan at 5-1. The Mariners have already beaten Logan once this season, but the teams will play again Jan. 29 at Moreau. American slipped to 3-3 in league play but is 12-4 overall. Shirina Shi had 22 points for the Eagles and freshman Anika Batra had 12.
James Logan 64 Kennedy-Fremont 42
Iwalani Lealao had 22 points and Mauriah McHenry knocked down 16 as the Colts upped their record to 11-5. James Logan, which is 5-1 in the MVAL, led 52-27 after three quarters. The Colts will be a team to keep an eye on come tournament time. Six of the eight players who saw the floor on Thursday are underclassmen. Lealao is a junior, McHenry a sophomore. Tyliyah Miller, who topped the Colts with nine rebounds, is a 6-1 freshman. Momo Johnson, who had seven assists, is a sophomore. The Colts have won five in a row. Kennedy slipped to 5-7, 1-5.
Westmont 56, Santa Teresa 44
The Warriors built a 45-29 advantage through three quarters while improving to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in the BVAL Santa Teresa division. Lara Macian had 19 points for Westmont and Naviya Popli scored 13. Ireland Elerath had seven points for Westmont. Santa Teresa (8-7, 0-2) had a pair of double figure scorers in Dahlia Daboul with 14 points and Kaden Reynolds with 13.
Boys basketball
Alameda 54, Bishop O’Dowd 53
Jack O’Marra’s half-court shot at the buzzer lifted Alameda to a dramatic victory on the road over Bishop O’Dowd as the Hornets took over sole possession of first place in the West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division. Alameda (12-5, 3-0), which led 32-26 at the half, now has a one-game lead over the Dragons in the still young league schedule. O’Marra led the offense for Alameda with 19 points, including five baskets from 3-point range. Dylan Mann had 14 points and Sage Kopelman contributed a dozen. Bishop O’Dowd (9-6, 2-1) was aced in scoring by Kaiden Gibbs with 14 points. Josh Green and Avery Loftus each had nine for the Dragons.
No. 2 Salesian 82, Bethel 34
Salesian won its 10th in a row, this time by out-scoring the home team 52-11 in the second and third quarters. The Pride improved to 16-1 overall and 6-0 in the TCAL Rock. Its only loss occurred on Dec. 14 when it was beaten by Riordan by one point. Salesian put four players in double figures, led by Elias Obenyah with 16. Leon Powe went for a dozen, and Ronnie Selleaze and Carlton Perrilliat Jr. each had 11. Bethel (6-8, 3-3) got nine points from D’Aarion Brown.
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No. 7 Moreau Catholic 96, American 23
The Mariners appeared to be on track to hit the century mark for the first time since the 2016-17 season, but they managed only nine points in the fourth period. Earlier this season Moreau had 84 points through three quarters, then mustered only 13 points in the final eight minutes. Kellen Hampton had 26 points for Moreau, which is 13-2 overall and 6-0 in MVAL competition. Hampton scored 20 points in the first half. Jalen Thomas and Kevin Chapman each had 10 for the Mariners. Thomas did all his scoring in the second quarter. American, which is 6-12, 0-6, got seven points apiece from Dylan JaWei Lee and Arman Mahavni.
St. Patrick St. Vincent 65, No. 15 St. Mary’s-Berkeley 57
The Bruins took a 48-34 advantage into the fourth quarter, but St. Mary’s made things interesting. St. Mary’s is 13-5 for the season and 4-3 in the TCAL Rock. SPSV is 7-7 and 2-5. Christian Trusclair scored 23 points to pace SPSV. Ronald Rhymes had 16 points and Isaiah White produced a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
