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Welcome to the home of EBAL, NCS & NorCal Champions
Monte Vista High School Women's Basketball
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KodakGallery; EBAL Standings; NorCalpreps
The three sites are currently under the Links tab on the left. Most of the photographs taken are loaded onto the Kodak Gallery (www.kodakgallery.com/mvbasketball) You used to be able to order photographs directly from them but I am not sure how at this time as they are changing over their entire system. You can just send Keith an email at HOX97@aol.com and I will email you whatever images you prefer. All teams' record and league standings can be checked on the EBAL links by Maxpreps and the norCalpreps information and gossips is also included.
Players Season Statistics
Stats are listed under team/roster tab on left. For JV, please also select Monte Vista under schools.
Senior Night
February 5, 2010
February 5 marks the evening reserved to honor the two team captains and graduating seniors Krystal Mizono and Alex Smolen. Both players were members of the fabulous JV squad of 2006-07 and 2007-08 when they went 51-2. They were also members of the 29-3 2008-09 EBAL, North Coast Section and NorCal Division I Champion team. The two young ladies are on pace to win 100 games at Monte Vista for their career !
Monte Vista 49 - Foothill 40
February 5, 2010
Unlike the NCS and NorCal winning team from last season, every win this year was hard fought and this evening's contest was no exception. The extremely young but talented Falcons has NO senior on their squad and they have been paying the price to learn how to play the game by taking tough losses. There is, however, visible improvement since the first half of the season as they challenged the bigger and more experienced home team at every turn. Fell behind 9-0 to open the game, Foothill was looking at a possible quick blowout loss. They were, however, able to battle back primarily using outside shooting and closed the deficit to 25-20 at the break including five three's in the first half. Monte Vista extended the lead to 33-24, forcing a timeout by the Foothill coaches. A two pointer plus another three again trimmed the lead to 33-29. The Falcons were trailing 35-31 to start the 4th quarter when back to back baskets by Alyssa Samia plus a three point basket from Krystal Mizono allowed Monte Vista to rebuild a 10 point advantage at 42-32. The two teams essentially traded baskets in the final 4 minutes of the game ending with the host team taking a 9 point victory. Kaylie Williams, Krystal Mizono and Alyssa Samia all finished with 12 points while Nicole Oliveira played a strong game on both ends of the court and contributing 11 points. These four starters accounted for 47 of Monte Vista's 49 points total output. Megan Craig of the Falcon led all scorers with 24. With the win, MV improves to 18-4 for the season and 9-1 in EBAL.
Monte Vista (JV) 40 _ Foothill 37 (OT)
February 5, 2010
The Monte Vista JV team lost to Foothill last month 35-30 due primarily to abysmal 5 of 23 free throw shooting. This evening, the Lady Mustangs hit 8 of 13 from the line and was rewarded with a thrilling overtime victory at home in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd. The game did not start off well as Foothill jumped to a 10-6 first quarter lead but Monte Vista managed not to let the contest get out of hand by mounting a small 2nd quarter come back to trail only by a point at 16-15 at the half. The Lady Mustangs then took a 23-18 lead in the 3rd quarter but allowed Foothill to tie the game at 23-23 at the end of three quarter. MV led momentarily at 27-24 and was tied with Foothill at 27-27 when the Falcons knocked down a three point basket with less than 4 minutes remained in the game to go back ahead 30-27. This was when Taylor Partin nailed the first of her season high three treys to bring the host team back to a 30-30 tie. She then sank another deep three from the left corner to snatch the lead back at 33-30. With Monte Vista up 34-30 with less than a minute remaining, Foothill managed to score a basket to bring the game to within 2 at 34-32. A missed front end of a one and one allowed Foothill one last shot with 6 seconds left on the clock which they took advantage of by banking in a runner as time expired to force overtime. Overtime was just as exciting as Taylor Partin dropped in another three pointer from the corner to give Monte Vista a 37-34 lead A counter basket by Foothill trimmed the MV lead to one at 37-36. A 6 foot baseline floater from Jade Montes gave Monte Vista back a 3 point advantage which was cut to 39-37 with less than 30 seconds left. A free throw by Kristin Huey secured the 199th career win for coach Steve Cornell and brought Monte Vista back to .500 in EBAL at 5-5 while Foothill dropped to 7-3. MV currently stands at 13-9 on the season.
Monte Vista 58 - Granda 29
February 3, 2010
Alyssa Samia continues her recent strong performance by leading Monte Vista to a methodical victory at home against Granada. She scored 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in not much over 2 quarters of play, dominating on both the offensive and defensive end of the court. Nine out of ten players scored in the contest marked by 7 points from Natalie Reveto who doubled her season output in one game. Angela Rigo continues to show she has deep range by knocking down a pair of three pointers. With the win, Monte Vista remains on tract to achieve 20 victories for the season with 17 wins against 4 losses, 8-1 in EBAL and five games to go. Monte Vista moved up one spot to #19 this week in the San Francisco Chronicle Bay Area Metro top 20.
Monte Vista (JV) 42 - Granada 17
February 2, 2010
A relatively easy blowout win is the perfect remedy against the tough loss at Amador Valley on Friday. Monte Vista needed it and they got it at home this evening when the team put up one of its better performances this season in a 25 point victory over the visiting Matadors. The host team limited Granada to only 17 points, one of the lowest allowed in the 2009-2010 season. And 11 players scored - led by season high 14 points from Jenn Casper and 10 points from Callie Starn who is having a renaissance second half season. The Lady Mustangs improves to 12-9 on the season and within one game of .500 in EBAL at4-5.
Monte Vista 63 - Amador Valley 34
January 29, 2010
The team came into the game knowing they have to push hard to stay focused against an 0-7 but feisty league opponent. There was a lapse in the third quarter but Monte Vista showed why they are second in the league by otherwise dismantling the host Dons scoring a near season team high 62 points. Junior center Taylor Fazio scored an amazing 12 points in the 4th quarter to finish with a season high 18 points tying Kaylie Williams for team high. Kaylie also controlled the board on both ends by snaring 17 rebounds. Alyssa Samia contributed 12 points to give MV an unbeatable 48 points from the three center forward position. If counting the 6 points from Miranda Bidwell and Sara Jensen, the Lady Mustangs front line would account for 54 of the 62 points for the evening ! Monte Vista improves to 7-1 in EBAL and 16-4 overall. Next up will be Granada at home on Tuesday.
Amador Valley (JV) 59 - Monte Vista 27
January 29, 2010
Coach Cornell suffered his worst loss in years this evening against a very good Amador Valley team. Monte Vista was held to a season low 5 points for the first half and gave up a season high 22 points to the Dons in the fourth quarter. Jade Montes and Jenn Casper led the team with 6 points each while Marissa Grant continues to go the line even though she has not been taking advantage of the hard earned charity. Ms Grant finished with 5 points but was only 1 of 6 in free throw shooting. Callie Starn maintained her offensive surge adding 4 points in an otherwise dismal offensive evening for the visitors. MV is now 3-5 in EBAL and 11-9 overall.
Monte Vista 51 - San Ramon Valley 41
January 26, 2010
Following a spirited contest against league leading Carondolet, Monte Vista found itself trying to get up against rival San Ramon Valley who are clearly motivated to upset the favorite home team. MV's leading scorer Kaylie Williams again found herself in early foul trouble and ended up with a season low 4 points against her average of nearly 14 points a game. The rest of the team, however, stepped up to make up the deficit including Angela Rigo who saw her most extensive playing time this season and responded with a pair of three pointers and season high 8 points. SRV stayed close during most of the game trailing 10-6 after one and was within 2 points at 15-13 when Monte Vista went on a 9-2 run to open up a 9 point lead at the half. The advantage at one point grew to 17 but a late charge by the Wolves reduced the final margin to 10. Alyssa Samia, Alex Smolen and Krystal Mizono had 11, 9 & 7 points respectively for the game while Nicole Oliveira added 6. Freshman forward Sara Jensen followed up her strong game against Carondolet with 4 points and 4 rebounds. Monte Vista improves to 15-4 for the season and 6-1 in EBAL. The team currently ranks #10 in all northern California Division I by NorCalpreps.com, #11 by Contra Costa Times in the eastbay and #12 in the Bay Area Metro by San Francisco Chronicle. Next up is Amador Valley on the road on Friday.
Monte Vista (JV) 53 - San Ramon Valley 33
January 26, 2010
This early Tuesday contest turned out to be the easy game coach Cornell has been waiting for. The Lady Mustangs jumped on SRV early and never looked back. Callie Starn continues to improve on her offensive productivity following up her 6 point performance at home against Livermore with a season high 10 point to lead the team. Olivia Romero also had an outstanding game with 8 points, the most output since her season high 12 points at Castlemont. Angelyn Brown also tied her season high with 6 points, again accomplished against Castlemont earlier in the new year. With the victory, MV improves to 11-8 overall and 3-4 in EBAL.
Carondolet 56 - Monte Vista 44
January 22, 2010
Early game jittery, poor shooting and stifling trapping defensive pressure put Monte Vista into a deep 14-0 hole by the end of the first half. The scoring futility also marked the first time in over a decade that the team was shut out in a quarter. The Lady Mustangs was able to put up 10 points in the second quarter but the deficit grew to 22 as the host Carondolet was able to counter with 18 points many came in the form of steals and lay ups. The lone bright spot in the first half was the play of Taylor Fazio who was effective in the paint while starter Kaylie Williams was suffering the effect of an accidental elbow to the stomach and Alyssa Samia was in foul trouble. Taylor not only defended, rebounded but also accounted for 6 of MV's 10 first half points. She finished with a season high 10 points. The second half started much like the first with Carondolet stole the inbound and went in for an uncontested basket. A much needed Krystal Mizono 3 pointer cut the deficit to 38-14 and started a gradual run towards parity on the court. The Cougars was able to claim a slim 13-12 advantage for the remainder of the third quarter although still up by a sizable 25 points at 51-26. The fourth quarter, however was all Monte Vista's. Even though Carondolet has substituted most of their front line starters at the early part of the final segment, Monte Vista was also playing with their second rotation. MV's defense has turned the table on Carondolet's bench, limiting them to a season low 5 point while scoring 18. Part of that fourth quarter run was sparked by back to back three pointers by Sara Jensen who also played tough defense using her size. Angela Rigo showed why she has the making of the next great Monte Vista point guard with flashy ball handling and quick hands. She finished with three steals, 2 assists and a break away lay-up. Credit must also go to all three starting guards, namely Alex Smolen, Nicole Oliveira and Krystal Mizono who showed tremendous poise during the game while under intense pressure. Seldom in Monte Vista's history is a defeat taken with such pride. But tonight's 12 point loss against virtually the same Carondolet team from last year must be viewed as a success and a preview of what to come in the future when one considers Carondolet's margin of victory at home last season against our State Finalist team with Niveen Rasheed was 10...
Carondolet (JV) 48 - Monte Vista (JV) 30
January 22, 2010
Monte Vista fell behind 15-0 in the early going but mounted a furious second comeback to trim the half time deficit to 24-15. Jenn Casper had 6 points in the second quarter and finished with 8 for the game. A three pointer by Jenna Cordesius from the left wing early in the fourth quarter brought Monte Vista to the closest they have come since the first quarter at 38-28 and gave hope that the Lady 'Stangs may have a chance to catch the host team. Continued turnover woes, however, allowed the Cougars to go on a 10-2 run to close out the otherwise closely contested game. Jade Montes led MV with 11 points and officially leads the team in scoring for the season.
Preview on This Friday's Away Game against Carondolet
January 21, 2010
Monte Vista has two more wins and one less loss than the Cougars. That's where the edge on paper ends. Carondolet played a tough schedule with wins over state powers such as Bishop O'Dowd, Hanford, St. Joseph of Santa Maria and La Jolla Country Day. Both Monte Vista and Carondolet had lost to Berkeley, MV by 22 and Carondolet by 7, the latter at the Martin Luther King game at Cal Monday. The Cougars, which is the overwhelming favorite to win the EBAL is also at 5-0 in league. Both Monte Vista and Carondolet allowed just over 30 points a game to their league opponents but the Cougars outscore their opponents by 50 points a game while MV managed less than 20 per win. Monte Vista struggled to beat Livermore at home 47-33 while Carondolet destroyed the Cowboys 94-29 in their prior meeting. Carondolet also has four D-1 College caliber players in their starting rotation spearheaded by 6' 2" forward Erica Payne who is rated #1 among all juniors in northern California. As a comparison, our own Kaylie Williams is rated #19 in the Norcal top 40. Senior shooting guard Ricki Radonovich has signed with Santa Clara and 6' 3" senior center Erin Boettcher will play next season at New Mexico. Potentially the best player of the group may be sophomore 5' 10" guard Hannah Huffman. Monte Vista, without Jasmine Dilworth for the rest of the season will have to play their absolute best to stay close. Come early to Carondolet and make a lot of noise. Don't forget, there is also going to be a great JV contest before the varsity game that should pitch some friends against friends...
Monte Vista 47 - Livermore 33
January 19, 2010
The first quarter lived up to the billing of a tight contest with the score tied at 7-7 and 11-11. The host Monte Vista finally broke through for a 16-13 first quarter lead after a late 5-2 spurt. 10 of those first quarter 16 points came from senior Captain Alex Smolen which included a pair of three's to open the game. Monte Vista's hallmark defense took control in the second quarter limiting the Cowboys to only 3 points taking a 26-16 lead into the locker room. Not all were good, however, as MV squandered numerous opportunities to seize a larger lead, leaving the door open for Livermore to stage a comeback. The second half indeed turned out to be a struggle as Kaylie Williams picked up her third foul early in the third quarter and her fourth early in the final quarter, keeping MV's top scorer and rebounder on the bench during significant portion of the second half. Livermore trimmed a 12 point deficit to 7 on two occasions but could get no closer as their outside shooting was fortunately off target. The low scoring affair came down to free throws and Krystal Mizono and Kaylie Williams were a combined perfect 13-13, essentially slamming the doors on the visitors. Krystal finished with 11 points while Alex Smolen had 12. Kaylie Williams added 8 and Alyssa Samia contributed 7 along with 10 rebounds 5 on the offensive end. Monte Vista improves to 14-3 for the season and a perfect 5-0 in EBAL play. On the schedule, however, is Carondolet on Friday...
Monte Vista (JV) 45 - Livermore 41
January 19, 2010
Livermore Hit a three pointer one minute into the contest giving the visitors a quick 7-0 and later 8-1 lead. Monte Vista, however, responded with a its own 7-2 run capped by a three point basket from captain Jenna Cordesius to trim the defecit to 10-8. But Livermore was able to stretch their advantage to 19-11 with MV managed to stay close partly on the strength of Callie Starn's 6 first half points as well as long range shooting from Taylor Partin who contributed a three pointer of her own late in the first half ending with Livermore ahead 23-18. Another three point basket by Livermore early in the third quarter gave the Cowboys their second 8 point lead at 26-18 but momentum shift would dominate the third quarter as Monte Vista went on a 14-6 run highlighted by two steals and breakaway baskets from the ultra quick Marissa Grant to tie the game at 32-32. This was followed by Taylor Partin's second three pointer of the contest, giving the home team their first lead at 35-32. The third quarter ended with the host team barely holding onto a slim 35-34 lead. The tight contest would extend into the fourth quarter with livermore tying the score at 37-37 and 39-39. MV would go ahead 40-39 but continued poor free throw shooting prevented them from building on the lead. Finally five out of six made free throws from Paige Southmayd would secure MV the badly needed win, improving its record to 10-7 and 2-3 in league. Taylor Partin led all scorers with a season high 11 points while Olivier Romero added 6.
Preview of MV - Livermore
January 17, 2010
Livermore is a program on the rise. Coach Gaza has turn this once EBAL doormat into a winner. The Cowboys are 10-5 on the season. More importantly, they are 3-1 in league play with wins over Amador Valley, San Ramon Valley and Foothill. Their only loss was to Carondolet last week. This is a team with good size and speed and may be the toughest opponent in EBAL outside of the Cougars of Carondolet. To continue the Monte Vista winning streak which is at eight, Kaylie Williams will have to stay out of foul trouble and the rest of the team will have to rebound better than shown against Cal High.
Monte Vista 49 - Cal 45 (OT)
January 15, 2010
With the score at 19-14 in the second quarter, Monte Vista went on a 10-0 run to close out the half at 29-14 with Alyssa Samia scoring 12 of the 29 points along with 7 rebounds. It would appear that the game was well in hand but the Grizzlies had a different idea as Cal opened the second half with a 12-4 run taking advantage of Monte Vista's inability to rebound ultimately trimming the deficit to 37-30 at the end of the third quarter. Krystal Mizono knocked down a three point basket from the top of the key at the early moments of the fourth quarter to briefly extend MV's advantage to 10 at 40-30. Monte Vista, however, would go scoreless for 4 full minutes while Cal High's Vashirin, who led all scorers with 27, scored 8 consecutive points to bring the game to a 2 point affair at 40-38. Kaylie Williams would give Monte Vista a short lived 42-38 cushion on a 13 foot jumper before fouling out only to see Cal closed the gap to 42-41. A turnover gave Cal the ball with 26 seconds left and Vashirin drove through Monte Vista's zone defense and was fouled while going to the hoop with 2.8 seconds left on the clock. Two made free throws would give Cal a stirring comeback and major upset but #11 missed the first although connected on the second to force overtime. Without Kaylie Williams, the MV offense was in disarray and continued failure to rebound made the prospect of winning their 8th consecutive game grim. This was especially true when the Grizzlies seized a 45-42 lead with just over a minute left in overtime. Fortune, however, would change quickly in Monte Vista's favor as senior captain Alex Smolen swished a three pointer from the deep left corner to tie the contest giving Monte Vista new life followed immediately by a steal and lay up by Nicole Oliviera to give the home team a lead they would not relinquish. Cal's last chance vanished as the ball was stolen by Krystal Mizono who then calmly sank a pair of free throws to seal the hard fought win improving Monte Vista to 13-3 and tying Carondolet at the top of EBAL at 4-0. Krystal would finish with 12 points to share team high.
Cal (JV) 35 - Monte Vista 30
January 15, 2010
Playing without Paige Southmayd was a huge handicap both in terms of defense, rebounds and inside scoring but what doomed Monte Vista (9-7, 1-3) in a close contest was again poor free throw shooting for the second consecutive game. The Lady 'Stangs were 5 for 23 in a 5 point loss at Foothill and was 5 for 21 in today's defeat. Similar to the previous loss, MV was in the game till the final moments. Trailing 28-23 in the fourth quarter, Taylor Partin connected on a three pointer and Marissa Grant picked off a pass on the next play and went in for a lay up to even the game at 28-28 with MV eventually led 30-29 with less than four minutes left in the contest from a pair of rare made free throws by Angelyn Brown. Monte Vista, unfortunately would not score again missing their final 4 free throws while Cal was 4 of 5 down the stretch. Marissa Grant finished with a season high 8 points to lead the team while Taylor Partin added 6 and Callie Starn contributed 4 points.
Monte Vista 57 - Foothill 40
January 12, 2010
It was obvious from the tip that it wasn't going to be an easy game as Foothill kept up with Monte Vista blow by blow taking an 8-6 lead off the first of Megan Craig's trio of three pointers. A three by Alex Smolen gave MV back the lead which grew to 12-8 only to see the Falcons retake the lead with 5 straight points again including a three. Monte Vista was able to take a 16-13 lead after one quarter but was unable to shake the home team in the second quarter. As a matter of fact, Foothill regained the advantage momentarily at 23-22 only to trail by the tiniest margin of 26-25 at the half. Monte Vista extended the lead to 32-27 in the third quarter after a pullup basket from Kaylie Williams only to see the Falcons tied it at 32-32 from another three pointer from Megan Craig. Coach Hirschman called a time out and installed a rover to trail #2. The strategy was obviously successful as Ms. Craig would not score again in the contest. Back to back three point baskets by a red hot Alex Smolen plus a lay up from Alyssa Samia all within a minute gave MV a quick 40-32 lead from where they would not look back. Reserve guard Natalie Reveto put the icing on the victory by swishing a three pointer from the right wing just before the buzzer, her first of the season. Alex Smolen finished with a career high 18 points tying Kaylie Williams for game high. Alyssa Samia also had a terrific offensive game finished with a season best 15 points. Monte Vista improves to 3-0 in EBAL and 12-3 overall.
Foothill (JV) 35 - Monte Vista (JV) 30
January 12, 2010
Based on pre-season results, Foothill is believed to be among the elite EBAL squads. The MV Mustangs, on the other hand, has been struggling with inconsistency, especially on the offensive end. The game unfolded in ways coach Steve Cornell did not expect. The defense held the powerful Falcon to only 17 first half points while getting them into foul trouble. Monte Vista went to the line 13 times against only twice for the host - but was able to connect only on 2, a fact that would come back to haunt the Lady 'Stangs. Trailing 17-14 at the half, Monte Vista was able to over take Foothill two minutes into the third quarter at 20-19 and led by three points on two occasions. Accurate outside shooting, however, gave the Falcon a slim 27-26 lead going into the final quarter. The game stayed close until a three pointer and a rebound and putback gave Foothill its largest lead at 6. Full court pressure at the final minute gave Monte Vista multiple opportunities to cut into the deficit but the visitors were unable to find the basket going 0-7 to close out the game. The loss dropped MV to 1-2 in EBAL play and 9-6 overall. Next game will be at home against California on Friday.
Monte Vista 46 - Granada 30
January 8, 2010
Granada High School had proven over the years to be a difficult place for visitors to win and coach Hirschman was mindful of it. Monte Vista was also without starting forward Jasmine Dilworth for a second consecutive game because of her knee injury. Granada took a quick 2-0 lead but that would be their first and last as the Lady Mustangs scored the next 7 points to grab a 7-2 advantage. The game was close at 7-5 with 9 seconds left on the quarter clock when Alex Smolen banked in a 25 footer from the left wing to give the visitors a 10-5 lead after one. Control of the offensive board allowed Monte Vista multiple second and third chance baskets resulting in a 16-8 second quarter advantage and a 26-13 lead at the half. Granada evened the rebounding in the second half but Monte Vista still managed to built a commanding 30-14 lead midway into the third quarter. The lead, however, was trimmed to 30-20 but a pull-up jumper from Kaylie Williams plus a killer three pointer from Krystal Mizono, her third in the game restored the comfortable advantage. Kaylie finished with 13 to lead the scoring while Alex Smolen had 11. Alyssa Samia added 9 points plus 9 rebounds, 6 on the offensive end. Monte Vista improves to 11-3 with their 6th wins in a row and 2-0 in EBAL. Foothill away is next on the schedule.
Monte Vista (JV) 36 - Granada 26
January 8, 2010
Following a disheartening loss at home to Amador Valley, the JV team showed both desire and hunger against Granada taking an early lead and never allowed the Matadors to climb back into the contest. MV was ahead 10-6 after one quarter, then exploded for 15 points in the second quarter to take a 25-15 lead into the locker with Jenna Cordesius and Paige Southmays both contributed 6 points. The lead grew to 14 in the third quarter but a 6-0 run by Granada narrowed the gap to 8. A three point basket by Taylor Partin from the right wing quickly put an end to the rally and Granada was not able to mount any threat after that. Cut lip and all, Jenn Casper returned to the starting lineup and scored 6 points, tying for game high while Jade Montes added 5 while Marissa Grant contributed 4. MV improves to 9-5 on the season and 1-1 in EBAL play.
Monte Vista 52 - Amador Valley 28
January 5, 2010
Monte Vista came out of the gate running scoring the first 8 points of the game to take a 16-4 commanding first quarter lead spearheaded by freshman forward Sarah Jensen who showcased her shooting by hitting a pair of three pointers to lead all first quarter scorers with 9. Amador Valley showed their only threat late in the second quarter when they cut a 15 point deficit to 11 with the the final 4 points of the half. The home team, however, was not going to allow its league opening night be spoiled as they seized control again with a 16-7 third quarter to go ahead 42-22 including a couple of baskets by another freshman Miranda Bidwell. Kaylie Williams again led the team with 14 points and Alyssa Samia added 8 along with 3 steals and 8 rebounds. The team improves to 10-3 on the year and will now travel to face a formidable foe in Granada on Friday.
Amador Valley (JV) 44 - MV 39
January 5, 2010
If there are any silver linings in tonight's season opener loss, they are the fact that the team did not give up and that Kristin Huey almost single handedly pulled the team out of the deep hole with a career high 12 points, all in the second half including a three pointer. The two squads were mired in a low scoring struggle with MV ahead 7-6 when Amador Valley went on an inexplicable run when every shot they put up went in while Monte Vista went into a complete scoring freeze. When it was over, the Dons were ahead 29-10, a stunning 24-3 run. Monte Vista began their come back at the waning seconds of the first half when they scored the final 4 points and closed the gap to 29-14. The second half saw a reversal of fortune with Monte Vista put on a 18-8 run to climb within 5 at 37-32 after three quarters. They were within 4 points in the fourth quarter on several occasions but was ultimately unable to completely overcome the one time 19 point deficit. Paige Southmayd, as usual, was a beast in the paint, contributing 9 points along with 15 rebounds while Jenna Cordesius added 6.
Monte Vista 46 - Castlemont 40
January 2, 2010
Playing for the first time this season without Kaylie Williams, the Lady Mustangs nevertheless jumped out to a 10-0 lead and was ahead 20-6 mid way through the second quarter and 25-12 at the half. Things started to unravel towards the end of the first half when Alyssa Samia had to stay on the bench because of foul trouble and Jasmine Dilworth who had missed the previous three games due to a foot stress reaction twisted her left knee and had to leave the game. That effectively removed the entire Monte Vista starting front line and Castlemont took advantage mercilessly and cut the lead to 33-32 at the end of the third quarter including a 14-2 run. Situation got even more precarious when captain Alex Smolen who was having a fine game hitting a trio of three's up to that point was stepped on by Castlemont's center and had to come out of the game. The guard tandem of Nicole Oliveira and Krystal Mizona had to withstanding full court pressure by the Knights but managed to keep the game under control. Alex Smolen returned to the game late in the fourth quarter and promptly nailed another three pointer to give MV a 38-35 lead after Castlemont had just tied the game at 35-35. The three point lead, however, did not hold up as Castlemont closed the score to 40-38 and ultimately tied MV at 40-40. This was when Krystal Mizono hit her third three pointer of the day from the deep right corner to push the MV lead back up to three from there Castlemont would not threaten again. Alex Smole finished with a season high of 14 points to lead the team while Krystal Mizono finished with 9. Back up center Taylor Fazio again played an excellent game starting for the injured Kaylie Williams scoring 7 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Nicole Oliveira continues her strong defense along with scoring 6.
Monte Vista (JV) 49 - Castlemont 27
January 2, 2010
This is probably the most balanced offensive game of the season. Against a depleted Castlemont team, Monte Vista was able to utilize the entire bench and fresh legs against a tired corp of 5 player for the Knights. MV jumped out to a 14-1 lead in the first quarter en route to a relatively easy 22 point victory. Olivia Romero had a season high 12 points to lead the team. Monte Vista, however, had four players each with 6 points including Jade Montes, Angelyn Brown, >B>Callie Starn and Paige Southmays. Guard Taylor Partin added 4 points and Jenna Cordesius contributed 3. The Junior varsity team, which improves to 8-4 on the season, now awaits the start of the EBAL league campaign on Tuesday against Amador Valley.
Monte Vista 43 - Antioch 41
December 30, 2009
With Alyssa Samia and Jasmine Dilworth both unavailable due to injury, 6' back up center Taylor Fazio was pressed into the starting role and showed for the second day in a row why she deserves playing time. Her length, court vision and shooting range were pivotal in Monte Vista's first West Coast Jamboree title. Taylor finished with 4 points, 5 rebounds along with a steal, a block shot and an assist. On a day when her shots were not falling, Kaylie Williams still managed to put up 21 points to lead all scorers. Freshman guard Angela Rigo also demonstrated for a second day why she is so appealing as the point guard of the future. Her quickness was clearly evident at yesterday's contest against a quick MSJ team and was on display again today against the Antioch Panthers, particularly their super swift #10. Alex Smolen also quietly had an excellent game with 7 points and 8 rebounds. One of her baskets was a soft, 19 footer over an on-rushing defender as the shot clock was winding down in the third quarter that gave Monte Vista a 2 point lead. The game was tied at 9 after one with Monte Vista taking the slimmest 22-21 lead into the locker room at halftime compliment of a 70 foot three pointer by Antioch at the buzzer. The score was deadlocked at 30 after three quarters with Monte Vista trailing at one point 35-32 in the fourth quarter when the host Panthers banked in yet another three point basket. The Lady Mustangs cut the deficit to 35-34 off a Sarah Jensen 16 foot basket and finally retook the lead 36-35 with two minutes left in the contest. Unlike yesterday, better free throw shooting, the last pair by Kaylie Williuams with 6 seconds left in the contest sealed the game and made the last second driving basket from the Panthers meaningless.
Monte Vista (JV) 44 - Moreau Catholic 42 (OT)
Monte Vista has a huge size advantage over a tiny Moreau Catholic team. Center Jenn Casper was able to utilize her size to dominate the paint giving Monte Vista early leads of 10-6 and 19-14 at the end of the first quarter and at the half. Monte Vista, however, missed the opportunity to put the opponent away while it had the chance as the Mariners methodically cut into the Monte Vista lead in the second half trailing only 29-25 after three segments. The game became a tight contest in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 39-39, Monte Vista held the ball for the final shot but a driving floater by Jade Montes was off the mark and MV had to withstand a missed last shot by Moreau to go into overtime. Returning to strategy of working the ball to Jenn Casper which gave MV the early lead, the Lady Mustangs was able to seize control in OT while limiting the opposition to no basket in the overtime. Jenn Casper, who was elected to the All Tournament Team, finished with 11 points sharing team lead with Jade Montes who also had 11 points. Olivia Romero contributed a season high 7 points along with 4 from Elyce Bayat who had a strong tournament.
Notre Dame (JV) 36 - Monte Vista (JV) 21
December 29, 2009
Unlike the last time the two teams met, Monte Vista took an immediate lead and was ahead by five after one quarter at 11-6. A mountain of forced and unforced turnovers sank the second and third quarter as the team managed a season low of 1 and 2 points respectively in the 2nd and third quarter turning the lead into an 8 point deficit at 23-15. While the game is still within reach, the fourth quarter brought little improvement as the team continued to make turnovers ending with a disappointing 15 point defeat. The 6-4 JV will take on Moreau Catholic in tomorrow's 3rd place game.
Monte Vista (JV) 37 - Arroyo 10
December 28, 2009
Without Paige Southmayd, the team took on a completely different look. Instead of relying on her dominant inside presence, the JV squad has become more balanced on offense against a clearly undermanned Arroyo team at the opening game of the Newark Memorial HS Tournament. Elyce Bayat had a long awaited breakout game sharing team high of 6 points with Taylor Partin. Jade Montes added 5 points while Angelyn Brown, Olivia Romero, Kristin Huey and Jenn Casper all had 4. Monte Vista jumped out to a 9-0 first quarter lead en route to a commanding 25-2 advantage at the half before throttling back, cruising to the season's largest victory margin at 27. Next up in the semifinal game, however, is the tough Notre Dame Belmont team that the team lost to in the Mission San Jose Tournament.
Monte Vista 42 - Mission San Jose 38
Monte Vista (7-3) moves into the Championship game of the West Coast Jamboree against the Antioch Panthers by upending the smaller but quicker Mission San Jose Lady Warriors this evening. MV fell behind 10-5 after one quarter but the defense stymied MSJ in the second quarter to take a 17-15 halftime advantage which it built up to 25-19 in the third quarter limiting Mission SJ to only four freethrows in the quarter. The defensive struggle turned into a track meet in the final quarter with Monte Vista ahead by 9 points on two occasions, the first on a 'nothing but net' three pointer from the left wing by Alex Smolen as the 30 seconds shot clock expired. The Lady Mustangs, however, left the door open by converting only 4 out of 12 freethrows in the final 3 minutes, allowing Mission San Jose to close the gap to 3 points although no closer. Nicole Oliveira led the team with a season high 12 point along with her usual stellar defense. Kaylie Williams added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Monte Vista 58 - Valley (Sacramento) 53
December 28, 2009
J. Morris, the quick guard from Valley High School gave Monte Vista all it could handle and kept the visitors from Sacramento in the game with 27 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter. The bigger Lady Mustangs led 14-5, 26-13 and 44-29 at the end of each of the first three quarters but had trouble handling the full court pressure sprung by the Vikings and the 16 turnovers in the second half (28 for the game) allowed Valley to cut the big deficit to 48-44 with 4 minutes left in the game. A 15 foot basket and 1 of 2 free throws by Taylor Fazio gave Monte Vista back a 10 point lead at 56-46 only to see it trimmed to four again at 57-53 thanks to a couple of three point baskets by Morris with less than a minute remaining in the contest. Valley, however, was unable to get any closer as time expired. Kaylie Williams led MV with 19 points with Alyssa Samia adding 13. Taylor Fazio finished with 7 points while Miranda Bidwell contributed 6. Monte Vista will face Mission San Jose tomorrow at 5:30 PM in the semifinals.
Home For The Holidays
December 25, 2009
Dani, X, Amil, Niveen, Kendyl and Coco are all back for Christmas and gathered to cheer for Monte Vista during the game against Dublin. Dani is a senior at Carondolet, Alexandria is at Cal Poly, Amil at UC Davis, Niveen at Princeton, Kendyl at University of Colorado and Coco at the LA School of fashion Design.
Monte Vista (JV) 42 - James Logan 37
December 23, 2009
The JV team improves to 5-3 with a nail bitting win over James Logan. MV led the entire contest and was up by as many as 12 points in the second half at 34-22 when it went completely cold. Logan was able to cut the lead to 34-32 but never able to seize the lead. Jade Montes was unstoppable in scoring a career high 13 points to lead the team. Jenn Casper had another strong outing with 10 points with Paige Southmayd adding 6. Monte Vista will face Arroyo in the opening game of the Newark Memorial High School Tournament at 9:00 AM Monday morning.
Dublin 50 - Monte Vista 45
December 22, 2009
There had been few occasions in Ron Hirschman's coaching career when a loss was considered a success. The 5 points defeat in the hands of the Gaels fell into that category as the extremely young Lady Mustangs over came the initial jittery and played one of their better games against a very good Dublin team that would surely be a favorite to win the DFAL. Monte Vista had 10 turnovers in the opening quarter and fell behing 11-2, 16-5 and 18-7 just to climb back in the contest with a 15-7 run to close the half trailing only 25-22. The final basket at the buzzer was knocked down by freshman forward Sarah Jensen who finished with 4 points along with an excellent overall game. MV tied the contest at 25-25 off a three point basket from Krystal Mizono and later at 27-27 at which point Dublin ran off 6 straight points including a pair of steals and breakaway lay ups. The deficit would prove difficult to overcome as Monte Vista on several occasions came within 4 but could not get closer. Krystal finished the evening with 9 points with a trio of three pointers. Senior Alex Smolen also nailed a pair of three point baskets, the last cutting the deficit to 40-36 with four minutes left in the game. AlyssaSamia led the team in scoring with 12 points. Freshman forward Jasmine Dilworth missed her first start of the season with a foot injury. Her absence was made up by the season debut of Taylor Fazio who played substantial minutes and contributed 4 rebounds, 1 asist along with 2 points.
Monte Vista (JV) 43 - Mills 40
December 22, 2009
This game was a tale of two halves. Mills applied full court pressure during the first two quarters and the Lady Mustangs had difficulties responding resulted in multiple turnovers and yet another big deficit of 24-16. Mills, however, decided to withdraw the press which turned out to be a bad decision as MV turned in an 18 point quarter including a 10-0 run to seize a lead they would not relinquish. The win, nevertheless, was not secured until the final buzzer as a string of missed free throws kept Mills within striking distance in the closing seconds. With center Paige Southmayd in early foul trouble, co-captain Jenna Cordesius was moved into her old forward position which proved to be more suited to her game as she responded with a season high 12 points. Jenn Casper also had an outstanding game tying Jenna for team high with 12 points. Point guard Jade Montes continues her consistant output with 7 points as Paige Southmayd added 6 and Taylor Partin contributed 5. Monte Vista improves to 4-3 and will next face James Logan tomorrow at 3 PM.
Notre Dame (JV) 31 - Monte Vista (JV) 23
December 21, 2009
The roller coaster season continues for the JV team. After a top to bottom good game against Gunn, Monte Vista again stumbled against a strong opponent - falling behind early, did everything possible to climb out of the hole and fell short at the end. Notre Dame's zone defense was design to collapse on Paige Southmayd who fought gallantly to snatch 13 rebounds and scored 6 points but ultimately could not carry the team to victory. Jenn Casper added 5 and Angelyn Brown and Jade Montes each contributed 4. Monte Vista will likely face Mills High School tomorrow at 4:30 PM.
Monte Vista (JV) 54 - Gunn 18
December 19, 2009
The Monte Vista JV team and coach Steve Cornell & Pat Nivens had to sit on a hard fought loss to Sonoma followed by a disappointing loss to Rodriquez for 11 days with no way of finding out the true heart of this year's squad. The team took the court this afternoon in the first round of the Mission San Jose Tournament against an unknown foe Gunn High School from the Central Coast Section and quickly showed every one in the gym that this team will contend for the title. The Lady Mustangs used full court pressure to create multiple turnovers en route to an early 13-0 lead. The team eventually settled for a relatively slim 23-11 halftime advantage but could take solace they held Gunn to only a single basket in the half and played everyone by the end of the first quarter. The defense tightened in the 3rd quarter, shutting out the opponent while delivering 17 points led by center Paige Southmayd who had 12 rebounds 3 blocks and 3 steals along with a team high 13 points. Fellow post Jenn Casper added 10 points including 6 straight to start the contest. Jade Montes continued her recent surge scoring 8 points six of which came off steals. To complete the team effort, Callie Starn and Charlotte Sedlock had 6 and 4 points respectively, all were first time baskets while Olivia Romero matched her season high with 6 points. Taylor Partin who just joined the team was immediately comfortable adding instant ball handling depth along with 2 points. Kristin Huey and Angelyn Brown had 3 and 2 points, rounding out the scoring. MV will next face the old nemesis Notre Dame Belmont at the Round of Eight Monday at 7:30 PM.
Monte Vista 58 - St. Patrick St. Vincent 34
December 12, 2009
For the second consecutive game, every active player got on the floor as Monte Vista improves to 5-2 with a convincing victory over a smaller and undermanned St. Patrick - St. Vincent team. The game was closest at 9-7 at which point the Lady Mustangs ran off with 6 straight points for a 15-7 first quarter lead and eventually built a 30-14 halftime advantage. Kaylie Williams stayed out of foul trouble and controlled the paint with a career high 16 rebounds plus 15 points while center Alyssa Samia added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Nicole Oliveira put forth another strong outing with 9 points and 5 steals while freshman forward Miranda Bidwell backed up her excellent outing against Lompoc with another strong performance with 6 points spelling Jasmine Dilworth who had to sit out most of the contest due to a nose bleed. Back up freshman point guard Angela Rigo saw her most extensive playing time this season and demonstrated why she has the tools to be the future 1-guard for Monte Vista. The team will now have a 9 day break before a tough away game with the Dublin Gaels.
Monte Vista 57 - Lompoc 32
December 11, 2009
Monte Vista rebounded from a disheartening 1 point loss the evening before with a 26 point victory in the second game of the Pinole Valley HS Tournament. Coach Hirschman utilized the entire team with his free substitutions led by Alex Smolen and Jasmine Dilworth each with 12 points. Freshman forward Miranda Bidwell also contributed a season high 8 points including her first varsity three pointer. MV jumped out to a 21-5 first quarter lead off three quick inside baskets from Dilworth and never looked back. The team improves to 4-2 and will face St.Patrick-St.Vincent in tomorrow's third game.
Aragon 50 - Monte Vista 49
December 10, 2009
Unable to reduce turnovers ultimately proved to be the down fall of the Lady Mustangs as the team took a tough one point loss at the Pinole Valley HS Tournament. Trailing by two with 0.9 second left on the clock, Kaylie Williams calmly drained a pair of free throws to send the game into overtime at 40-40. Fell behind at 40-45, Aragon's center fouled out of the contest which opened up the inside with MV scoring 8 consecutive points the last three on a three pointer by Krystal Mizono. Aragon, however, answered with a three point play next trip down to knot the game at 48-48. Kaylie Williams hit one of two free throws to give Monte Vista back a one point advantage which was short lived as Aragon's point guard was fouled driving to the basket, The pair of free throws with 5 seconds left was the difference in an otherwise tight, entertaining but error filled contest. Monte Vista's three post players accounted for 41 of the team's 50 points led by Kaylie Williams's 15 points. Alyssa Samia had 14 points and freshman Jasmine Dilworth added a career best 12 points.
Monte Vista 44 - Roadriquez 43
December 8, 2009
Alex Smolen scored a season low 1 point for the game but what a point that was ! It came with 7.8 second left in a 43-43 game with Monte Vista desperately trying to hang on after blowing a 41-33 lead half way into the fourth quarter. Alex was fouled at mid court and went to the line and nailed the all important front end of an one & one. She then missed the second shot but managed to grab the rebound and ran out the clock as the Lady Mustang escaped with a nail biter at the season home opener. Ms Smolen also handed out 6 assists along with an astounding 9 steals. Of course Monte Vista would not even be in position to win the game on Alex Smolen's last second heroic had it not received a monster game from Kaylie Williams who scored her back to back career best 24 points along with 14 rebounds to prove she is a legitimate D-1 college prospect. Kaylie dropped in 18 of those 24 points in the first half to keep Monte Vista ahead the entire contest. The lead was 25-21 at intermission and eventually grew to 41-33 on the strength of a pair of three pointers by Krystal Mizono who added a difficult floater in heavy traffic to give Monte Vista back the lead after Rodriquez tied the score at 41-41. Freshman Jasmine Dilworth contributed 5 points but provided important rebounds and defense on Rodriquez's fame 6'2" center Khristina Hunter who was held to a manageable 17 points. Monte Vista improves to 3-1 and set to play Thursday against Aragon High School at the Pinole Valley HS Tournament.
Rodriquez (JV) 44 - MV (JV) 33
December 9, 2009
The injury bug continues to haunt The Monte Vista JV squad now adding Olivia Romero to the list with a finger injury sustained in practice. With Bridget Haus also out with a knee injury, Captain Jenna Cordesius had to make an early return with her fractured digits. The quick and aggressive Rodriquez JV team gave Monte Vista significant difficulties with their man to man defense much like the Sonoma Lady Dragons MV faced Saturday at the Castlemont Tournament. Numerous turnovers made it difficult for the home team to score, particularly in the second half. After trailing 19-14 going into the break, the Lady Mustangs fell behind by double digits virtually the entire second half never mounting any serious threat against the visitors. Paige Southmayd continues to be a one man wracking crew scoring 11 points and collecting 8 rebounds. Jade Montes had her second straight strong scoring game with 7 and both Marissa Grant and Jenn Casper added 6 points.
Varsity - Alhambra Tournament
JV Castlemont Tournament
Monte Vista 57 - Healdsberg 32
December 5, 2009
Rebounding from a tough loss to Berkeley, the Monte Vista Lady Mustangs took third place in the Alhambra Bulldog Tournament with a solid 25 points win over Healdsberg. Kaylie Williams who had a tough game against the Yellow Jackets turned in a career high 19 points along with 12 rebounds. Center Alyssa Samia came up with her third double digit outing with 12 points including 6/7 from the line. With Jasmine Dilworth in foul trouble the whole game, fellow freshman Sarah Jensen competently filled in at forward with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Nicole Oliveira had her best scoring performance as a varsity player with 9 points while senior guard/forward Alex Smolen added 7 points and 5 rebounds. Monte Vista (2-1) next faces Rodriquez HS on Tuesday as season home opener.
Sonoma (JV) 28 - Monte Vista (JV) 22
December 5, 2009
Monte Vista JV (2-1) matched up against a tough sophomore and junior only team from Sonoma high school this evening in the championship game of the Castlemont Tournament in Oakland. In the absence of Coach Steve Cornell, assistant coach Pat Niven was at the helm and the Lady Mustangs put together a tough man to man first half defense and held the high power Sonoma Dragons to only three points per quarter and seized a 12-6 advantage at the half. Marissa Grant kept Sonoma's most formidable #5 to only 2 points at the break by denying her the basketball. Jade Montes had 6 first half points and finished with 8 for the game to lead the team including a couple of tough, heavily contested jump shots. Sonoma opened the second half with a 5-0 run to close the gap to one at 12-11. Jenn Casper's bank shot put MV back up by three at 14-11 but four quick points from the Dragons gave Sonoma the first lead in the game at 15-14. Monte Vista, however, answered with a putback by Jade Montes and a long two by Angelyn Brown to reclaim the lead after three quarters at 18-15. Difficulties with inbound plays and turnover under pressure doomed the Lady Mustangs as the Dragons put on a 9-0 run to open up a 6 point lead at 26-18 including the only three pointer for the game. A pair of free throws from Marissa Grant trimmed the deficit to 26-22 but the team could get no closer after that to take its first loss of the season. Jade Montes, Jenn Casper and Paige Southmayd who scored only 4 points but grabbed 10 rebounds, tied up four jump balls and intimidated opponents with her size and strength were all named to the ALL TOURNAY TEAM. The only bad news from an otherwise fun tournament is the right knee injury suffered by Bridget Haus during the first quarter of the contest who was hurt while scoring a driving basket. The loss of Bridget is significant as she is the team's first player off the bench as well as possibly the toughest member of the squad.
Berkeley 55 - Monte Vista 32
December 4, 2009
As expected, Berkeley presented the young Monte Vista team with great challenges including superior strength, quickness and general athleticism. The swarming Yellow Jackets pressured MV into turnover after turnover and out rebounded the Lady Mustangs by a ratio of 3:1, especially on the offensive end. Their guards also hit five three pointers against the Monte Vista zone and the team converted 15 of 17 from the free throw line. The result was a convincing victory that was a bit closer than the final score indicated. Early in the fourth quarter, a three point basket from Krystal Mizono cut the deficit to 43-32 but that was the closest Monte Vista was to get as Berkeley ran off the next 12 point to put the game away comfortably. Alyssa Samia led Monte Vista with 13 point while Jasmine Dilworth added 7. Kaylie Williams was in foul trouble early and had to sit out most of the first half. She finished with 5 points. The team now awaits either Healdsburg or Petaluma in tomorrow's 3rd place game at 1:00 PM.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 69 - Benicia 27
December 3, 2009
MV spotted Benicia a 5-0 lead but woke up to take a 18-7 lead after one and 35-12 lead at halftime en route to a 69-27 victory. Four players scored in double digits led by Kaylie Williams with a career high 18 points followed by Alyssa Samia and Jasmine Dilworth each with 14 and Alex Smolen with 11.
Monte Vista (JV) 36 - San Rafael 19
December 3, 2009
The San Rafael Bulldogs applied full court pressure the entire contest and created major confusion on the young Monte Vista squad which struggled to maintain control and run their plays. Twin posts Jenn Casper and Paige Southmayd used their size advantage to keep the Lady Mustangs ahead most of the first quarter. As a matter of fact, Jenn Casper scored the first 6 points for MV which held a short lived 4-0 lead. Most of the first half, however, was a defensive battle with both teams committing numerous turnovers and neither able to capitalize on the opportunities. The halftime score of 16-15 with MV up by one pretty much told the story. The third quarter, however, saw the Mustangs pulled off a 16-0 run while shutting out their opponent punctuated by back to back inside baskets from both Paige Southmayd and Jenn Casper followed by a stolen inbound pass and reverse layup by Paige Southmayd who led the scoring with 10 points while Jenn Casper was close behind with 9. Lightning quick point guard Marisa Grant and forward Bridget Haus each added 5 points. Monte Vista will face host Castlemont in tomorrow evening's semifinal contest.
Visit By Old Friends !!
November 28, 2009
Last years players Nicole Vigar and Kendyl Bachelor returned home for the Thanksgiving Holiday and dropped in to watch the scrimmage against Pinole Valley High School.
Pinole Valley HS scrimmage
November 28, 2009
Miramonte 51 - Monte Vista 40
November 24, 2009
Coach Ron Hirschman knew early on this year would be a challenge with five freshmen on the squad and no returning starter. The Foundation game essentially confirmed his concerns, particularly the difficulties against pressure defense and defense against a polished big post player. Monte Vista led most of the first half and went into the locker room with a 19-15 lead on the strength of Alyssa Samia's 11 first half points and generally good defense. MV was still ahead 31-28 middle of the third quarter when the full court pressure by Miramonte caused multiple turnovers. The Mats went on a 12-0 run with Gonzaga bound Stephanie Golden led the way with 8 points during the stretch to lead 40-31. Alex Smolen's three pointer cut the deficit to 6 but that was the closest the Lady Mustangs could come. One bright spot aside from Alyssa Samia was the performance of Nicole Oliveira who not only scored 10 points but played tenacious defense throughout the contest. Co-captain Kaylie Williams was in foul trouble most of the evening and finished with 5 points and 7 rebounds.
Monte Vista (JV) 40 - Miramonte 18
November 24, 2009
Balanced production highlighted the Foundation game for the JV squad which easily handled the Matadors at Miramonte HS. Center Paige Southmayd led the team with 9 points despite stating after the contest 'I need a lot of work in my game.' Team captain Jenna Cordesius suffered a serious hand injury but scored 7 points in the first half before exiting. Jenn Casper had 6 points while Angelyn Brown and Olivia Romero each contributed 4. Monte Vista led the entire way and was ahead 21-8 at halftime.
Scrimmage At Washington HS
November 21, 2009
No matter how deep the entering freshman class is, replacing all five starters will not be easy and Coach Hirschman knows it. Monte Vista embarked on its NCS and State Regional Title defense against a tough Division I foe and came away with a hard fought 42-38 unofficial victory with five freshmen on its roster. Playing without graduated star forward Niveen Rasheed presented a noticeable change to both the offense and defense although on Saturday, Alyssa Samia responded with 10 points while Kaylie Williams pulled down 12 rebounds to partially offset the loss. Alex Smolen also added a pair of three pointers to continue where she left off last season. Tuesday's Foundation Game against Miramontes and their GONZAGA bound center Stephanie Golden will give some gauge on where this year's team is as Monte Vista took a decisive victory last season at home with Niveen dominated both ends of the court.
Scrimmage Against Washington HS
November 21, 2009
No matter how many times a play was run in practice, it could never truly simulate game speed. The first quarter of the scrimmage at Washington HS gave Coach Cornell's team, which is filled with freshman newcomers, a taste of what it's like in a real game when the speed is ten times faster and the defenders are all around ready to put a hand in your face and push you out of the paint. The JV squad looked out of sync for the better part of a quarter and trailed 10-7 before it settled and went on a 21-0 run through the next two and a half quarters to take a commanding 28-10 lead, eventually closing the contest out with a final, unofficial score of 35-16.
The team has two more practices to work out the kinks before the Foundation Game at Miramontes on Tuesday.
Niveen Rasheed - Ivy League Rookie of The Week
November 21, 2009
After two games as starting shooting guard for Princeton, former Monte Vista star Niveen Rasheed leads the Tigers in scoring, rebound, assists and steal...
The Journey Completed - What a Ride !
March 22, 2009
So Poly won 57-33. They are an excellent team, a national power. The final score, however, does not at all reflect how close the game was for better than two quarters and how the call made 2 seconds before the half against Niveen Rasheed was the difference. Regardless, Monte Vista showed the incredible toughness and determination that made this team the best ever in the history of the school. The 2008-09 North Coast Section and CIF Northern Regional Champions.
Monte Vista is NORCAL Division I Champion !
March 14, 2009
Embassy Suites Sacramento is a lovely hotel on the river and the cooked to order breakfast from the grill was terrific. Head coach Ron Hirschman, however, did not eat. It is probably a good guess he also didn't sleep well. It was not easy to get twelve young ladies to gather at breakfast at 7:30 am but they were all there on time. For the young ladies, this was to be an exciting day but not necessarily much more. For coach, this would be the day he returned to ARCO after a twelve year absence and if it all worked out, it would be a personal landmark, a large feather on an already illustrious career cap. A recognition long overdue.
The drive to ARCO was brief but the check-in process tedious and security was tight. The NorCal Finals was a BIG DEAL ! Little needed to be said to the girls as they filed out into the bright lights of a 19,000 seat arena where LeBron James played barely 14 hours ago. This is homecourt for Kennedy Sacramento even though technically, Monte Vista is the home team with the #1 seed. Kennedy was here last year as NorCal Finalist and they appeared calm with a business as usual attitude.
The game tipped off on time and MV was visibly tight. Neither side was able to score in the first 2 minutes. The size of the arena and depth perception issue affected the outside shooting of both squads. Kennedy drew first blood on a foul shot but the Lady Mustangs went on a 6-0 run to lead 6-1 and 8-3 but Kennedy pulled even with a long three pointer at the first quarter buzzer at 8-8. The Lady Mustangs answered back with another 10-0 run in the early second quarter to push ahead 18-8 but the local team was not about to fold as Kennedy fought back to close the gap at 20-14 at intermission. Niveen Rasheed was held to only 2 points by constant double teaming and MV had trouble keeping Kennedy's Big #32 Butler from the paint who scored 8 inside points and at the same time pushed Amil Amin into foul trouble. Dani Rabago, however, stepped up huge by scoring 10 points in the first half none bigger than an offensive rebound and putback basket that stopped Kennedy's 6-0 run. In spite of the close score, everyone connected to Monte Vista knew Niveen would erupt offensively sooner or later but until then, the game was a nail biter with Monte Vista unable to score in the early going of the 3rd quarter against a tough man to man defense while Kennedy connected on a two pointer to trim their deficit to only 4 at 20-16. The spread would stay at 6 for the third period at 28-22 as neither team could control the offensive end. The tide finally turned early in the final segment when good ball movement created an open look for Alex Smolen who calmly drained a three from the right wing to give MV a 9 popint advantage and broke open an otherwise low scoring defensive struggle. Niveen added 9 hard earned points in the second half to finish with 11 but grabbed 10 rebounds and had 4 steals and 4 assists in addition to the usual suffocating defense. Four offensive rebounds and perfection from the line by Alexandria Whalen ended any hope of an upset by Kennedy who were limited to 0 point in the fourth quarter until a desperation three at the final buzzer. The final score of 42-25 sets a NorCal Finals record of fewest points allowed !
We Are Going To ARCO ! Monte Vista 68 - Lincoln 39
March 12, 2009
Both teams scored a basket in the opening minute of the NorCal semi final game. The small but quick Lincoln team then took a 6-2 and eventually 12-6 lead the latter on the strength of back to back three pointers. Just when the spectators started to wonder if this could be the beginning of an upset, Monte Vista went on a 53-8 tear to take a commanding 59-20 lead by the end of the third quarter. The bench was cleared and everyone from MV got in the last local contest as all future games in the state tournament will be held at the 19,000 seat ARCO arena. Niveen Rasheed was instrumental in breaking Lincoln's press along with scoring 15 of her game high 19 points in the first half. She also finished with 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. Alexandria Whalen was virtually unstoppable with 13 points in a little more than a half. Dani Rabago also had 13 points along with 8 rebounds while Amil Amin added 9. The Lady Mustangs will face Kennedy HS of Sacramento, last years NorCal finalist to Berkeley, in Saturday's NorCal Final. Kennedy surprised Deer Valley this evening 44-40 in overtime.
Monte Vista 53 - Sheldon 27
March 10, 2009
The game following the historic NCS Championship victory was potentially a downer. With an Athletic Sheldon team visiting from Sacramento, there were plenty of reasons for Coach Ron Hirschman to be concerned. While the game was played without visible emotion, the outcome remained the same. Even with Niveen Rasheed on the bench due to two early fouls, Monte Vista was able to secure a 14-4 and 23-9 leads at the end of the 1st quarter and at the half on the strength of the defense and Alexandria Whalen's 13 points. Niveen returned in the 3rd quarter and the lead was quickly increased to 40-15 at the end of three and the victory virtually secured. Niveen finished with a triple double including 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The Lady Mustangs will now face Lincoln High School from San Francisco on Thursday for the right to play at the NorCal championship game at ARCO arena.
By George, we did it ! Monte Vista Is 2008-09 North Coast Section Champion !!
Monte Vista 57 - Deer Valley 40 !
Erin Swete
Starting JV guard Erin Swete suffered a serious knee injury in the championship game of the Newark Memorial HS Tournament. This was the only downer in an otherwise very good tournament. We wish Erin a speedy recovery and looking forward to having her rejoin her teammates on the basketball court.
Senior Day is always difficult for it is usually the final regular season home game and many graduating players may never again set foot on the court on which they have spent a big part of their young lives. This year is particularly hard on the coaches as it represents one of the most bountiful classes in Monte Vista's girls basketball history having brought the program back to back to back 20 plus wins seasons and three consecutive EBAL titles. This class has also not lost a home EBAL game since 2006, when these young ladies were freshmen. Amil Amin, Niveen Rasheed, Nicole Vigar and Alexandria Whalen are all rare four year varsity players with both Ms. Whalen and Rasheed carry the supreme honor of four year varsity starters. Christi Beeman follows her sister's footsteps with three letters and will leave Monte Vista with the most combined JV-Varsity victories at 23-3, 27-3, 25-3 and ???. Kendyl Bachelor only saw varsity action one year but anchored two of Monte Vista's best ever JV squads with 25-1 and 25-1 record. Niveen Rasheed, whose #24 is permanently retired, will finish with the school record in rebounds and steals along with over 1,600 points.
Monte Vista Girls - Number 1 seed in North Coast Section !
February 22, 2009
The North Coast Section selection committee honored the success of the Monte Vista team by awarding us the all important #1 seed on the merit of our record and strength of schedule. MV will receive a first round bye and will play the winner of California and James Logan on Friday with the boys.
Monte Vista 64 - Granada 29
The North Coast Section (NCS) was correct in its seeding as the #1 seed Monte Vista will meet the #2 seed Deer Valley this Saturday for the section championship at St. Mary's College. Deer Valley eliminated defending NorCal Champion Berkeley from the playoff with a convincing 62-50 win at home while Monte Vista took care of upset minded #5 Granada with a 64-29 victory. The win is MV's third over the Matadors this season and earned the Lady Mustangs an automatic berth to the NorCal Regional Tournament regardless of outcome of Saturday's contest. Niveen Rasheed was hampered by fouls in the first half and Granada stayed within striking distance trailing only 28-16 at the break but Dani Rabago hit back to back three pointers to open the third quarter and the rout was on. Niveen finished with a almost routine 23 points while Alexandria Whalen added 13 including a pair of three's as well. Monte Vista improves to 25-2 on the year.
Monte Vista 60 - James Logan 24
February 27, 2009
James Logan stayed with Monte Vista for 6 minutes, trailing only 13-9, when the Lady Mustangs went on a 24-1 run primarily from 20 forced turnovers to lead 37-10 at the break. The visitors were introduced to the athletic prowess of Niveen Rasheed who dominated the first half with 21 points before finishing the game with 24 points along with 11 rebounds and 8 assists. The third quarter was nearly as lopsided when the lead grew to 56-19 when coach Hirschman cleared the bench. In addition to Niveen's 21 first half points, Alex Smolen showed why she is the team's leading 3-point shooter by nailing a trio of first half three's two were buzzer beaters at the end of the first and second quarter. Alex finished with four 3-pointers and 12 points. MV now awaits the winner of tomorrow's game between Granada and Newark Memorial in Wednesday's semi final game. #2 Deer Valley HS beat #7 San Ramon Valley tonight 57-29 and will face #3 Berkeley in the other semi final.
Monte Vista 63 - San Ramon Valley 30
February 21, 2009
The final 2008-09 regular season was played in front of a pack house at Dougherty Valley HS that witnessed the conclusion of regular season play from some of the finest players ever to don a Monte Vista varsity basketball jersey. As expected, MV jumped out to a commanding 22-8 first quarter lead but saw the Wolves fought back in the second quarter to trail 34-16 at the half. A dominant 18-4 third quarter gave the Lady Mustangs a 52-20 advantage with the game closed on an even fourth quarter. Niveen Rasheed finished the game with 21 points followed by Dani Rabago with 12. Sophomore center Alyssa Samia had an excellent game with 9 points and 6 rebounds mostly in the fourth quarter. Monte Vista finished the regular season at 13-1 in EBAL and 23-2 for the season. The team will gather tomorrow at Danny's to wait for the North Coast Section seeding outcome.
Monte Vista (JV) 45 - San Ramon Valley 30
February 20, 2009
The drama was not spared in the final game of the 2008-09 season. The favorite Monte Vista trailed 7-6 after one quarter, bounced back to take a 21-16 lead into the locker room only to give up 6 straight points and trailed 22-21 and later 25-24 in the third quarter before both the offense and defense put it together for a 21-5 run to turn a tight contest into a rout. Taylor Fazio continues her dominance in the paint this season by scoring 17 points and snatching 15 rebounds. Jenna Cordesius and Jessica Gephardt each contributed 6 points while Natalie Gallo and Kristin Huey added 4 each. Coach Steve Cornell's JV squad finished the season 11-3 in EBAL play and 19-7 for the season.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 75 - Amador Valley 33
February 18, 2009
On an emtional night, Niveen Rasheed went out to show the home crowd one more time why she may be the all time best player at Monte Vista by recoding a rare triple double including scoring 22 points in the first half, 33 for the game, 11 steals, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Amil Amin added 13 points, Alexandra Whalen contributed 9 with junior Dani Rabago adding 7. The MV squad can seal a tie for the EBAL title with a road victory against San Ramon Valley on Saturday.
Monte Vista (JV) 34 - Amador Valley 29
February 18, 2009
For a quarter, it appeared the ills from the second half of the Carondelet game carried over to the Amador Valley contest as the MV girls fell behind miserable 15-6 and eventually by as many as 18-6 before waking up to trim the deficit to 7 at the half at 19-12 by outscoring the Dons 6-1. Monte Vista cut Amador Valley's lead to 22-21 at the end of the 3rd quarter and bolted ahead to stay in the fourth primarily on the strength of center Taylor Fazio's 10 points in the quarter. Taylor ended up with 20 of the team's 34 points with Jessica Gephardt adding 5 and Kristin Huey 4. Monte Vista improves to 10-3 in EBAL and 18-7 overall.
Carondelet 60 - Monte Vista (Varsity) 50
February 13, 2009
Mitch Stephens of the San Francisco Chronicle called this game a "battle of State Powers" between Monte Vista and Carondelet. Going in, MV knew there was no room for error if they were to upset Carondelet again, this time on their home court. The game did not start out well as Monte Vista fell behind 6-0 quickly and Nicole Vigar picked up a pair of fouls within 3 minutes and had to sit. For the second game in a row, sophomore forward Kaylie Williams had to step in and again played admirably, particularly on the defensive end. Monte Vista was able to score the next 7 points and took the lead at the 2 minute mark, eventually taking a 14-12 advantage into the second quarter. Foul trouble continued to plague the Lady Mustangs with Amil Amin and Alexandria Whalen both picked up two fouls in the second quarter and had to come out of the contest. At this point, the game was a dog fight with 8 changes in lead but when star Niveen Rasheed picked up her third foul before the half and had to sit, things began to go Carondelet's way. The Cougars turned a 3 point deficit at 24-21 quickly into a 31-27 lead at the half. A three point basket at the opening possession gave Carondelet their largest lead up to that point at 34-27 but Monte Vista was able to trim it to 34-31 and a missed breakaway layup could have cut the deficit to one. Instead, the Cougars scored the next 4 points to retake a 7 point lead at 38-31 which they maintained into the beginning of the fourth quarter at 42-34. Two three point baskets by Rebecca Radonovich brought Carondelet their largest lead at 12 but Niveen Rasheed put on a one man show by scoring 10 unassisted fourth quarter points to keep MV in striking distance but cold shooting prevented Monte Vista from cutting into the lead hence ending a 12 game win streak. Niveen finished with a game leading 24 points while Dani Rabago added 11. The team will take the weekend off and refocus on the remaining game against Amador Valley and San Ramon Valley before beginning of the playoff run.
Carondelet (JV) 49 - Monte Vista 33
February 13, 2009
Every Monte Vista JV fan recognizes the importance of Taylor Fazio, primarily because of her scoring, rebounding and shot blocking prowess. On Friday, the fans also saw the extreme value of Taylor against full court pressure as she and Jessica Gebhardt teamed up beautifully to render Carondelet's press completely ineffective in the first half allowing MV to build an 11 point lead at the half at 27-16 with Taylor Fazio scoring 14 of the 27 points. The dream of sweeping all three contests from Carondelet unraveled quickly when Ms. Fazio picked up her 3rd and 4th foul in rapid succession and had to leave the game. The Cougars scored 8 straight points to trim the deficit to 27-24 before Kristin Huey gave MV back a 5 point lead with a 15 footer. The wheels than completely came off for Monte Vista as 4 consecutive turnovers including inability to inbound under full court pressure ignited a 25-2 run for the Cougars who turned a potential disaster into a rout in under two quarters. Both Taylor Fazio and Jessica Gephardt failed to score in the second half, the first time this has happened this season. The Monte Vista JV now drops to 9-3 in EBAL play and 17-7 for the season.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 55 - Livermore 22
February 11, 2009
The visiting Lady Cowboys again gave Monte Vista a hard fought battle by steadfastly refusing to get blown out. Livermore stayed within 15 points for the entire first half when Niveen Rasheed had to sit because of foul trouble and was within 20 points in the third when Niveen erupted for 16 second half points including 11 in the fourth quarter. Ms. Rasheed finished with 21 points along with 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals all for barely two quarters of play. When Monte Vista was struggling without their leader, Dani Rabago stepped with with a series of deadly jump shots that essentially prevented Livermore from cutting their deficit to single digit. Ms. Rabago collected 16 points for the game. Center Amil Amin had to sit out the game to rest her injured big toe and her starting position was admirably filled by sophomore forward Kaylie Williams. Senior guard Kendyl Bachelor contributed a season best 5 points in a strong fourth quarter. MV is now 21-1 overall and 11-0 in league play.
Monte Vista (JV) 44 - Livermore 20
February 11, 2009
Monte Vista routed Livermore at home this evening with unexpected ease to avenge last month's heartbreaking overtime loss to remain within a game of the league lead setting up a big showdown against Carondelet this Friday. MV's defense was stellar limiting Livermore to four single digit quarters. Scoring was led by Taylor Fazio with 13 points followed by 9 points from Sara Purlee who had just returned from a wrist injury that had cost her service for two games. Jessica Gephardt finished with 8 along with Kristin Huey with 4. Monte Vista improves to 17-6 on the season and 9-2 in EBAL.
Camp at Gallo's
February 8, 2009
The entire varsity squad plus most of the JV players showed up for a fundraiser camp with 7th and 8th graders along with the coaches. The gym was graciously provided by Mr. Bob Gallo whose daughter Natalie is a member of the JV team.
Breakfast at Beeman's
February 7, 2009
Monte Vista (Varsity) 67 - California 24
February 6, 2009
For the first time this season, Monte Vista trailed in a league contest when the Grizzles took a 4-0 lead to open the game. The game stayed close for 5 minutes with MV only holding a slim 7-6 lead when the Lady Mustangs erupted and went on a 34-7 run to lead 41-13 at the half and eventually coast home with a 41 point win. Nicole Vigar did her usual yeoman's job on defense but added back to back to back breakaway steals in the 2nd quarter to demoralize the visitors. Niveen Rasheed led the balanced scoring with 15 points while Amil Amin added 11, Dani Rabago 10, and Krystal Misono with 8. Nicole Oliveira saw her most extensive playing time and contributed 5 points. Monte Vista improves to 20-1 on the year with a 10-0 EBAL record. The team will entertain Livermore at home on Wednesday before traveling to face Carodelet on Friday.
Monte Vista (JV) 45 - California 41 ( OT )
February 6, 2009
The two best players on the JV squad were both stricken with the flu and coach Cornell had to use a patch work team to face the quick and determined Grizzles at home. Losing center Taylor Fazio severely affected MV's ability to rebound and in the paint scoring. Team captain Jessica Gebhardt, however, stepped up despite of her fever and single-handedly kept Monte Vista in the game. The Lady Mustang had built a 25-15 lead in the third quarter and appeared to have the game in control when Cal High mounted a major come back aided by its control of the offensive board finally pulling even at 33-33 on a long three pointer. MV retook the lead on a free throw 34-33 but the Grizzles grabbed the lead with 1:21 left on a putback basket at 35-34. Jenna Cordesius made one of two from the foul line to tie the game at 35-35 and Monte Vista turned back two offensive possessions from Cal High and actually had three shots to win the game in regulation with less than 20 seconds to go but failed to convert. A crucial 12 foot basket in overtime by Angelyn Brown who finished with a career best 8 points, big rebounds from Natalie Gallo and 4 of 5 free throws by Jess Gebhardt finally closed out the game, giving Monte Vista an 8-2 league record and 16-6 overall going into next week's showdown with Livermore and Carondelet to decide the league champion. Jessica Gebhardt finished with a season high 20 points. Jenna Cordesius also came up strong by scoring 10 points matching her season high.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 59 - Foothill 40
February 4, 2009
Monte Vista took a 12-0 lead after one quarter extending it to 17-0 before Foothill finally got on the board. The lead was at 47-20 after three quarters and the bench was again cleared with MV eventually cruising to a 19 point victory. The game witnessed another outstanding performance by Niveen Rasheed who had 17 points along with 7 steals. Senior guard Alexandria 'X' Whalen had one of her best games of the season with 14 points. With the win, MV improves to 9-0 in league play and 19-1 for the season. The Lady Mustangs will host Livermore on Friday.
Monte Vista (JV) 53 - Foothill 39
February 4, 2009
A virtual replay of the last meeting at MV, the Lady Falcons led after one quarter and came back from a 17-11 deficit to within a point at 19-18 at the half. The game remained close in the third quarter with the game within one at 23-22 and 25-24. Monte Vista, however, outscored Foothill 6-2 to close out the quarter with a 31-26 advantage. Taylor Fazio, who has been dominant lately, scored on three consecutive possessions to give the visitors a 39-28 lead which grew to 16 points late in the fourth segment. Taylor Fazio finished the game with a career best 21 points on 10 baskets with Jenna Cordesius adding 9. Kristen Huey who was given a surprise start by coach Cornell contributed 6 points along with Natalie Roveto. Monte Vista improves to 7-2 in EBAL and 15-6 for the season.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 64 - Granada 36
January 31, 2009
Granada gave Monte Vista their toughest challenge in league outside Carondelet when they played at Monte Vista and coach Ron Hirschman was determined not to let the Matadors stay close in this contest. Granada stayed competitive for a minute or two with the score at 4-2 and 6-4. But MV then ran off 17 straight unanswered points and built a commanding 23-4 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and 40-16 at the half. Granada's standout guard Katie Thrall was held to only 5 points while MV was able to substitute liberally halfway through the 3rd quarter when the game was clearly under control. Niveen Rasheed had another big half with 17 points finishing 21 for the game after playing sparingly in the second half. Amil Amin continues her resurgence with another double digit scoring game with 11 plus 4 block shots. Monte Vista improves to 8-0 in EBAL and 18-1 overall.
Monte Vista (JV) 48 - Granada 44
January 30, 2009
Monte Vista pulled to within a half game of league leading Carondelet at 6-2 by defeating the Matadors on their home court thus avenging the bitter overtime loss at home earlier in the month. MV led each of the first three quarters although Granada stayed within striking distance the entire time and finally made their move late in the fourth quarter when they took the lead at 44-43 with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. Taylor Fazio, however, was fouled in the very next possession and calmly sank a pair of free throws to give Monte Vista back the lead at 45-44. Natalie Roveto then sealed the victory by first hitting one of two free throws, then stole the inbound and fed Natalie Gallo for the insurance basket at the buzzer. Taylor Fazio finished with 17 points along with 15 rebounds while Jessica Gebhardt contributed her workman-like 11 points along with much needed ball handling while Sara Purlee continued her recent strong play by adding 7 points. Monte Vista improves to 14-6 for the season.
Monte Vista (JV) 41 - San Ramon Valley 33
January 28, 2009
'A win is a win' could not be more appropriate for this rival game at home. Monte Vista jumped out to a 13-7 first quarter advantage, building it to 15-7 at the opening moment of the second quarter but was shut out by the Wolves the rest of the half. SRV took the opportunity to trim the deficit to 15-14. Coach Steve was so distraught he declined to call any play in the third quarter only to see his team rebuild a 6 point lead at 28-22. The fourth quarter started well for MV who quickly extended its lead to 40-26 but had to hang on for a 41-33 win after yielding 7 straight points to the Wolves to close out the contest. Taylor Fazio led all scorers with 14 while Sara Purlee had one of her best offensive games with 9 points. Jessica Gebhardt also had 9 points along with 6 assists. Monte Vista improves to 13-6 overall and 5-2 in league play.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 56 - San Ramon Valley 16
January 27, 2009
This was one of those rare occasions when the girls and boys team play back to back on the same court against rival San Ramon Valley. The result was a sold out gym rocking for three straight hours. Using full court pressure, MV forced 5 turnovers in the first minutes of the contest and jumped out to a stunning 18-0 lead in the first quarter with Niveen Rasheed single handedly outscored SRV with 21 first half points finishing with 23 for the night. The early, unchallenged big lead, unfortunately, appeared to take the fire out of the Lady 'Stangs who went on to play a relatively uninspired game. The bench, on the other hand, was the beneficiary of a large lead and continued to play stout defense while Alyssa Samia came through with a strong outing scoring 9 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. Monte Vista, the 15th ranked team in California, improves to 7-0 in EBAL and 17-1 overall while SRV drops to 4-3 in League and 10-8 for the season.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 80 - Amador Valley 34
January 23, 2009
There was some concern the Lady Mustangs may have a case of the letdown after Wednesday's huge win over Carondelet. The worries, however, was unfounded as Monte Vista dominated the host team and sent the regular starters to an early shower. Amador Valley stayed close for about five minutes when the score was 14-11. MV then went on a 10-2 run to close out the quarter ahead 24-13 followed by a 17-1 second quarter to put any doubt on the outcome to bed. Niveen Rasheed, as usual, led all scorers with 24 along with 12 rebounds followed by 12 points from Amil Amin who has had a renaissance in her offensive game scoring double digits in three consecutive contests. Krystal Misono had her best scoring game this season hitting 3 out of 4 three point attempts to register 9 points while Kaylie Williams added 6 points and 8 rebounds.Alyssa Samia also contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds as a preview of next season's team.
Monte Vista improves to 6-0 in EBAL and 16-1 overall. With its 70-46 win over San Ramon Valley this evening, Carondelet broke the league tie and moves into sole possession of 2nd place at 5-1 while SRV drops to 4-2.
Monte Vista (JV) 31 - Amador Valley 29
January 23, 2009
Natalie Roveto kept up her recent torrid scoring pace with a season high 13 points and Monte Vista needed every one of them as they squeaked by host Amador Valley 31-29 after leading by as many as 8 points in the first half. Taylor Fazio had 10 points while Jessica Gebhardt added 6. The Lady Stangs is now 4-2 in EBAL and 12-6 for the season. Next up is San Ramon Valley on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 53 - Carondelet 42
January 21, 2009
The well anticipated showdown between two of the best teams in northern California unfolded in an excited packed gym under playoff atmosphere. Carondelet, the San Francisco Chronicle 2nd ranked metro team, had won the tough LaJolla Country Day tournament in San Diego in December and had two victories over Archbishop Mitty which had earlier handed Monte Vista their only loss of the season. The game was also attended by coaches from Santa Clara and Princeton along with multiple members of the media and numerous alumni players and parents. Coach Ron Hirschman has always pride himself in defense and Monte Vista started the game in like fashion with smothering defense on the potent Carondelet guards and forwards holding the Cougars to a season low 12 first half points. Not a shot was uncontested and every rebound battled. On the offensive side, Niveen Rasheed again showed why she is one of the very best players in northern California by putting up 17 points in the first half including 10 in the second quarter. Carondelet simply had no answer for her athletic abilities. The lead at halftime was a stunning 33-12 which surprised even the stoutest MV supporters. The Mustangs held the advantage in the first 4 minutes of the third quarter with a lead of 42-21 but then went scoreless for nearly 8 minutes. With Niveen on the sideline with 4 fouls, Carondelet was able to trim the deficit to 42-31 and later 48-41 but a huge three pointer by Amil Amin put Monte Vista back up by 10 and two free throws by Kaylie Williams essentially iced the game. Niveen Rasheed finished with 22 points to lead all scorers along with 11 rebounds and Amil Amin added 10. Alexandria Whalen contributed 8 points while Dani Rabago held the Cougars' leading scorer Ricky Radonovich to 8 points all came late in the contest. Nicole Vigar played her usual tough defense keeping highly touted Erica Payne completely off the offensive basket with only 5 points. Monte Vista improves to 15-1 and 5-0 in EBAL.
Monte Vista (JV) 39 - Carondelet 38
January 21, 2009
Five days after one of the toughest losses for coach Steve Cornell, his team redeems itself by upsetting Carondelet at home in dramatic fashion. After calling a time out with 5.4 seconds left on the clock, MV worked the ball to Jessica Gebhardt who missed a floater from the right baseline but Taylor Fazio grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with 0.5 seconds remaining. Taylor, who is the team's best free throw shooter, calmly stepped to the line and swished the shot to give Monte Vista the huge victory. The game started off well for the Lady 'Stangs who played with great intensity. The squad jumped out to a surprising 14-6 first quarter lead and eventually stretched the lead to 21-6 mid way through the second quarter. The team then went ice cold and allowed the Cougars to score the next 10 points including a three right before half time to cut the lead to 21-16. The second half continued with MV still stuck in a scoring drought with Carondelet pulling even at 21-21 on a three point play. MV then scored the next 6 points to push ahead 27-21 only to see Carondelet ran off with 7 straight including a three to allow the Cougars to leapfrog Monte Vista 28-27 for the only time in the game. The momentum swings continued as the Mustangs regained control with 8 straight points of their own stretching into the fourth quarter. MV led at 35-28 and later 37-31 but turnovers and spotty defense allowed Carondelet to tie the game at 38-38 leading up the final heroic by Ms Fazio. Taylor finished the game with 11 points and 12 rebounds while Jessica Gebhardt and Natalie Roveto each added 10 points. New team member Nikki St. Laurent contributed a season high 4 points in the win. Monte Vista improves to 11-6 and 3-2 in league. Next up is Amador Valley.
Monte Vista 69 - Livermore 47
January 16, 2009
As expected, Livermore was deadly from outside the three point arc as the Cowboys showed why they are the only team to have led Carondelet after one quarter by nailing nine three pointers against Monte Vista. MV, however, never trailed in the contest on the strength of Niveen Rasheed who scored a season high 25 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, 10 on the offensive side. Amil Amin also broke out of her season long slump by scoring 16 points while Alexandria Whalen added 9. The Mustangs now await the show down with Carondelet next Wednesday while improving their record to 14-1, 4-0
Livermore (JV) 53 - Monte Vista 48 OT
January 16, 2009
Coach Steve Cornell calls this his more disheartening loss in years after squandering commanding leads with the game winding down and the win apparently in hand. MV led 22-15 at the half and 32-26 after three quarters. As a matter of fact, Monte Vista was leading 42-37 with under a minute left with the ball. In stead of using the clock, the ball was turned over after an ill advised shot, allowing Livermore to score and cut MV's lead to three. The Lady Stangs still had a 3 point lead with 6 seconds left but the Cowboys nailed a last second three pointer to send the game into overtime and Monte Vista never recovered from there. After back to back 25-1 seasons and 24 consecutive league wins, Monte Vista is now 10-6 and 2-2 in league while Livermore improves to 4-0. Jessica Gebhardt had another outstanding offensive game with 16 points and 7 assists but missed on both free throws late in the game that might have given Monte Vista an insurmountable lead. Taylor Fazio and Natalie Roveto each added 8 points.
Monte Vista ( Varsity ) 69 - California High 28
January 14, 2009
The new California High coaching staff threw one of its best teams in recent years at Monte Vista and was competitive for most of the first quarter trailing only 10-7 when the visiting Mustangs reeled off 25 consecutive points led by the incomparable Niveen Rasheed who had 16 points in the first half along with 8 rebounds. Niveen finished with 20 points, 8 assists and 4 steals in just under 3 quarters of work. California High did not go away quietly as they mounted a small run in the beginning of the third quarter to trim Monte Vista's lead to 41-23 but the Mustangs answered back with a 17-0 run of their own to effectively put the game out of reach. Alexandria 'X' Whalen had one of her best offensive games this season with 15 points while Dani Rabago added 14. MV improves to 13-1 on the season and 3-0 in EBAL. Livermore is next on the schedule prior to the big, much anticipated showdown with Carondelet.
Monte Vista (JV) 52 - Cal 44
January 14, 2009
The Monte Vista JV team continues to baffle coach Steve Cornell with its inability to put together a complete game. The team opened the contest with an uninspiring first quarter, trailing the underdog Grizzlies 14-10 amongst a partisan Cal High crowd. The Lady 'Stang, however, bounced back on cue with an impressive second quarter when it scored 18 points while limiting Cal High to only 7, turning a 4 point first quarter deficit into a 7 point half time lead. The lead grew to 12 in the third quarter on three occasions but the team had 5 minutes of collapse in the fourth quarter allowing the host team to come within 5 twice. MV, nevertheless, closed out the game on a couple of Taylor Fazio's baskets. Taylor finished with a season high 17 points. Natalie Gallo also had a season high 11 points along with 6 points from Sarah Purlee . An unexpected offensive contributor was Angelyn Brown who scored 5 points including her first three pointer of the season. Monte Vista is now 10-5 for the season and 2-1 in EBAL. Next up is Livermore.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 61 - Foothill 35
January 9, 2009
Niveen Rasheed held the ball for a last shot near halftime and easily nailed a 15 footer with 6 seconds left on the clock then picked the ball clean off the Foothill point guard for a lay in at the buzzer. That was an example of the absolute dominance she had against the Foothill Falcons scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds along with 4 assists and 4 steals in the first half alone as Monte Vista built a 14 point first quarter and 19 point first half lead. The lead exploded to 54-17 after three quarters when coach Hirschman emptied the bench. Dani Rabago had 11 points and Alex Smollen added a pair of three pointers. Amil Amin had 10 rebounds along with 6 points after a hand injury limited her playing against Granada. Monte Vista improves to 12-1 for the year and will travel to California on Wednesday.
Monte Vista (JV) 40 - Foothill 23
January 9, 2009
For two and a half quarters, coach Steve Cornell was living a nightmare. After dropping the season opener to Granada Wednesday evening, the JV squad appeared to be embarking on another upset loss to underdog Foothill. An early 5-0 lead disappeared when the Lady 'Stangs started playing uninspired basketball ultimately allowing the Falcons to come back and eventually taking a 16-14 lead into the locker room. The game was tied at 18-18 3 minutes into the third quarter when MV sudden woke up and scored the next 8 points in rapid succession and finished the 3rd quarter outscoring Foothill 17-4. Foothill was limited to 3 points in the fourth quarter and never managed to mount any come back. Jess Gebhardt had another big game scoring 17 points to lead all players. Taylor Fazio added 8 points and 12 rebounds. Monte Vista JV improves to 9-5 on the year and 1-1 in league. Next up is California in San Ramon.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 46 - Granada 33
January 7, 2009
Most pundits expect the EBAL title to belong to either Monte Vista or Carondelet. They are hence forgetting a very good Granada team capable of upsetting the favorites on any given night. The 2008-09 season opener pitched MV against the Matadors at home and Granada showed why they should not be under-estimated by battling the Lady 'Stangs from opening tip till the very end. Monte Vista built a hard fought 8 point lead after one quarter at 14-6 but was unable to pull ahead further with Granada trimming the deficit to 16-12 and 18-14 in the first half and stayed within 10 points for much of the second half. Niveen Rasheed again was the difference. She not only put on a tight clamp on Granada's best player Katie Thralls but also dominated the score board by putting down 19 in an otherwise low scoring affair. The game was not secured until Alex Smollen knocked down her second three of the evening to widen the lead to 13. Dani Rabago and Alexandria Whalen both had strong game defensively as well as contributing 9 and 8 points respectively. The 11-1 Mustangs will host Foothill this Friday.
Granada (JV) 40 - Monte Vista 33
January 7, 2009
After four straight victories, Monte Vista (8-5) stumbled at home against a good Granada squad. The game was close early with the Matadors led 13-12 after one quarter and the teams tied 20-20 at the half. Jessica Gebhardt was virtually unstoppable scoring 10 points in the first quarter to keep MV within striking distance. Defensive lapses by MV allowed Granada to seize control of the game in the fourth building its biggest lead to 35-28. Jessica Gehardt dropped in a three pointer with 2:30 left in the game to bring Monte Vista to within 4 at 35-31. Three successive possessions without scoring doomed the home team as Granada clinched its victory from the free throw line when Monte Vista was forced to foul. Ms. Gebhardt finished with a season high 19 points while Taylor Fazio added 6.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 71 - Castlemont 37
January 4, 2009
Monte Vista rebounded from the loss to Mitty and interrupted game against Wilcox by pounding Castlemont, avenging a bitter defeat last season at Castlemont. MV jumped out to a 15-5 and 36-17 lead and never looked back. Niveen Rasheed again put in a workman-like 19 point performance in under three quarters of play along with 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Alyssa Samia scored 8, all in the second half. This was her highest offensive output since her 12 points performance in the season opener against College Park. Center Amil Amin and forward Kaylie Williams both had an outstanding game scoring 8 and 7 points respectively each also pulled down multiple offensive and defensive rebounds. In all, 11 out of 12 players scored for Monte Vista which improves to 10-1 for the season. Granada now awaits on Wednesday in both teams' season opener.
Monte Vista (JV) 29 - Castlemont 26
January 3, 2009
It was far from pretty but a win is a win. The Monte Vista JV squad slugged out a fast pace although low scoring win against the Knights to improve to 8-4. This is the team's fourth straight victory since the loss at home to Campolindo. MV won the first three quarters albeit barely to lead 26-21. The Lady Mustangs managed only 3 points in the fourth quarter including three blown layups but Castlemont connected on only 1 basket out of the last 13 shots to essentially hand Monte Vista the win. Jessica Gehardt led MV with 7 points and Jenna Cordesius had 6. Both Elli Hatton and Taylor Fazio contributed 4 points. League play begins on Wednesday against Granada.
Monte Vista (JV) 41 - Notre Dame Belmont 38
December 31, 2008
Trailing by 8 points following back to back ND three's with less than 5 minutes left in the game, Monte Vista fought back and won the Newark Memorial HS Tournament in a stirring come back on the strength of Jessica Gehardt's performance. Ms Gehardt scored a season high 18 points and was awarded the well deserved Tournament MVP. Taylor Fazio was name to the All Tournament Team again along with teammate Natalie Roveto. MV (7-4) has now won three consecutive games following a disheartening loss at home to Campolindo.
Archbishop Mitty 57 - Monte Vista 48
December 30, 2008
Mitty handed Monte Vista its first loss of the season in the semi final of the New Year Tournament. The Monarch was 7 of 9 from the three point arc in the first half essentially shooting Monte Vista out of its zone thus opening the inside for their huge 6'4", 6'4", 6'3" and 6'2" front line. Mitty led by 13 at the half and was ahead by as many as 16 in the fourth at 44-28 when MV put on a 13-4 run including a three from the right corner by Alex Smolen followed by a reverse lay up from Niveen Rasheed to trim Mitty's lead to 7 at 48-41. MV had two opportunities to cut the lead further but failed to connect on consecutive three point shots. Mitty defended Niveen by constantly trailing her with a guard and double team each time she crossed mid court. In spite of the designed defense against her, Niveen still managed to lead all scorers with 17 points along with 9 rebounds. Dani Rabago kept MV in the hunt by nailing a career high four three's while Alex Smolen finished with a season high 9 points. The 9-1 Mustangs will face another tough foe in Wilcox HS tomorrow at 5PM in the 3rd place game.
Monte Vista (JV) 43 - Arroyo 17
December 30, 2008
The Monte Vista JV squad (6-4 won the semi final game at the Newark Memorial HS Tournament over Arroyo rather handily to advance into tomorrow's championship game against an old foe from the West Catholic Athletic League - Notre Dame Belmont. Jessica Gehardt again led Monte Vista in scoring with 12 points. This is her 6th consecutive double digit scoring game complemented by 10 points from Taylor Fazio, 8 points from Natalie Roveto and 5 points from Jenna Cordesius.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 61 - Davis Senior 19
December 28, 2008
The opening game of the Archbishop Mitty Tournament pitches #4 seed Monte Vista with Niveen Rasheed against #5 seed Davis Senior High and its 6'1" star shooting guard Nikol Allison. The game was a low scoring affair in the first quarter with MV edged ahead 12-7 after one quarter. Monte Vista couldn't take advantage of Davis' cold shooting, managing only a 19-9 lead late in the second quarter when Niveen Rasheed again showed why she is the premier player in northern California by scoring 8 consecutive points in rapid succession sandwiching a basket by Alexandria Whalen to give the Lady Mustangs a 29-9 cushion. The lead grew to 35-10 at the half and 55-16 after 3 quarters even with liberal substitutions. Niveen finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. Dani Rabago continues her exceptional performance this breakout season by scoring 12 to complement Whalen's 10 points. The win places Monte Vista (9-0) into the semi final game against host and perennial power house Mitty (7-3) on Monday.
Monte Vista (JV) 45 - Castro Valley 37
December 28, 2008
The JV shook off the rust from a long holiday break to defeat Castro Valley to move into the semi final round of the Newark Memorial HS Tournament. Monte Vista actually trailed 10-4 after one quarter, led by 21-16 at the half and barely ahead 31-28 after 3 quarters but seize control at the final segment for an 8 point victory. Natalie Gallo had a terrific game with 9 points including 3 for 3 from the free throw line. Jessica Gehardt led the team with 10 along with Jenna Cordesius and Taylor Fazio each contributing 9 points. Natalie Roveto rounded out the scoring with 8. Monte Vista improves to 5-4 on the year.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 66 - South High (Torrence) 46
December 24, 2008
A small, quick team with a big post from southern California gave Monte Vista all it could handle for over two and a half quarters. Sharp outside shooting from their point guard and dominant center play created unexpected match up problems for the Lady Mustangs for the first time this season. The 6'1" left handed post scored 10 points in the first quarter along with 5 offensive rebounds while the little guard nailed a pair of first half three's to keep South High in the game despite an otherwise overwhelming size advantage for Monte Vista. The game was tied at 2-2, 6-6 and 21-21 with MV eventually took a hard fought 29-25 lead into the break. South High trimmed the lead to 29-27 in the opening seconds of the 3rd quarter but MV scored the next 4 points to open up their largest lead in the game at 33-27. The lead grew to 12 after 3 quarters primary on the shooting of Dani Rebago and immense athleticism of Niveen Rasheed who on two back to back South High possessions stole the ball right out of the opposing gaurd's dribble and went in for lay ups while being fouled each time. Monte Vista survived a frantic full court press by the squad from Torrence in the fourth quarter and converted the final 11 free throws to turn a close contest into a semi blowout. Niveen Rasheed again led the game with 21 points while Dani Rabagohad her second 18 point games in three days, matchinh her season high. Monte Vista will take its 8-0 record into this weekend's Mitty Tournament where regionally ranked teams from Archbishop Mitty, Wilcox and Oakridge await.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 48 - Colony HS (Alaska) 30
December 22, 2008
This was a much anticipated meeting between MV and the defending Alaska State Champions in the upper bracket of the Las Vegas Invitation Tournament. Colony HS is skilled and well coached and had shown earlier in the tournament why they won their State title by dismantling solid teams with their movement, passing and sharp shooting. The game was a struggle early on with the first quarter tied a 8-8 and Monte Vista leading 15-14 with less than a minute to go in the half. 5 quick points gave MV a 20-14 cushion at the half with most of the third quarter at the same margin until Niveen Rasheed showed why she is one of the best players in northern California by taking over the game with 8 consecutive points mostly while double teamed, effectively putting away the contest. Niveen finished with a game high 25 points and 11 rebounds. MV will face South Torrence HS from Los Angeles in the finals tomorrow afternoon.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 56 - Denver East HS 28
December 22, 2008
A young but highly athletic Denver team got caught by surprise and never able to recover from a large early deficit. MV disrupted Denver East by its relentless pressure defense and was able to build on its early large lead even when Niveen Rasheed had to sit out the entire 2nd quarter due to foul trouble. This was a game Dani Rabago showed why she will lead this team after the current fabulous senior class graduates by scoring 18 points in just over a half including 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line. Kendyl Bachelorand christi Beeman saw their most extensive playing time each scoring 4 points. Niveen played barely 2 quarters with foul trouble but still managed 12 points.
MV (Varsity) 82 - Shadow Ridge 46
December 21, 2008
MV's full court pressure led to a 12-0 lead to open the game and a 21-9 advantage after one quarter. Shadow Creek fell behind by as many as 22 points at 38-16 but hit three consecutive three's to cut the half time deficit to 38-25. The Lady 'Stangs came out on fire in the second half scoring 24 points in the third segment and safely putting the game out of reach. Four players reached double figure in scoring led by Niveen Rasheed's 19. "X" Whalen had 13, Dani Rabago added 11 while Kaylie Williams came off the bench to score 10. Monte Vista will be playing DENVER EAST Monday morning in the round of 8.
Campolindo 37 - Monte Vista (JV) 35
December 18, 2008
After an outstanding weekend at the Carondelet Tournament, Monte Vista (4-4) had a major letdown, losing at home to Campolindo in an unusual stand alone 7:00 PM JV contest. The Lady 'Stangs were leading 11-7 after the first quarter when the offense turned ice cold and managed only 2 points in the 2nd segment after missing multiple lay ups and easy point blank baskets. The deficit grew to 29-23 after another listless 3rd quarter but MV rallied and actually pulled ahead at 32-31 late in the 4th with the ball. A turnover resulted in an easy Campolindo basket and a lead they would not relinquish. Monte Vista had 3 shot attempts in the waning seconds to send the game into overtime but was unable to convert. Jessica Gehardt again led the team with 13 points but was able to hit only 3 of 8 from the line. This is her third consecutive double digit scoring game. Taylor Fazio had 11 points and 9 rebounds while Jenna Cordesius added 8.
Anina Middleton's Homecoming
December 15, 2008
Monte Vista's co-Captain for 2007-08 Anina Middleton is returning to the Bay Area with Chapman College and will be playing at Holy Names College in Oakland on Thursday, December 18 at 5:30 PM and Friday, December 19 at California Maritime Academy at 7:00 PM !
Monte Vista (JV) 45 - Carondelet 37
December 13, 2008
A preview of new rivalry unfolded this afternoon as Carondelet, host of the Tournament, took on last season's EBAL champion Monte Vista in a tightly contested game in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The Cougars, using their pressure man defense took a quick 7-2 lead in the first quarter including a three from the right wing announcing early of their outside shooting threat. Monte Vista responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead at 9-7. In spite of being out rebounded in the 2nd quarter, MV built a 16-11 lead only to see Carondelet closed the gap to 18-17. A three point basket by the Cougars' point guard at the buzzer gave the host a 20-18 lead into the half. The game was tied at 20-20, 22-22 and 25-25 but Carondelet managed to keep their 2 point lead going into the 4th quarter at 27-25. Trailing 31-34 with less than 4 minutes left in the game, Jessica Gehardt took control of the game by driving through the lane for a contested lay up, followed by penetration and dish to Jenna Cordesius for another lay up to give Monte Vista a 35-34 lead. Sara Purlee hit a long two and on the next trip down, nailed a three from the left wing to give Monte Vista a commanding 41-35 lead with just over a minute remaining in the game. A put back basket by Jessica Gehardt and two free throws by Erin Swete completed the 8 point victory. Jessica Gehardt finished with a team leading 11 points after a 17 point outburst the evening before while Center Taylor Fazio put together another dominant performance with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Jenna Cordesius scored a season high 10 points along with 8 rebounds and Sara Purlee added 6. Monte Vista improves to 4-3 on the season and will face another tough foe in Campolindo at home on Wednesday. Please note Game time will be at 7:30 PM.
Monte Vista (JV) 31 - Berkeley 25
December 13, 2008
The Monte Vista JV squad bounced back from a pair of tough back to back losses to Dublin and Sacred Heart Cathedral earlier in the week by playing one of their best games of the young season in defeating a smaller but more athletic Berkeley team hence setting themselves up for a long anticipated showdown with new EBAL foe Carondelet. Varsity head coach Ron Hirschman along with assistant coach Pat Nivens were on the sideline for coach Cornell who had to be away for family matters. The Lady 'Stangs played aggressive defense throughout the low scoring contest jumping out to an 11-5 first quarter lead and was leading 14-7 in the second quarter when Berkeley's full court press netted consecutive MV turnovers and an 8-0 run for the Yellow Jackets giving Berkeley their only lead of the evening at 15-14. Coach Hirschman called a timeout and Monte Vista responded by scoring the next 6 points ending the half ahead 20-17. A defensive struggle marked the second half with MV extending the lead to 24-19 after three ultimately winning by 6. Jessica Gehardt had another fantastic game leading all scorer with 17 points including 5 of 6 from the foul line as Berkeley was forced to foul. More importantly, she was the ball handler in breaking Berkeley's press along with being a key rebounder on both ends of the court. Taylor Fazio played virtually the entire game and was the key reason why the Yellow Jackets were unable to put up any offensive numbers by blocking a career high 8 shots and grabbing 13 rebounds along with scoring 6 points. Jenna Cordesius contributed 7 points including 3 of 4 from the line.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 63 - Dublin 54
December 11, 2008
After three relatively easy contests at the Alhambra Tournament, Monte Vista finally met their match when NorCal's 13th ranked Dublin High School came to Danville and gave the Lady Mustangs all they could handle. The aggressive and quick Gaels pressured MV all game long forcing the home team to expend much energy just to bring the ball past mid court. A barrage of three's and a last second putback basket gave Dublin a 27-24 lead at the half after the two team exchanged leads 4 times in the first half. Dublin took their biggest lead at 31-26 during the first minutes of the second half but three pointers by Alex Smolen, Dani Rabago and Alexandria 'X' Whalen gave Monte Vista their first lead since 19-18 at 36-35 which they built a 42-37 lead going into the 4th quarter. The lead twice grew to 10 in the final segment but Dublin would battle back each time to 6 but could come no closer. Niveen Rasheed, plagued by foul trouble the entire game, had to sit out virtually the entire 2nd quarter. She was further troubled by a knee injury suffered while chasing down a loose ball during the contest. With that, she still managed 17 points along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists and 4 steals. Dani Rabago and 'X' both finished with 13 points with Dani hitting 8 of 12 from the line most came at the closing minutes of the game when the Gaels had to foul to get the ball back. Kaylee Williams had an excellent game coming off the bench to score 7 points, played solid defense and grabbed 6 rebounds. Amil AMin added 8 points, all in the first half. Monte Vista improves to 4-0 for the season and now will idle till the Las Vegas Tournament.
Dublin 47 - Monte Vista (JV) 39
December 11, 2008
Trailing 16-9 going into the second half and 24-17 going into the 4th quarter, Monte Vista mounted a huge come back by putting up 19 points in the final quarter with Jessica Gehardt leading the way with 15 points, all in the second half. The game was tied at 32-32 with less than a minute to play in regulation when MV went ahead for the very first time at 34-32. Dublin tied the game at 34-34 with a pair of free throws and failed to win the game outright at regulation when they missed a pair of free throws with no time left on the clock. Monte Vista scored the first basket in overtime to lead 36-34 but the Gaels went on a 13-0 run off four MV turnovers to put the game away. Jessica Gehardt's three pointer in the final seconds pulled Monte Vista to within 8 but time expired without the game getting any closer.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 58 - Petaluma 38
December 7, 2008
Petaluma came out on fire knocking down four of their first five shots to take a 9-6 lead but the full court pressure from Monte Vista (3-0) forced three straight turnovers resulting in a 10 point MV run and a 16-9 lead. Petaluma, however,went on their own 7-1 run to trim the deficit to 1 at 17-16 only to see Monte Vista made their second 10-0 run to close out the half with a 27-16 advantage. A combination of full court pressure and modified 2-3 zone in the second half stymied the well coached Petaluma offense which only managed 6 points in the crucial 3rd quarter during which Monte Vista extended its lead to a commanding 45-22. Princeton bound Niveen Rasheed was all over the court offensively and defensively thoroughly demoralizing the Petaluma squad. Niveen ended the evening with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists along with a half dozen steals and countless deflections. Dani Rabago and Alexandra Whalen each added 8 points while Amil Amin contributed 7. Krystal Misono connected her first varsity three point basket and undoubtedly with many more to come while Alex Smolen's three pointer in the first half extends her team lead in three point basket made. Niveen Rasheed was name tournament MVP with Amil Amin and Alex Smolen named to the All Tournament Squad. For the third consecutive contest, all 12 members on the varsity squad logged minutes on the court.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 52 - Antioch 16
December 6, 2008
Like the game against Miramonte, the MV press overwhelmed an otherwise good Antioch team which at one point led 5-4. The pressure defense forced 32 turnovers and the Lady Mustangs went on a 45-2 run to lead 49-7 after three quarters. Niveen Rasheed was utterly intimidating pulling down 10 steals (9 in the first half) along with 20 points in barely over a half of play. All 12 players logged minutes in the game with Kendyl Bachelor making her first varsity basket on a 15 foot baseline swish. Alex Smolen showed why she may be Monte Vista's new shooter by quietly nailing a pair of three's on top of her two treys from yesterday's game against College Park. Alex finished with 9 points. Monte Vista will play Petaluma in the Championship game at 5:30 PM tomorrow.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 65 - College Park 44
December 5, 2008
Opening day jittery showed as Monte Vista played with unusual sloppiness against a small but surprisingly quick College Park team. Size and pressure defense, however, enabled MV to take a comfortable 41-19 lead into the half and coasted home with a 21 point victory. Alyssa Samia, who led the JV squad in scoring last season, opened her varsity career with a 12 point game including multiple offensive rebounds and putback baskets. Niveen Rasheed played only portion of the contest scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Amil Amin added 10 along with 8 points from Alexandria 'X' Whalen. Alex Smolen added a pair of three's and Kaylie Williams contributed 8 points spelling Amil at forward.
Scrimmage at Pinole Valley
November 29, 2008
Monte Vista faced a quicker and more aggressive Pinole Valley team in their second scrimmage of the season featuring 6'2" Cal bound Denisha Stallworth. The Lady Mustang held their own in a spirited contest against the ACCAL foe which has been a Division II power over the past half dozen years.
Monte Vista 52 - Miramonte 20
November 26, 2008
The 2008-09 Monte Vista women basketball team opened the season with an impressive win over DFAL powerhouse Miramonte at the annual Foundation game held this year at Monte Vista. The Matadors graduated several key players and the young back court was no match against the Lady Mustangs' man to man pressure defense. MV forced 8 turnovers and scored the first 10 points and led 22-5 after one quarter and 35-11 at the half. The lead grew to 50-11 after three with coach Hirschman freely using the entire bench. Niveen Rasheed was at the top of her game handing out 4 steals in the first quarter alone and essentially scoring at will. Miramonte's 6'3" center Stephanie Golden was held tightly in check scoring only 6 points till late in the 4th quarter. The game also marked the varsity debut of Kendall Bachelor, Alex Smolen, Krystal Misono, Alyssa Samia and Nicole Olivera.
Foundation Game
The 2008-09 season unofficially starts on Tuesday when the Lady Mustangs will take on the Green & Silver Miramonte Matadors at Monte Vista. MV returns four of five starters from last seasons 25-3 team and are poised to take on the DFAL and NCS DIII power from Orinda. The Matadors graduated a pair of Division I players to the College ranks in Sara Burns and Katie Batlin as well as excellent shooter in Katie Evans. 6'4" Junior Center Stephanie Golden, however, will test Monte Vista's defense in the paint. Should be a great game and evening with the Boys to follow against Serra. Our very own Niveen Rasheed will begin her 4th and final season before heading to play Division I basketball in college.
Monte Vista Varsity - Washington Scrimmage
JV Opens Preseason Against Washington
November 21, 2008
Coach Steve Cornell debuts with his essentially all new 2008-09 squad after two consecutive 25-1 league championship seasons. Is a third title in the cards ? Stay tuned...
First Week Of Practice
November 17, 2008
The varsity squad just finished an intense first week of practice in preparation for the up coming Foundation Game against Miramonte on 11/25/08.
Coach Hirschman also announced for the first time in his 20 year reign, there will be NO frosh team due to low turnout. Coach Cornell's JV team, however, will be fully replenished by a strong crop of players from Coach Nivens' league champion frosh team of 07-08 despite losing virtually his entire 25-1 starting line up to Varsity.
Neveen's Recruitment
November 11, 2008
Niveen has just been accepted to Princeton where she has been the subject of hot recruitment by the Tigers' coaching staff. Her choices now also include Boston College from the ACC who has lately entered into the recruitment war for her service. Santa Clara from the WCC, Washington & Oregon from the Pac-10, as well as UC Santa Barbara from the Mountain West all remain viable considerations. Ms. Rasheed has decided to pass on early signing to better evaluate her options as additional offer may come in the next few weeks.
Foundation Game
The originally scheduled Foundation Game with Fairfield HS has been disallowed by the San Joaquin Section. Our new opponent will be the four times defending DFAL champions and DIII power Miramonte. The game will be a double header with the Boy's Foundation Game to follow on November 25 (Tuesday). Game time will be announced at a later date.
All players who are interested in becoming a member of one of the most successful women's high school basketball programs in the Bay Area are invited to come to our Open Gym held on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at the Stone Valley Middle School gym. We are currently looking for players for our defending champions Frosh team coached by Pat Nivens. Both freshmen and sophomores are eligible. We are also seeking tryout players for the two times, undefeated, defending league champions JV squad coached by Steve Cornell. This team went 25-1 the past two seasons and 23-3 before that. Their only two losses the past two seasons were at the hands of St. Mary's Stockton and Sacred Heart Cathedral - USA Today's #3 and #1 ranked teams in the nation. The top rated Varsity is by invitation only from head coach Ron Hirschman.
October 1, 2008
Niveen Rasheed had the making of a star player since her freshman year at Monte Vista. By last season, she has firmly established herself as the best player in this area and one of the best players in northern California. The summer spent with her AAU club team brought her national attention making her one of the most recruited players in the state. We will follow Niveen with great anticipation and interest throughout this up coming season which promises to be doubly exciting with powerhouse Carondolet now a part of the EBAL.
2008 Summer Basketball
Many MV players participated in spring and summer AAU tournaments under various club teams along with open gym type games at Las Pasitas College.
All NorCal Finals Photos are in Kodak Gallery. These are in four albums due to the number of pictures. They chronicle the beginning to the end of a fabulous day...
Tony, we did it ! Ron did it !!!
Varsity Year-end Banquet
March 17, 2008
More pictures to be placed on Kodak Gallery tonight.
Off season Basketball - AAU Try Out
March 4, 2008
The East Bay Xplosion (EBX) is holding high school tryouts at Chabot College the next two Sundays (3/9 & 3/16) from noon to 3 pm. They are forming 4 teams three will be heading to the End of the Trail Tournament in Oregon City, the best tournament on the west coast attended by hundreds of the top college coaches. The fourth team will play qualifying tournaments within California to earn an at large spot. Tournaments start end of March and the season goes through end of July, the NCAA college viewing period. Tryout is free. Just bring game and water. All levels welcome. For more information, please call (209) 380 5440 or check out website at www.leaguelineup.com/ebx
Niveen Rasheed - Back to Back - EBAL League MVP
Anina Middleton - EBAL All League First Team Selection
Amil Amin - EBAL All League First Team Selection
It was perhaps the best playoff game in all of NCS. A game - the old cliche goes - no one deserves to lose. The Yellowjackets won the game and moves on to face Deer Valley in the championship game and NorCal Tournament while Monte Vista, one of the best teams in Division I, saw its wonderful season came to an end and 5 seniors closed out their career, like so many before them, at the floor of the Berkeley gym. This game, nevertheless, is different from most previous losses. This was a GAME. No one knew who was to represent the section in the state tournament until there was 15 seconds left on the clock. Until 39 minutes and 45 seconds had expired in this marathon 40 minute contest. Look at it this way, MV held Berkeley to a season low 20 points in the first half and MV held Berkeley to only 5 offensive rebounds in the entire game including overtimes. #25 Airika Warren had 19 points for the Jackets but she had to work for every one of them. Niveen Rasheed played 39 plus minutes and left everything on the court. She handled the press, she scored, she rebounded, she defended and she sank both free throws with 0.3 seconds left in regulation under incredible pressure and a back drop of screaming Berkeley fans. Nothing but net for both shots. Ice water in her veins. Anina Middleton, playing her final game in a Monte Vista uniform, knocked down 14 points and had 5 steals, grabbed rebounds and played tough defense. Time after time, when Niveen was double teamed, she would make Berkeley pay by nailing jumpers or taking the ball to the hoop. We will miss her so very much next year. Then there was "X". Her outside shot wasn't there but she came through a sea of defenders with her finger roll baskets, a reverse lay up when there was absolutely no room and a pair of free throws toward the end of regulation to bring Monte Vista within 2 and allowed Niveen's subsequent heroics...Of course, the not so little freshman, MV's "secret weapon", was unveiled in the form of Kaylie Williams who not only fearlessly battled the Berkeley posts eyeballs to eyeballs, she also pulled down 12 rebounds and added 5 big points including a fade away 10 foot jumper in the 4th quarter with shot clock winding down that was part of the 12-2 run that wiped out a 10 point deficit. So this was not just "another" loss to Berkeley. This game served notice - watch out for next year...
Berkeley 58 - Monte Vista 55 ( Double Overtime )
February 28, 2008
There were 5 ties and 6 lead changes over the final 8 minutes and the game was not decided until 39 minutes and 50 seconds had expired in the 40 minutes double overtime thriller when Jasmin Perkins intercepted a Monte Vista pass and went in for the deciding basket. Full story to follow...
United We Stand...
February 27, 2008
Tomorrow marks one of those rare occasions when Monte Vista will go into the NCS semifinal game as a distinct underdog against Berkeley High, the winner of 8 out of the last 10 NCS titles. The pundits gave us little chance of getting by the Yellowjackets based on past performances. This year, however, may just be different...A win will guarantee MV a spot in NorCal, the State Regional Tournament - the first step to a State Championship. With it is at least two more games for our graduating seniors. A win will also mark the first time Monte Vista has beaten Berkeley since the 1997-98 season.
North Coast Section Playoff : (#3) Monte Vista 49 -- (#11) Newark Memorial 41
February 23, 2008
In past years, when Monte Vista did not play its best in the playoff, it was usually a loss and end of season. The Mustangs were not at their best this evening against the #11 seed Newark Memorial and still managed to advance due to the heroics of Niveen Rasheed. In front of a standing room only packed gym, MV scored the first 4 points and went completely cold going 3 of 15 from the floor to trail 10-7 at the end of one quarter. They managed to pull ahead in the 2nd quarter but could not build any distance between themselves and the stubborn Cougars. The 3 point half time lead for Monte Vista remained the largest MV advantage most of the 3rd quarter but when #43 from Newark Memorial hit her 5th 3 pointer, the underdog Cougars had their largest lead in the second half at 33-30 just before the end of the 3rd period. Niveen Rasheed muscled in a basket off an offensive rebound to close the gap with MV going into the 4th quarter trailing by 1 at 33-32. Niveen had, at that stage, essentially carried the entire offensive load having scored all Monte Vista's 12 points in the quarter. Help came in the form of 3 baskets by Dani Rabago in the last quarter and the defense was finally able to prevent anymore long basket by the hot shooting Newark Memorial guards. Niveen Rasheed sank 3 of 4 from the free throw line in the final minute to close out the visitors and help the host team avoid the upset bid. Niveen finished with 25 points to lead all scorers with Dani Rabago adding 8. The 25-2 Mustangs will now travel to Berkeley to face the #2 seed Yellow Jackets on Wednesday who had beaten Granada by a score of 54-39.
Monte Vista v Newark Memorial on Friday...
February 20, 2008
By virtue of their 59-54 upset win over #6 Arroyo, #11 Newark Memorial has earn the right to face #3 Monte Vista on Friday. This will be a double header with our boys who revenged a loss to SRV last week. Game time should be 6:30 pm with the boys' game at 8:30 pm against #4 San Leandro. This may be a sell out, so come early !
North Coast Section Playoff...
February 18, 2008
The chase for the state title begins next week. Monte Vista is seeded #3 by the closed door seeding committee in NCS Division I. The Mustangs will have a bye and will face the winner of #6 Arroyo and #11 Newark Memorial on Friday at home. This may be a double header with the boys if they win their round 1 contest against San Ramon Valley.
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Three more Seniors in Their Younger Days...
February 17, 2008
They are slightly under disguise...
Recognize Someone ??
February 17, 2008
There are familiar faces here of course. This is the Frosh team of 2005. Many were later on the JV squad with Steve and 2 are current members of the graduating senior varsity team. Another is now performing our pre-game National Anthem !!
SENIOR NIGHT...
February 16, 2008
Monte Vista 52 - San Ramon Valley 31
February 16, 2008
The 5 graduating seniors started the game and played evenly with the San Ramon team for 4 minutes before handing the court to the regular starters. The game was close at 10-9 after one quarter but MV opened up a 30-17 lead by halftime thanks in no small part to 6 points from Niveen Rasheed in the 2nd quarter who finished with 18 and a pair of 3 pointers from Anina Middleton who had 10 points for the game. Forward Amil Amin also had 10 points while Nicole Vigar and Alexandria 'X' Whalen each contributed 4. The win gave Monte Vista an undefeated 12-0 league record and 24-2 for the season. It also handed the program its first sweep of league titles ( Frosh, JV & Varsity ) since 2004.
Monte Vista(JV) 53 - San Ramon Valley 20
February 16, 2008
The JV girls took care of business on Seniors Night by defeating cross town rival San Ramon Valley to go undefeated and complete a sweep of EBAL opponents for the second straight season. Two consecutive 25-1 seasons stand as a proud Monte Vista record for JV. Alyssa Samia closed out of her strong freshman campaign by scoring 19 points to lead all scorer with Alex Smolen adding 14. Jacqui Petersen finished with 5 including a 3 pointer in the first quarter while Taylor Fazio contributed 6.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 39 - San Ramon Valley 32
February 16, 2008
The Frosh team made coach Pat Nevins a very happy man by outlasting the San Ramon Valley Wolves to gain at least a tie for the EBAL league crown pending outcome of Amador Valley's last game. The title constitutes the final part of the "Triple Crown" as both the JV and varsity have already clinched their league championship. Natalie Roveto had a great game particularly on the offensive end with 14 points. Lauren Vujovich did her usual damage with 12 points and Jenna Cordesius added 7. After a somewhat shaky start, the Frosh team is now running on all cylinders. They have won 6 games in a role and finished with a season best 10 games above .500 at 16-6.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 58 - Foothill 33
February 14, 2008
The Lady Mustangs were relentless ahainst the Foothill Falcons on their way to the 50th win in 55 games spanning two seasons. The trapping defense was simply overpowering as the Foothill guards struggled to get the ball past mid court. There was a hint of the feared letdown as Foothill scored on their two trips down court for a 4-0 lead but Monte Vista quickly put that notion aside as their countered with 14 un-answered points within the next 5 minutes. The Falcons stayed close on a couple of Woodson's baskets at 22-12 but MV used another run of 13-0 to effectively put the game away off 4 consecutive forced turnovers. Niveen Rasheed was unstoppable as usual scoring 19 points by halftime while senior Anina Middleton continued her torrid scoring by going 5 of 6 from outside in the first half including two 3 pointers. NR and AM finished with 23 and 14 points respectively playing each just over a half. Niveen Rasheed also added 9 rebounds and 7 steals while Anina Middleton had 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Monte Vista (23-2, 11-0) is now one win against San Ramon Valley away from a first ever perfect EBAL season. Those that have been watching MV basketball for a while, however, will remember the 2004 upset of Monte Vista by SRV that spoiled an otherwise fabulous 11-1 season. So it will be a big game on Friday - SENIOR NIGHT !!
Monte Vista (JV) 49 - Foothill 21
February 14, 2008
The problem that comes with being so good is that at times, it is difficult to get motivated against a weaker opponent. Wednesday afternoon was such an occasion. Monte Vista JV has already wrapped up league championship and well on their way to another undefeated EBAL season. The team played sluggishly throughout the first half scoring only 22 points at the half. In spite of the low output, they were not at all threatened as the defense held Foothill to only 4 points for 2 quarters including a shutout for quarter #2. The offense came alive in the 3rd quarter and the lead was quickly kicked up to 30 points when coach Steve Cornell brought in the 2nd line and ended up still winning comfortable by 28. Alyssa Samia led the field with 14 points plus 14 rebounds as Monte Vista improves to ( 24-1, 12-0 ). Friday's game will be emotional as some players will be playing their final game while others will move onto Varsity. Steve's cupboard, however, will not be bare as a strong core will surely remain and a good group of players will come up from Frosh that will provide foundation for another strong run.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 44 - Foothill 31
February 14, 2008
Coach Pat Nivens's short bench was already stressed by Lauren Vujovich's nagging knee injury further compounded during the Foothill game by Katy Tomalenas' newly developed hip pain. With two hobbling starters, Monte Vista managed to overcome an 8-6 deficit after one quarter to pull progressively away for a 13 point win. The game, however, was more difficult than the prior contest at Foothill when the Mustangs won by 30 points. There was balanced scoring from the MV players with 10 points each from Natalie Roveto and Katy Tomalenas and 9 points from Lauren Vujovich and 8 from Erin Swete who again demonstrated superior quickness and field vision in addition to ball handling skills. Jenna Cordesius added 4 points while Hannah Kang and Katrina Chun both got into the scoring column. The Frosh is now at a season best 8 games above .500 ( 14-6, 6-1 ) looking to go for at least a share of the league title on friday gagainst a tough SRV frosh squad.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 63 - Amador Valley 46
February 12, 2008
Amador Valley thought the way to beat Monte Vista was to stop Niveen Rasheed. On paper, they appeared to have accomplished that as Niveen scored only 13 points, 5 below her EBAL average. What the Dons did not prepare for was the all round game from senior guard Anina Middleton who had 15 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 4 steals. Then there was Dani Rabago who started for injured Alexandria "X" Whalen. Dani handled point duty capably along side Niveen and repeatedly knocked down open jumpers when the Amador defense double teamed Niveen. Ms. Rabago finished with 12 points. As for Niveen Rasheed, her 13 points all came at crucial moments including a back breaker 3 at the top of the arc when Amador Valley had cut the MV lead to 8 in the 3rd quarter. Then there were the 7 rebounds, 5 off the offensive board and the 7 steals that simply terrified the opponent. Barely able to run on Saturday, "X" nevertheless played a substantial number of minutes and scored 6 points including one driving floater for a basket into heavy traffic. Amador was paced by Makayla Lyles who had 18 points but had to earned each one as she was guarded all night alternately by bigger defenders including Amil Amin, Niveen Rasheed, "X" and Nicole Vigar. With the 16 point victory, Monte Vista has gone undefeated on the road and wrapped up their 3rd EBAL title in 5 years shooting for the chance to go undefeated for the league season. The team, however, must guard against potential letdown with Foothill coming to town on Wednesday.
Monte Vista (JV) 56 - Amador Valley 30
February 12, 2008
Monte Vista came out of the gate fast and quickly built a 15-4 lead including long 3 pointers from Krystal Mizono and Alex Smolen. Amador Valley momentarily snatched the momentum in the middle of the 2nd quarter using an 8-3 mini run to cut the deficit to 18-12. That was to be the closest they were to come to the Mustangs' lead as MV responded with their own 9-0 run to close out the half ahead by 15. Leading by 19 going into the 4th quarter, Monte Vista made another 7-0 run to go up 49-23 and put out any hope of a close finish. Krystal Mizono finished with a game leading 16 points followed by Alyssa Samia who had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Arielle Hall-King had her second strong game in a row with 9 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman guard Nicole Olivera played perhaps her best all around game with 8 points and 4 assists 2 of which came on long lead passes for fastbreak lay ups. With the win, the JV team improves to a program leading 23-1 and on pace for another undefeated EBAL season. Including last season, the JV squad has won 48 of the last 50 games played !!
Monte Vista (Frosh) 40 - Amador Valley 30
February 12, 2008
Underdog Monte Vista showed early they were not going to let this game slip away like last time the two teams met in Danville. Lauren Vujovich scored Mv's first 6 points and the two squads were deadlocked at 8-8 after a quarter. The Dons went up 12-8 on two quick baskets in the second quarter but the Lady Mustangs answered with a 10-1 run over the last 6 minutes of the segment turning a 4 point deficit into a 5 point lead at the half. Keeping Katy Tomalenas out of foul trouble was critical as she provided tough interior defense and rebounds along with 9 points. The early second half saw Monte Vista extended its lead to 10 and eventually to 13 on two occasions. Amador Valley could not trim the lead to below 7 and full court pressure was handled without difficult by the MV guard/forward trio of Erin Swete, Natalie Roveto and Lauren Vujovich who eventually finished with 14 points despite her knee injury suffered 2 weeks ago. Natalie Roveto had a strong game including converting on a pair of tough breakaways. She ended up with 10 points.Jenna Cordesius finished with 4 points while Erin Swete added 3. The team is now 13-6 and a pair of wins against Foothill and San Ramon Valley will lock up at least a tie for the league title.
CoCo is Not giving anyone a clear path to the Hoop...
February 10, 2008
Over the Back ??
Just like the good old days...
February 10, 2008
Former assistant head coach Tony Arndt visited from the southland during the MV-Livermore game.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 67 -- Livermore 26
February 6, 2008
Senior center Ellen Campbell did not let a deep cut on her nose affect her game. After the bleeding had stopped and wound was taped up in the locker room, Ms. Campbell returned to the floor and scored 7 points in the 4th quarter to lead the Mustangs to a 67-26 win over undermanned Livermore at home. She finished with a season high 9 points. Morgane Dulfer had her first varsity start and responded with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Niveen Rasheed hit a career best 4 three pointers for 22 points in just over a half of work. She now leads the EBAL in scoring. Amil Amin added 9 while Christi Beeman and Crystal Florida contributed 6 and 5 points respectively. Monte Vista improves to 21-2 on the year and 9-0 in league.
Monte Vista (JV) 52 - Livermore 30
February 6, 2008
Coach Steve Cornell's team had its toughest game of the season three weeks ago against the same Livermore Cowboys team at Livermore when he had to will his team out a 4 point deficit with less than 3 minutes to go for a thrilling 4 point victory to preserve his win streak. Livermore put up a strong fight again on the Monte Vista floor, at least for a half, when it came back from 10 points down after one to cut the lead to 22-15 at the half. The 3rd quarter started tight with spread at only 24-17 3 minutes into the 2nd half. Then the long awaited "explosion" finally came when Alex Smolen hit 1 of 2 free throws, then dropped in a long three pointer followed by a put back from Arielle Hall-King in 3 quick possessions to put MV up by 13. Livermore scored to cut the lead to 30-19 but Monte Vista then went on another 10-2 run to put the game effectively out of reach at 40-21 with Arielle Hall-King scoring 7 of the 10 MV points in the run. Arielle finished with a season high 11 points all of which came in the 2nd half. Alex Smolen also had a big game finished with a team leading 14 points. Alyssa Samia continues to control the paint finishing with 7 points and 11 rebounds while Taylor Fazio added 8 rebounds along with 6 points. Sara Purlee showed why Steve Cornell thinks she may be his best long range shooter next season when she drained a long three. Krystal Mizono also added a three and 5 points. Shaiela Y. continues to play well scoring 4 points in back up point guard duty.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 30 - Castro Valley 24
February 6, 2008
Coach Pat Nivens was missing his starter Jenna Cordesius due to illness and his team managed only 2 points each in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. That generally equates a defeat but Monte Vista managed to stay close by playing strong defense, not unlike the varsity game against Granada. Trailing by 4 entering the final segment, the Lady Mustangs went into full court pressure resulted in multiple forced turnovers. The stagnant offense also responded by erupting for 18 points with Erin Swete repeatedly penetrating the Castro Valley defense using her quickness and vision for easy assists. The turn-around enabled the MV Frosh team to earn their 4th consecutive victory with room to spare. Lauren Vujovich led the team in scoring for the 15th time with 14 points while Elli Hatton and Erin Swete each added 5. Katy Tomalenas scored 4 points along with 10 rebounds. The 12-6 Frosh team will entertain Dougherty Valley's JV squad on Fridays in a cross division contest.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 58 - California 39
February 2, 2008
The team carried over the intimidating defensive intensity from the Granada game but added the missing offensive punch resulting in a one-sided first half ending with a 36-8 lead. California was unable to have any good look at the basket the entire first 2 quarters converting a grand total of three baskets. Niveen Rasheed was her usual dominant self scoring 15 points in the first half along with 8 rebounds. She ended up with 21 points after giving way to the bench early in the 3rd quarter when the lead grew to 33.
Dani Rabago had her first Monte Vista varsity start substituting for Alexandria 'X' Whalen who sprained her ankle against Granada. Amil Amin scored 9 and Anina Middleton added 7 including a pair of 3 pointers. Coach Hirschman was able to play the bench essentially the entire 2nd half watching Christi Beeman and Kaylie Williams each had 5 points while Morgane Dulfer added 4. Monte Vista is now 8-0 in EBAL with a 2 game lead over 2nd place Amador Valley and 4 game lead over 3rd place San Ramon Valley and Foothill. Season record now stands at 20-2, giving Ron his first back to back 20 win season in a decade and 3rd in 5 years.
Monte Vista (JV) 63 - Cal High 21
February 1, 2008
One of the problems with scoring too many points or limiting your opponent to too few points is the fact that "running clock" will go into effect when the score differential reaches 40. Monte Vista lost substantial court time for their players when the running clock was initiated early in 4th quarter when the lead was pushed beyond 40. Center Alyssa Samia led the team with 11 points followed by Alex Smolen with 10. Neither played much in the second half. Arielle King-Hall scored a season high 8 points followed by Krystal Mizono & Taylor Fazio with 7 and Nicole Olivera with 6. Sara Purlee rejoined the team last Tuesday against Granada and scored 4 points. She had 6 points against Cal High tonight, which is, of course, a season high !
Monte Vista (Frosh) 50 - Cal High 21
February 1, 2008
The freshmen are on a roll winning their third consecutive outing and improving their league record to 4-1. The undermanned Cal High fell behind 15-1 after one quarter and was unable to recover from the deficit. Coach Pat Nivens substituted liberally and still was able to build leads of 23-8 at the half and 33-12 after 3 quarters. Natalie Roveto broke out of her slump with 11 points and point guard Erin Swete was right behind with 10 including a three point play at the buzzer. Lauren Vujovich again led all scorer with 16 while Katy Tomalenas added 6. Katrina Chun had 4 points and Corinne Brunckurst contributed 3. The Frosh team will now have non-league games next week against Castro Valley and the Dougherty Valley JV.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 40 - Granada 32
January 30, 2008
When your offense was held to a multi-year low 12 points at the half against a good opponent at a hostile venue and when Niveen Rasheed only had 4 points to show for her effort, the prospect of coming out of the contest a winner appeared bleak. But good teams always find a way to win. In this case for Monte Vista, it was a suffocating defense. Trailing by a ridiculous score of 15-12 at intermission, the Lady Mustangs allowed the Matadors only 17 more points for the rest of the game. At 19-14 in favor of Granada, Amil Amin connected on the 1st of two free throws but missed the second only to see Niveen grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on a scoop shot with her body behind the backboard for an effective 3-point play to bring MV to 19-17. Monte Vista would tie the game the next trip down and would build 23-19 and 25-21 leads only to see Granada cut it each time to a single point, the last on a 3 pointer from Thrall who had 16 points for Granada. A couple of pull-up jumpers from Niveen and a big long three from Anina Middleton gave Monte Vista their biggest lead at 32-24 only to see Granada trim it to 34-30 off a steal and lay-up. A 15 footer from Anina with 1:35 left gave Monte Vista back a 6 point lead only to see a defensive lapse gave way to an easy inbound basket for Granada. Leading 36-32 with time running out, Granada started fouling and Niveen calmly sank all 6 of her free throws to close out the contest. The defense never gave Thrall or the rest of the Matadors a good look at the basket the last 4 trips down ending with Thrall firing up an air ball on one and had her shot blocked on another.
Niveen ended up with 20 points along with 15 rebounds and 6 steals to lead the team. Alexandria Whalen had 8 points including a crucial runner off the glass at the buzzer that cut Granada's lead lead to 3 at intermission. Anina Middleton contributed 7 points and Nicole Vigar while held to no score pulled down a huge offensive board off Anina's missed one on one in the 4th quarter to give Monte Vista another chance at the line along with killing a full 25 seconds off the clock. With the victory, the Lady 'Stangs improves to 19-2 and 7-0 in league play. Next up is Friday against California at home.
Monte Vista (JV) 47 - Granada 26
January 30, 2008
Steven Cornell's fabulous JV squad improves to 19-1 and 8-0 in league with a relatively easy win at Granada and looks to have a great chance to repeat last season's 25-1 overall and 12-0 undefeated league record. Monte Vista came out of the gate on fire and quickly took a 17-2 lead in the first quarter, essentially ending any chance of a Granada upset. Kendyl Bachelor who distributed the ball unselfishly the entire season finally had an opportunity to showcase her offensive skills finishing with a season high 12 points with Alex Smolen and Krystal Mizono adding 9 and 7 points respectively including a couple of three's from Krystal.
Huge Game Against Granada Tomorrow...
January 28, 2008
Who would have guessed the importance of the game at Granada tomorrow prior to start of league season? As the season progressed, Granada has proven to be as tough, perhaps tougher than Amador Valley having beaten them two weeks ago in an overtime contest. The rule of the EBAL gives the NCS seeding preference to the winner of the last head to head game if there is a tie for league title and the teams are 1-1 in head to head competition. This places tremendous pressure on the team that has the league lead in the first half to continue to win the second half league games. Granada will bring its partisan crowd and will try everything to maximize their home court advantage. Their victory over Amador Valley, close loss to Carondolet last week and Saturday's win over Westmore at the Acalanes Shootout all point to their abilities. This is the third of the MV's long road series and will be a serious test for the Lady Mustangs. A win will put MV clearly in the driver's seat for the league title while a loss will throw the league standing back into chaos.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 56 - San Ramon Valley 41
January 26, 2008
Monte Vista took the opening tip and quickly built a 13-2 lead in the first quarter forcing Coach Delanoy to spend a time out to regroup. SRV closed the quarter trailing only 17-9. A 7-2 run at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, however, gave the Lady Mustangs a 24-11 lead and it appeared a rout might be on. What makes rival games fun to watch is the fact that generally no team can completely run away from the other and this one was no exception. San Ramon Valley took advantage of Monte Vista's inability to convert point blank shots to cut the deficit to 8 at the half despite being out rebounded on both ends and suffered twice as many turnovers as the Mustangs. The 3rd quarter was what San Ramon Valley had been looking for. Monte Vista started to turn the ball over under full court pressure and San Ramon Valley started to pound the ball inside with success. When Monte Vista tightened the zone defense in the 4th quarter, Mary Kay Tengler responded by hitting two long three pointers the 2nd tied the game at 33-33 3 minutes into the final segment, stunning the large crowd of Monte Vista supporters. Anina Middleton saw to that the tie would not last as she hit a quick 18 footer next trip down to give MV back the lead which was quickly built back up to 10 with baskets from Nicole Vigar, Amil Amin and Niveen Rasheed who was essentially unstoppable. Amil finished with 12 points while Niveen collected 26 including 9 of 13 from the line along with 13 rebounds 10 of which were on the offensive end and 5 steals. Anina ended up with 12 for the game. With the victory, Monte Vista finished the first half of league season undefeated at 6-0 with a 2 game lead on its closest rival Amador Valley and 3 on San Ramon Valley. MV will take its 18-2 record into historically hostile Granada for another tough road game Tuesday.
Monte Vista (JV) 48 - San Ramon Valley 22
January 26, 2008
San Ramon Valley played tough against Livermore losing only by 12 last week and Monte Vista barely got by Livermore when they met last time at Livermore. By deduction, the contest between MV and SRV should be tight but the JV Lady 'Stangs completely dominated the Wolves taking a 17-4 and 30-10 lead into the locker room. The lead was extended to 26 after 3 quarters at 44-18 when Steve Cornell emptied his bench with the team cruising to another easy victory and took another step towards defending his EBAL title and possibly another undefeated league season. Alyssa Samia again led the team with 14 points while Krystal Mizono added 10. The JV squad is now 18-1 and 7-0 in EBAL.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 48 - San Ramon Valley 40
January 26, 2008
Freshman forward Lauren Vujovich had 10 baskets which is the highest number of 2 pointers scored by a Monte Vista player at any level in over 5 years en-route to a 23 points evening as coach Pat Niven's team improves to 10-7 and 3-1 in EBAL. The contest was tight the entire way with MV holding onto a modest 5 points lead at the half extending to 8 after 3 quarters. Elli Hatten had a strong offensive game with 8 points and Natalie Roveto added 7 including a buzzer beating 3 pointer.
Tomorrow evening's game against SRV (13-5, 3-2) is huge not only because it is a key rival contest but it comes as the middle of a tough consecutive back to back to back away games that include Foothill, San Ramon Valley and Granada. A win will give Monte Vista a 2 game cushion into the 2nd half of the EBAL schedule. SRV features big forwards in Yarnald who had 18 points yesterday gaainst Livermore and Bonderer who surprising did not start for San Ramon but ended up with 12 points and a fistful of rebounds anyway. Point guard Tengler is at times wild but very tough driving into the lane and dish. This is going to be a great Friday contest at the end of Finals Week that should see a packed house at San Ramon Valley High School.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 50 - Foothill 34
January 23, 2008
Head Coach Ron Hirschman had plenty of reasons to be worried about this evening's game. It was against an underdog, it was to be played at Foothill where Monte Vista historically had tough games and it followed an emotional win against Amador Valley on Friday. The game did not start well. After an early 4-0 deficit, the Falcons had stormed back to take a 13-8 1st quarter lead including a buzzer beating lay up by Marikah Woodson. This took place while Neveen Rasheed was in the locker room nursing a nose bleed. Foothill extended the lead to 15-8 in the 2nd quarter when Christi Beeman hit back to back jumpers to cut the lead to 15-12. From there MV would tie the game at 15-15 at which time Beeman would nail another outside shot to give Monte Vista their first lead since the early moments of the game at 17-15. MV's advantage would reach 24-17 at half time and 14 points on several occasions in the 3rd quarter. A pair of three pointers by Foothill would trim the deficit to 8 and eventually as close as 5 points at 37-32. The Falcons, however, would get no closer as key baskets from Nicole Vigar and Amil Amin gave Monte Vista enough cushion to cruise home with a 16 point victory. Monte Vista, with the win, improves to 17-2 and 5-0 in EBAL and will travel to San Ramon Valley to take on the Wolves on Friday.
Monte Vista (JV) 57 - Foothill 29
January 22, 2008
The Falcons stayed close for a half quarter tying MV 7-7 when the Lady Mustangs went on a 6-0 run to close the quarter ahead 13-7. The 2nd quarter belonged entirely to Monte Vista during which Steve Cornell's team outscored Foothill 16-4 to seize a commanding 29-11 lead at halftime. MV opened the 3rd quarter with the same intensity and outscored the Falcons 18-9 essentially putting to rest any chance of a Foothill come back. Taylor Fazio led the team with 13 points while Alex Smolen has 12 points including a pair of 3's. Alyssa Samia was in early trouble but still managed to chip in 11 points after sitting out most the first half with 2 fouls. Arielle Hall-King contributed a season best 8 points while Nicole Olivera added 7 points. The JV team improves to 17-1, 6-0 and will take on rival San Ramon Valley on Friday.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 46 - Foothill 21
January 23, 2008
Erin Swete had a magnificent outing against Foothill scoring a season best 15 points - 9 of which came in the decisive 3rd quarter when Monte Vista outscored Foothill by 19-3. She also had 4 steals 3 of them led to breakaway lay-ups. Erin also handled the ball flawlessly allowing Lauren Vujovich to move more freely into the post position where she continues to lead the team in rebound in addition to scoring. Lauren had 11 points this evening and pulled down 10 rebounds while Natalie Roveto contributed 8. Hannah Kang, who had 1 basket the entire season, scored 4 points. Pat's team is now 8-6 and 2-1 in league. San Ramon Valley will await the Lady 'Stangs at home on Friday.
Varsity Photo Shoot...
January 20, 2008
All team & individual ( non-official ) photos are in Kodak Gallery.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 50 - Amador Valley 38
January 19, 2008
Amador Valley was leading 6-4 early in the first quarter when Anina Middleton buried a three pointer from the top of the key to give Monte Vista a lead they would not relinquish. The Lady Mustangs was ahead by 5 after one period and extended the lead to 11 at the half with a big 20 point 2nd quarter. Consecutive baskets by Amil AMin in the middle of the 3rd quarter gave Monte Vista its biggest margin at 41-26 but MV would go cold from that point lasting well into the 4th quarter. When Niveen Rasheed hit the front end of an one and one at the 4:30 mark of the 4th quarter, it was the first point for MV in over 6 minutes during which Amador Valley had trimmed the lead from 15 down to 10 and eventually to 8. Offensive rebounds and tight defense made up for the low output and Amador Valley was never able to bring the gap below 8 points. Amil Amin had a huge game with 19 points tying her season high set previously against Rodriquez HC plus 10 rebounds. Niveen Rasheed was limited to "only" 13 points but played the entire 32 minutes and her defense was responsible for limiting EBAL leading scorer Mykala Lyles to only 7 points following her 34 points game 10 days earlier. Dani Rabago had another strong game with 8 points and played well on both the offensive and defensive end. Monte Vista now improves to 16-2 overall and 4-0 in EBAL play with an important showdown game against 3-1 Foothill on Tuesday at Foothill. A victory will give MV a 2 game cushion on all their EBAL opponents.
Monte Vista (JV) 41 - Amador Valley 36
January 19, 2008
Amador Valley had no answer for Alyssa Samia who had 9 of her 15 points in the first quarter to help Monte Vista build a 10 points 1st quarter lead. The lead was extended to 13 early in the 2nd quarter only to see the Dons systematically cut it to 4 at half time. The second half was tightly contested and low scoring. Monte Vista never trailed in this game but was unable to distant itself by more than 7 points. Alex Smolen had 7 and Krystal Mizono added 6 points to pace the Lady Mustangs. Jacqui Petersen also came off the bench to hit 2 big baskets at crucial part of the game. Steve Cornell's team is now 15-1 for the season and 4-0 in EBAL league standing. For the last 42 games spanning two seasons, the Monte Vista JV team is an amazing 40-2!
Amador Valley (Frosh) 37 - Monte Vista (Frosh) 30
January 19, 2008
The frosh team held an 8 point 1st quarter and 3 point half time lead but eventually went down to the Dons by 7. Jenna Cordesius had the early hot hand including 6 in the 1st quarter to finish with 10 points. This was her first double digit scoring game this season. Lauren Vujovich led the team in scoring for the 10th time out of 13 games with 12 points but was forced to sit out most of the 4th quarter with foul trouble. Erin Swete and Katy Tomalenas each had 4 points for the contest. The Frosh team is now 7-6 for the season and 1-1 in league play and will travel to Foothill to face the Falcons on Tuesday.
January 18, 2008
Photos for the shoot-a-thon and both the JV-Dougherty Valley and Frosh-Campolindo game are now in Kodak Gallery.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 45 - Castro Valley 34
January 18, 2008
The Monte Vista frosh team traveled to Castro Valley HS for an unusual 7:00 pm game in mid week. The frosh only contest was tight from the tip off with the host hanging onto a slim 9-8 lead after 1 quarter. Monte Vista took the 2nd quarter by the same slim margin, outscoring CV 11-10 to deadlock the score 19-19 at the half. The close game was broken open in the 3rd period when Katy Tomalenas connected on three consecutive baskets while the defense limited Castro Valley to only 15 points in the entire second half. Erin Swete started at point for the first time this season and combined with Natalie Roveto for 10 points while forward Lauren Vujovich again led the team with 17 while Katy Tomalenas finished with 9 points. Forward Jenna Cordesius also contributed 7 points in a balanced scoring output for the starters. MV improves to 7-5 and will await Amador Valley in a huge Friday evening game at Monte Vista.
Monte Vista (JV) 46 - Dougherty Valley 33
January 16, 2008
This is the only year Dougherty Valley HS will be playing in the EBAL. At the re-alignment next season, they will move to the DFAL where schools like Miramontes, Acalanes, Campolindo and Northgate compete. Their JV team, however, will become DV's varsity squad comes next season and has shown it may be ready to move to the next level by beating some of the better JV competitions this season including the Livermore team that gave Monte Vista all they could handle last Friday. This well anticipated game played out according to script in the first half with Dougherty Valley using their quickness and offensive rebounding ability to grab an 8-7 first quarter lead. The seesaw battle reached half time with MV taking back a single point lead at 18-17 into the locker room. Adjustment by Coach Steve Cornell and tightening of his defense changed the complexion of the contest in the 3rd quarter. MV used a 12-0 run to take a 30-17 advantage only to see Dougherty Valley trimmed it to 8 to close out the 3rd quarter. Monte Vista took a 15 point lead in the 4th quarter from where they would go on to win 46-33. The Monte Vista JV team is now 15-1 overall and 4-0 in EBAL play.
Campolindo (Frosh) 51 - Monte Vista (Frosh) 31
January 16, 2008
Monte Vista found out why Campolindo is 15-2 and has beaten every EBAL opponent they faced this season including Amador Valley. They have size in the middle and speed on the outside. The game, however, was competitive to the end with the Lady Mustangs finally figured out in the second half how to defend their big post who scored 18 points with 12 in the first half. Lauren Vujovich led MV with 9 points followed by 8 points from Katy Tomalenas who also held the duty of rebounding and screening out Campo's big forwards. Jenna Cordesius contributed 6 points while Natalie Roveto added 4. Erin Swete again played well at the point position
showing good court vision, ball handling skills and ability to penetrate. Next up is tomorrow evening against HAAL foe Castro Valley at Castro Valley.
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The Big Social...2008 Shoot-a-thon
January 13, 2008
The 2008 Monte Vista Women's Basketball Shoot-a-thon fund-raiser was well attended by players and family. Over 3,000 free throws were attempted and nearly 2,000 were made by players from all three teams. The parents-daughter shooting contest was hotly contested with Lauren Vujuvich and her Dad Gary winning the Frosh division while Alex Smolen taking advantage of her ringer "parent" - Mr. Kuiper edged out the Mizono's for the JV division title while Christi Beeman and her Dad Chris took the varsity and overall title. The parent versus players game afterwards was hilarious as a bunch of middle age parents and coaches took serious health risks to oppose the game ready youngsters. Several points became starkly clear after the contest: 1. Athleticism being hereditary is way over blown 2. For more "mature" people, it is better to listen to you body and not your mind 3. When you are tired, to hell with defense 4. There are good reasons why Ibuprofen and Tylenol remain best sellers judging from how gingerly many parents left the gym at the end of the day. Other observed notes: Running shoes make lousy basketball shoes as parents were slipping and sliding on the hardwood; Mr. Williams must be a quarterback in his younger days as he fired over a half dozen 90 feet passes from one end of the court to the other; mothers are fierce competitors judging from the play of Mrs. Middleton, Mrs Beeman and Mrs. Scott; players egged coach Pat to dunk 2 days after he had his back spasm at the Cal game; Mr. Vigar went down more times than one could count but never failed to bounce back up; hitting Mr. Samia is like hitting an 18 wheeler; Mr. Rabago still have left over skills from his playing day at St. Mary's College; Mr. Olivera flat still can play; coach Steve Cornell took 5 bags of left over ice home allegedly for Stef's knee. We all know they are for his knees; Shaiela's dad was the only casualty with an ankle/foot sprain but he cheerfully said 'the X-Ray and doctor's visit are free.' Go Monte Vista !
?? JV Team Photo
January 12, 2008
Frosh Team Photo
January 12, 2008
These are the team and individual pictures we took while the official photographer was in between shots. They are now posted on the Kodak Gallery. You can either directly order prints from Kodak or email me (Hox97@aol.com) and I can send them to you. The official photographs will be available at the end of the season.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 66 - Livermore 25
January 12, 2008
Ron Hirschman's team played probably its best defensive game this season holding a potent Livermore team to only 5 field goals and 25 points total including 1 point in the first and 2 points in the 3rd quarter. This came on the heel of Livermore's surprisingly close game against Amador Valley. With one of the University of Oregon coaches in the stand, Niveen Rasheed quietly dropped in 16 points and pulled down 8 rebounds along with 4 assists. Freshman forward Kaylie Williams had a breakout game scoring 10 points, collected 6 rebounds and blocked the only shot in the contest. Anina Middleton scored 9 points while Christi Beeman added 7 and Sam St. Laurent contributed a pair of baskets. The 15-2, 3-0 Lady Mustangs will now have to wait a full week to the first showdown of the season when Amador Valley comes to town on Friday.
Monte Vista (JV) 42 - Livermore 38
January 12, 2008
With 21 seconds left in the game and Monte Vista hanging onto the slimmest 40-38 lead, Krystal Mizono calmly stepped to the line and sank both the front and back end of an one on one to give Monte Vista a two possessions lead they would not surrender. The stout Livermore squad took advantage of a partisan crowd, stormed back from an 8 points half time deficit to tie and eventually took the lead at 37-36 and 38-37 late in the 4th quarter. Aside from hitting both clutch free throws, Krystal Mizono also finished with a game leading 14 points. Alyssa Samia continued to struggle at the free throw line hitting only 4 of 10 attempts but still managed to score 10 points while Alex Smolen added 8. Monte Vista is now 14-1, 3-0 heading into Tuesday's showdown with Doherty Valley High School.
Monte Vista(Varsity) 52 - California 45
January 10, 2008
When the team had 22 turnovers, Niveen Rasheed was held to a season low 5 points due to early foul trouble and Amil Amin collected only 3 points for the game, logic had it that Monte Vista was in for a long night and indeed they were. The rescue came in the form of Dani Rabago who played perhaps her best game as a Monte Vista player. She dropped in a season high 17 points along with handling the point duty in the absence of Niveen. Her 18 footer from the left corner late in the 4th quarter when Cal High had closed the contest to 2 points was critical as the Grizzlies could not come closer the rest of the game. During the crucial waning minutes of the tight second half, Nicole Vigar also hit a huge 12 foot jumper to keep Monte Vista from trailing in the game that saw the Lady Mustangs twice blown 14 point lead in the second half. Alexandria "X" Whalen continued her strong game this season with 9 points while Anina Middleton added 6. Monte Vista improves to 14-2, 2-0 and will visit Livermore Friday.
Tony's Surprise Visit !
January 10, 2008
Former Monte Vista Varsity assistant coach Tony Arndt surprised everyone by walking through the Cal High gym door this evening. Tony is visiting the East Bay from his Southern California home and decided to see how the MV varsity team is doing this season. Was he treated to a thriller...
Monte Vista(JV) 49 - California 21
January 10, 2008
An undersized although scrappy Grizzlies squad simply could not keep up with Monte Vista falling behind 16-2 after 1 quarter and 25-6 at the half. Cal High actually won the 3rd quarter 10-8 but a timeout in the early 4th quarter by visibly displeased coach Steve Cornell quickly restored the team's focus. MV went on to take the 4th quarter 16-5 and winning going away by 28 points. Alyssa Samia again was unstoppable when she is on the court scoring 14 points to lead the team. Nicole Olivera had a strong game with 8 points along side Krystal Misono who had 6. Freshman forward Arielle Hall-King scored a season high 8 points including 7 of 10 from the free throw line. The JV team improves to 13-1, 2-0 and looks forward to a tougher contest at Livermore on Friday.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 41 - Cal High 14
January 10, 2008
The freshmen last played as a team before Christmas on December 15 at the Petaluma Tournament. The players came back fresh instead of rusty and handily defeated the California Grizzlies at their season opener. Lauren Vujuvich dominated the paint on both the offensive and defensive end scoring 16 points to lead the team. Erin Swete had a fabulous game at point running the offense plus scoring 6 points. Forward Katy Tomalenas was saddled with early foul trouble but still managed 6 points with Jenna Cordesius adding 4 and Natalie Roveto contributing 3. Coach Pat Nevin's team improves to 6-4 for the year.
Monte Vista (Varsity) at Cal High
January 9, 2008
The East Bay's 12th ranked Monte Vista women's team takes its 13-2 record on the road to face a revitalized Cal High team under new coach Gabe Adami. The Grizzlies(11-4) have not won this many pre-season games in over half a decade and may signify return to competitive basketball. Niveen Rasheed obviously has been the main force in Monte Vista's line-up and Cal High will do whatever it takes to slow her down. Senior Captain Anina Middleton who had 10 points against Granada and junior guard Alexandria "X" Whalen who is 3rd on the team in scoring will need to continue their presence to alleviate the pressure on Niveen who averages 16.5 points a game.
Away Game at California
January 9, 2008
Steve Cornell will bring his 12-1 defending JV EBAL Champions team into Grizzlies territory tonight for his first away league game. Seen here are Krystal Misono and Nicole Olivera setting up the double screen for Alyssa Samia against Granada. For Nicole & Alyssa, this will be their first visit to the unique California "coliseum" style gym.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 51 - Granada 37
January 8, 2008
Niveen Rasheed had a spectacular game scoring a career high 27 points despite uncharacteristically hitting only 5 of 14 free throw attempts. She also grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out 4 assists and had 9 steals! Monte Vista opened the game with an 11-0 run and appeared on the verge of blowing the game wide open in the 1st quarter only to see Granada tightened their defense and crawled back into the game by out scoring Monte Vista 12-2 in early 2nd quarter to tie the game at 19-19. Two quick baskets by Niveen put MV back on top en route to a 9 point half time lead. 9 was the closest Granada was able to come to Monte Vista the rest of the way in spite of foul trouble for Amil Amin, Morgane Dulfer and Ellen Campbell who eventually fouled out of the contest late in the 4th quarter. Amil finished with 6 points including her 1st three point basket this season and Anina added 10. MV improves to 13-2 (1-0) and will play California on Wednesday at Cal High.
Monte Vista (JV) 55 - Granada 32
January 7, 2008
MV jumped out early and never looked back building a 30 points lead after 3 quarters throttling back to win comfortably by 23 against a spirited Granada squad in their league opener. The Lady Matadors had no answer for Taylor Fazio who had 17 points followed by 12 points from Alex Smolen and 11 from Alyssa Samia . MV is now 12-1, 1-0.
Monte Vista's 2003-04 EBAL Championship title didn't do it; Monte Vista's 2006-07 EBAL title didn't do it; last season 22 consecutive wins didn't do it. It took a loss to Castlemont on a stormy Friday to land top billing for the Lady Mustangs simultaneously on the Contra Costa Times and San Francisco Chronicle...The setback was different than the loss to Notre Dame Belmont but the sting was the same. Monte Vista had the lead virtually the entire first half but was ultimately done in by foul trouble as the Knights went to the line 24 times in the first half alone connecting on 18 of them. Castlemont's size presented a serious challenge inside but MV had the upper hand on the perimeter hitting 6 three pointers, 2 each by Crystal Florida, Anina Middleton and Alexandria Whalen who led the team with 17 points while Anina added 12, all in the second half. Niveen Rasheed was hampered by early foul difficulty and had to sit a significant portion of the 2nd quarter. She did finished with 14 points. Amil Amin also had limited minutes in the first half after picking up her second foul within the first minutes of the contest and finished with only 4 points, a far cry from her 10.5 ppg average. Ellen Campbell, however, stepped up and played tough defense in the paint in Amil's absense plus scoring 4 points. MV falls to 12-1 and now awaits Granada at home on Monday at the league opener.
Monte Vista (JV) 42 - Castlemont 32
January 6, 2008
Hmmmmm...
January 3, 2008
Who is the proud owner of this masterpiece ??
Did you ever wonder what they say in the huddle before a big game ???
December 30, 2007
Ellen Campbell has definitely developed a senior attitude: 'No one from the other team is going to push me around' - including all state center from Pinole Valley HS Danisha Stallworth...On Saturday, Ellen scored a season high 6 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, blocked a shot (okay, they called it a foul)and had a steal against a physical Menlo-Atherton squad at the Newark Memorial HS Tournament.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 50 - Menlo Atherton 35
December 30, 2007
Players were hungry and angry after yesterday's loss to Notre Dame-Belmont and they showed it on the court in the 1st quarter by taking a 20-6 lead using full court pressure. After a let up in the 2nd quarter, the lead was built to 40-13 in the 3rd quarter en route to a relatively easy victory. Amil Amin led the team with 14 points while Niveen Rasheed added 8 points along with her ability to continuously generate havoc with the opponents. Center Ellen Campbell played a strong game offensively and defensively which includes her season high 6 points. MV is now 12-1 heading into Friday's afternoon game at Castlemont.
Monte Vista (JV) 45 - Notre Dame 28
After 2 straight routs, Monte Vista finally got tested against a good Notre Dame Belmont team at the championship game of the Newark Memorial HS Tournament. MV trailed the entire 1st quarter but the defense held ND-Belmont to only 2 points in the 2nd quarter as Coach Cornell's squad took a 10 point advantage into the locker room. The 3rd quarter was a seesaw battle with the lead held around 10 points but Monte Vista was able to finally pull away for good in the 4th quarter twice building a 15 point lead and Jenna Cordesius's 2 free throws at the waning moments of the contest made the final margin of 17. Alyssa Samia had 12 points today and 47 for the tournament including a 23 point outing yesterday against Castro Valley and was named tournament MVP. Alex Smolen led the team with 15 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team along with Kendyl Bachelor who had a fantastic tournament handling the ball and playing tough defense. Lauren Vujuvich, on loan from the frosh sqaud, had 8 points for the tournament. The 11-1 JV team will take on Castlemont on Friday.
Notre Dame Belmont 55 - Monte Vista (Varsity) 54
December 29, 2007
Monte Vista (11-1) suffered its first loss of the season against the full court pressure of Notre Dame (8-2) at the Newark Memorial HS Tournament. Monte Vista led by as many as 10 in the first quarter but the lead was trimmed to 3 at the half with Notre Dame tying the game at 40-40 in the 3rd quarter ultimately went on to take a 50-44 lead in the 4th period only to see MV battled back to tie the game at 50-50 on a three point play by Amil Amin with 2 minutes left in the contest. Notre Dame went back on top 52-50 on a pull-up basket by Jaclyn Bisordi who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers but a turnover and layup by Anina Middleton brought the Lady Mustangs even at 52-52 with just over a minute remaining in the game. MV had the ball and the game tied at 54-54 with 17 seconds on the clock but missed the winning shot and Notre Dame was fouled on the rebound and hit one of two free-throws to win the game. Niveen Rasheed had 16 points and Alexandria 'X' Whalen added 14 while Dani Rabago had a strong outing with 10 points including a pair of three's. Monte Vista will play the loser of Menlo Atherton and Newark Memorial tomorrow at 6:15 pm.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 70 - Irvington 37
December 29, 2007
Monte Vista (JV) 56 - Arroyo 19
December 29, 2007
"Outstanding Player" at Petaluma Frosh Tournament
December 20, 2007
Freshman forward Lauren Vujuvich was selected "Outstanding Player" for the Petaluma Tournament. In spite of missing significant playing time due to her arm injury in the championship game, Lauren scored 34 points during the tournament guiding her team to a 2nd place finish. She also leads the team in scoring averaging 11.6 points per contest.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 35 - James Logan 27
December 19, 2007
The Freshman team improves its season record to 6-4 with a convincing victory against a fellow Division I opponent on the road. Natalie Roveto grabbed the opening tip and went in for a lay up as Monte Vista hit the first 3 shots it took to go up 6-0, eventually building a 14-2 first quarter and 21-4 halftime lead it never relinquished. Lauren Vujuvich led the team with 9 points followed by Katy Tomalenas with 8. Natalie Roveto also finished with 8 points while Jenna Cordesius and Erin Swete each contributed 4.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 55 - Rodriquez 43
December 18, 2007
The 9-0 and SF Chronicle 7th ranked Monte Vista varsity squad traveled into Solano County to take on undefeated Rodriquez HS (6-0) on a rainy night and came away with a hard fought victory. The Rodriquez Mustangs turned out to be the quickest team MV has faced this season along with a dominant 6'1" freshman center in Christina Hunter who had 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Monte Vista countered with Amil Amin who answered with a career high 19 points plus 9 rebounds and the incomparable Niveen Rasheed who scored 23 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and had 7 steals. Monte Vista took a 13-7 lead to open the game only to see Rodriquez scored the next 8 points to lead 15-13. The game was tied at 15 after one quarter with MV taking a 6 points halftime lead the last 2 points off a buzzer beater basket from Amil Amin off a beautiful assist from Niveen Rasheed. Monte Vista had built a 9 point lead half way into the 3rd quarter only to see Rodriquez cutting the advantage to 5 on two occasions. The game remained single digit close throughout the 4th quarter with the final score being the largest margin. Crystal Florida came off the bench to score 7 points including a three to give MV its first 9 point lead in the 4th quarter. The 10-0 Lady Mustangs will take a short Christmas break and resume action at the Newark Memorial HS Tournament December 27th against Irvington.
Monte Vista (JV) 60 - Rodriquez 38
December 18, 2007
Alyssa Samia was absolutely dominant in an evening game delayed by significant injury to an opposing playing in an freak accident. Ms. Samia sat out the entire 2nd quarter and portion of the 3rd and 4th quarter and still came up with a season high 24 points to lead all scorers. Balanced offense was also provided by Krystal Misono, Alex Smolen and Taylor Fazio with 9, 8 & 8 points respectively. Nicole Olivera added 5 points and shared point guard duty against a quick and aggressive opponent.
Monte Vista (Frosh) 51 - Vintage 34
December 15, 2007
The freshman team moves into this afternoon's championship game against host Petaluma HS.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 48 - Oakland Tech 36
December 15, 2007
A cold shooting night was offset by great offensive rebounding as the Monte Vista Varsity squad rolled to its 9 consecutive victory against the very team that had knocked it out of the region championship last season. Niveen Rasheed had an uncharacteristic 9 turnovers but more than made up for it with an astonishing triple double ( 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 steals ). Amil Amin was the only other player in double digit scoring also with 14. The team will travel Monday to Fairfield against Rodriquez HS.
Monte Vista (Frosh ) 50 - Mt. Tamapais 8
December 15, 2007
Monte Vista Wins Merced Christmas Tournament
December 13, 2007
Monte Vista followed up its winning of the Alhambra Tournament with a second tournament championship at Merced High School. This marked the 7th straight pre-season tournament the Lady Mustangs have won since fall of 2005. The host team from Merced attempted to press MV without success resulting in falling behind 37-15 at halftime from which they would not recover ending in a 73-38 victory fot MV. Anina Middleton had a fantastic day scoring 19 points in the first half including 3 out of 4 three point attempts ending with 24 for the game. Niveen Rasheed added 13 and Alexandria "X" Whalen contributed 9. Christi Beeman also chipped in 8 points including 6/6 from the line. Monte Vista will return home in time to face Dublin.
Monte Vista ( Varsity ) 53 - Dublin 46
December 12, 2007
25 turnovers including 4 in a row in the final 3 minutes kept the fiesty Dublin team in the game. In front of the UC Davis assistant coach, Niveen Rasheed almost single handedly carried Monte Vista (8-0) to the win with 24 points, 8 rebounds 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 block shots. Forward Amil Amin also contributed heavily with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Point guard Anina Middleton was held to 2 points following a huge day at Merced but did handed out 6 assists. Alexandria Whalen added 8 points including a crucial pair of free throw just before the half when the Gaels had trimmed the lead to 2.
Monte Vista (JV) 53 - Dublin 21
December 12, 2007
Krystal Misono scored a career best 22 points including a trio of three pointers to lead the Lady Mustangs to a relatively easy win over the Gaels. The other half of the MV guard tandem Nicole Olivera added 7 points including another from beyond the arc. Center Alyssa Samia contributed a workman-like 11 points and 11 rebounds while Taylor Fazio rounded out the front court scoring with 8. The JV squad improves to 6-1 and will travel to face Rodriquez HS on Monday.
Team & Individual Stats Updated
Aside from the Varsity Championship game against Merced HS, all team and individual stats have been completely updated. Also individual player photos are also in. Please note that the freshman team is still under Frosh-Soph even though we have a true all freshman squad. Kodak gallery update, however,will take a while...And if you don't like your picture or just want a new one because you have a new look, just let Mr. Tao know.
Heritage ( Frosh ) 44 - Monte Vista ( Frosh ) 40
December 9, 2007
Saddled with foul trouble, both starting forwards Lauren Vujovich and Katy Tomalenas had to sit out a significant portion of the first half during which the Heritage Patriots went on a 14-2 run to take a 19-13 lead. Down by 5 at the half and by as many as 10 points late in the 3rd quarter, the Monte Vista freshman team fought back to tie the game mainly on the strength of 3 straight outside baskets by Jenna Cordesius and free throw shooting by Katy Tomalenas who sank 7 of 8 from the line and Lauren Vujovich who converted 3 out of 4. Katy Tomalenas received her 5th foul early in the 4th quarter and with Monte Vista holding a 4 point lead with 3 minutes remaining in the game, both Lauren Vujovich and Elli Hatton fouled out in quick succession essentially ending the Lady Mustangs' inside threat. Natalie Roveto who finished with 8 points kept MV within striking distance with a late basket but Heritage eventually walked away with a hard fought 4 point victory. Point guard Erin Swete had another solid game against a tough man defense with 4 points and both Katrina Chun and Corinne Brunchkurst filled in admirably for their fouled out teammates. The team will have a week of practice before heading to the wine country for their 3rd tournament.
Monte Vista (JV) 47 - Acalanes 24
December 9, 2007
Monte Vista started slowly on the offensive end highlighted in the first half only by Alex Smolen's reversed lay up and her buzzer beating long three pointer. The defense, however, held the Dons to only 4 points each quarter, giving the Lady Mustangs a 19-8 lead at the half. Three pointers by Krystal Misono and Jacqui Peterson plus inside baskets by Alyssa Samia opened the lead to 35-16 after 3 quarters which was extended to 27 points after a pair of quick jumpers from Nicole Olivera and Taylor Fazio effective ending any chance of an Acalanes comeback. Back-up point guard Shaiela Bhuiyan had another strong outing, showing good poise under pressure. Alex Smolen led the team with 13 points. The JV's record improves to 6-1 and will take on Dublin HS at Dublin on Tuesday.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 56 - Turlock 34
December 9, 2007
The Varsity squad still managed a comfortable 22 points victory with Niveen Rasheed in early foul trouble. Anina Middleton broke out of her scoring slump with 11 points while Dani Rabago and each contributed 7. Monte Vista(6-0) will take on host Merced in tomorrow's 5 pm championship game.
Sacred Heart Cathedral 59 - Monte Vista (JV) 43
December 8, 2007
The Irish came with all Monte Vista had expected - speed, athleticism and coaching along with a high pressure man defense. The Lady Mustangs did not pull off the upset because they had simply too many turnovers but nevertheless gave Sacred Heart Cathedral a spirited match up, repeatedly came back from large deficits to turn the game into a contest. Ultimately, the better team won but Steve Cornell's squad had no reason to hang their heads losing to one of the best programs in the state. Alex Smolen and Alyssa Samia each had 11 points to lead the team. Monte Vista (4-1) will face Acalanes tomorrow at 2:15pm for 3rd place.
MV (Frosh) 39 - Alhambra 37
December 8, 2007
Coach Pat Nivens' frosh team had a roller coaster game first jumping to 15-6 and 17-10 leads only to watch the Alhambra Bulldogs go on a 18-4 tear in the second quarter to lead by 5 at half time. Things got worse in the second half as Monte Vista was unable to convert on multiple point blank opportunities with Alhambra stretching its advantage to 8 after 3 quarters.
Then coach Nivens switched out of his quazi zone defense and pressured the ball up court. Defense also tightened up limiting Alhambra to a Single point for the entire 4th quarter. Monte Vista finally tied the score at 36-36 with 3 minutes left in the game, went ahead by 2 and had to withstand a series of furious come back attempts to close out the game. Lauren Vujuvich led all scorers with a season high 18 points, her 5th consecutive double digit offensive games and Jenna Cordesius added 7. Elli Hatton and Katy Tomalenas each had 4 points.
Monte Vista will play for the tournament championship tomorrow at 4pm against the speedy Heritage Patriots.
MV (JV) 55 - St Patrick-St. Vincent 28
December 7, 2007
Alyssa Samia picked up her 2nd foul early in the second quarter and had to sit out the rest of the first half while St Patrick/St Vincent took the opportunity to cut a 21-3 deficit to 21-12 to close the half trailing only by 9. Monte Vista responded by building a 20 point cushion at the end of 3 quarters and won the game going away with a combination of strong inside game and tough defense. Alyssa finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and the JV squad goes to 4-0. Next up will be the juggernauts from Sacred Heart Cathedral School in San Francisco who had defeated Berkeley High in an earlier game by 50 !
MV (Varsity) 68 - Oakdale 21
December 7, 2007
Niveen Rasheed took Monte Vista on a 30-1 run to open the Merced Christmas Tournament and finished with 23 points while the Lady Mustang rolled to a 47 points win over Oakdale. Amil Amin was the only other player with double figure scoring with 10 but senior Morgame Dulfer had a season high 8 points. Alexandria "X" Whalen also added 8 with Anina Middleton contributing 6 points. Monte Vista (5-0) will next take on Turlock in the semi final game.
MV (Frosh) 44 - College Park 17
December 7, 2007
Natalie Roveto scored 12 points and Lauren Vujuvich added 10 points to lead the Monte Vista Frosh team to a comfortable 27 points win improving their record to 2-2. The full court pressure clearly troubled College Park as MV got off to a big lead and never looked back. Jenna Cordesius scored a season best 8 points following a pair of 7 points games last week. Monte Vista will now face host Alhambra in the 2nd of the three round-robin contest.
JV and Frosh Back in Action...
December 6, 2007
After a 4 day break, the undefeated JV squad (3-0) will be back in action tonight in the tough Carondalet Tournament opening against St. Patrick / St. Vincent at 8:00 pm. The tournament features many of the strongest basketball programs in Northern California including defending D-III State Champions Sacred Heart Cathedral, St. Mary's Berkeley, Carondalet, Amador, Berkeley High and of course, last season's 25-1 Monte Vista. The Frosh team (1-2) rebounding from a difficult San Ramon Tournament, in the meanwhile will be at Alhambra this afternoon opening the defense of the Bulldogs Tournament title at 3:30 pm. Coach Pat Nivens' team has looked good in practice and should have a strong showing this weekend.
Monte Vista 64 - Hayward 45
December 5, 2007
Monte Vista(4-0) dashed out to a 25-1 lead and built a 59-29 advantage at the end of three quarters before throttling back resulting in a deceptively close final score. Niveen Rasheed led MV with 15 points and 8 rebounds while Christi Beeman set a personal best with 12 points including 4/4 from the line. Amil Amin quietly put in her double digit output with 12 and Alexandria "X" Whalen was still sizzling with another couple of three's and 12 points. One of the disappointments was the return of poor free-throw shooting. After hitting 75% against Heritage, Monte Vista is again back at sub-500 with 8 or 17 from the charity line. Without Christi Beeman and Amil Amin who combined for 6/6, the rest of the team shot a grand total of 1/11. Merced Tournament is Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Lookout for the fog on Highway 99 !
Monte Vista 68 - Heritage 28
December 2, 2007 - 01:07 AM
Monte Vista applied full court pressure early to disrupt the flow of Heritage's point guard Ivy Jones who only managed 6 points for the contest after a stellar game the evening before in a surprise rout of host Alhambra. The forced turnovers plus hot shooting from the entire starting rotation propelled coach Hirschman's team to a 25-9 first quarter advantage from which the Patriots never recovered. Alexandria "X" Whalen was on fire in the first half draining all three of her 3 pointer attempts and went 4 for 4 from the line to lead all scorers with 17 points by intermission. She finished with a career best 19 points off 6 of 10 from the field and was named to the All Tournament team. Tournament MVP went to Niveen Rasheed who had only 6 points but dished out 6 mostly spectacular assists while co-captain Anina Middleton played a well rounded game including 5 points and a personal best 8 assists. Amil Amin added 10 points and 8 rebounds while starting forward Nicole "COCO" Vigar scored 9 points in spite of playing limited minutes due to early foul trouble. Sophomore Dani Rabago followed up an excellent outing against Petaluma with another strong game contributing a season best 8 points. Senior center Ellen Campbell continues her steady play by logging significant minutes relieve Amil Amin while adding 2 baskets of her own. Congratulations also goes to freshman forward Haylee Williams who scored her first ever basket as a Monte Vista Player in the fourth quarter. Next up is an away game against the Farmers at Hayward on Tuesday.
Monte Vista (JV) 53 - Hercules 46
December 2, 2007 - 12:45 AM
Coach Cornell's JV team never trailed in the contest but the Championship game of the Castlemont Tournament between Monte Vista (3-0) and Hercules was close from start to end with the Lady Mustangs led by a slim 2 points at intermission and with Hercules within 3 points with 2 minutes left in the game. Kendall Bachelor sank both the front and back end of a one and one to give MV the final lead they would not relinquish. Kendall finished with 6 points for the game. Alyssa Samia again led the scoring with 12 along with her usual dominance in the low post. She was selected on the All Tournament team. Alex Smolen had 9 points plus an excellent all round game and was voted the Tournament MVP. Krystal Misono and Taylor Fazio scored 9 and 8 points respectively both received All Tournament honor. Nicole Olivera contributed 4 points while Jacqui Peterson sanked her first 3 pointer of the season. Arielle Hall-King had 2 points but handed out 3 assists plus a strong defensive game. The team will rest the next 4 days before heading to the tough Carondalet Tournament to face St. Patrick / St. Vincent on Thursday.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 45 - Petaluma 29
December 1, 2007 - 12:38 AM
Niveen Rasheed had a career best 25 points along with 8 rebounds and 8 steals to lead Monte Vista over a pesky but ultimately undermanned Petaluma team. Ms. Rasheed now has 18 steals in two game along with a 22 points per game average in the Alhambra tournament. Amil Amin had 6 points along with 4 points each from Dani Rabago, Alexandria Whalen and Anina Middleton who also had 7 steals. The Lady 'Stangs now has a date with the Heritage High School Patriots, who had handily defeat the host Lady Bulldogs, at the Championship Game tomorrow evening at 7:30 pm.
Monte Vista (JV) 53 - Fairfield 48
December 1, 2007 - 12:17 AM
Monte Vista built a 29-18 half time lead but had to hang on in the second half against a quick and physical Fairfield team which, in the waning minutes of the contest, had cut MV's lead to 3 using full court pressure. A steal and lay up by Alex Smolen gave the team enough cushion to spread the court and run out the clock. Alex finished with 12 points. Alyssa Samia played on a tender ankle and almost single handedly brought down Fairfield with 20 points many off offensive rebounds and putbacks. Krystal Misono had her second consecutive double digit game with 10 and Taylor Fazio and Nicole Olivera added 5 and 4 points respectively. The victory earns Monte Vista a spot in the Championship Game against another quick team from Hercules High School.
Monte Vista (JV) 71 - Washington-SF 36
November 30, 2007 - 02:14 AM
Freshman center Alyssa Samia injured her ankle during the contest but fellow freshman forward Taylor Fazio stepped up to fill the void with 20 points and controlled the paint as coach Cornell's JV squad used its size advantage to defeat George Washington HS from San Francisco and advanced into tomorrow's semi final round of the annual Castlemont Tournament. Point guard Crystal Mizono also contributed heavily by distributing the ball plus scoring 14 points. In spite of the injury, Alyssa Samia still had 10 points while Kendall Bachelor added 8, Rachel Scott with 6 and Nicole Olivera with 5.
Monte Vista 59 - Rio Linda 25
Monte Vista ( 1-0 ) scored the first 12 points and never looked back crusing to a confortable 34 points win to open the 2007-08 season
at the Alhambra Bulldog Tournament. Niveen Rasheed led all scorers with 19 along with 10 steals despite playing barely over a half. Anina Middleton added 10 points while Alexandria "X" Whalen hit three baskets from the distance and ended with 9 points.
Getting Ready For Season Opener
Coach Hirschman getting the varsity girls ready for tomorrow's season opener
at the Alhambra High School Tournament against Rio Linda from the San Joaquin Section. The opponent is a total unknown except for a 21-7 record in 06-07.
Varsity Scrimmage Against Pinole Valley
MV against Denisha Stalworth and company from Pinole Valley High School that won 65 games the past two seasons...
JV Scrimmage against Pinole Valley
Frosh Pictures Against Acalanes Are Now On Kodak Gallery
Acalanes 53 - Monte Vista ( Frosh ) 32
Using full court pressure, the Acalanes Dons broke open a tight game mid way through the 2nd quarter with a 15-0 run that saw a tied game at 16-16 became a 31-16 Acalanes' lead at half time, an advantage they would hold throughout the remainder of the contest. Lauren Vujurich led the team with 11 points and Jenna Cordesius added 7. Natalie Roveto and Elli Hatton each had 6 points for the Mustangs. Monte Vista (1-1) will now face Livermore's JV squad at the third place game tomorrow afternoon.
Monte Vista ( Frosh ) 49 - Salesian 19
November 19, 2007
The Monte Vista Freshman team(1-0) opens its 2007-08 campaign with a resounding win at the opening round of the San Ramon Valley High School Tournament against Salesian High School from Richmond. Natalie Roveto led the scoring with 16 followed by Lauren Vujurich by 14. Katy Tomalenas added 8 with Corinne Brunchurst and Jenna Cordesius contributing 7 and 4 points respectively. Tough Acalanes will be the opponent at the next round on Friday.
Varsity Scrimmage Photographs against Washington are now on Kodak Gallery
November 19, 2007
Please click on Link at top of page to access Kodak Gallery. The images are all under Keith's Gallery. Again, you can order prints from Kodak directly or I can just send you images you want vis email. Day game at Washington HS is ideal for photography. Night games at Alhambra or San Ramon would be far more limited...
JV photographs @ Kodak Gallery
November 18, 2007
Photographs taken at the Scrimmage at Washington yesterday are now up at the Kodak Gallery. Just click the link at the top of the page. Varsity images will be coming hopefully later today. It is very time consuming to edit each image. Pictures, by the way, can be ordered directly from Kodak or I can just forward them to you. Either call or email Keith Tao at 925 785 8366 / hox97@aol.com
Varsity Scrimmaged Huskies at Washington
November 18, 2007
One would assume losing 5 seniors to graduation, 3 of them starters, would have a profound effect on the Varsity team. You would not know it by watching the spirited contest. The team is undoubtedly smaller in the paint as 4 out of the 5 graduated players played in the post position. They are, however, faster and quicker and have the ability to pressure the ball the entire court - a sure departure from the half court game of past seasons...
JV Scrimmage at Washington
November 17, 2007
The JV squad had a virtual complete makeover with only three returning players in Kendall Bachelor, Crystal Mizono and Alex Smolen from last season's 25-1 EBAL Champion team. The new team, which includes three freshman players, did not miss a beat in a 46-27 scrimmage win over the always tough Washington Huskies in Fremont. The Lady Mustangs unveiled a new power front line that has a chance to dominate the EBAL JV league this winter. Stay tuned for the introduction of the new members on this site.
Open Gym 2007-08 !!
October 2, 2007
A new season is upon us and open gym starts at Stone Valley Middle School
where new and returning players at all levels will meet to re-focus their skills.
2007-08 Season On The Horizon
September 20, 2007
The four juniors Nicole Vigar, Alexandria 'X' Whalen, Niveen Rasheed and Amil Amin along with senior Anina Middleton will form the core of the 07-08 squad after losing 5 players to graduation 3 of them starters. The group will be complemented by experienced and capable returning varsity players Crystal Florida, Christi Beeman and Ellen Campbell as well as members from coach Steve Cornell's 25-1 EBAL champion JV team. Head Varsity coach Ron Hirschman will return for his 17th season at Monte Vista again assisted by coach Pat Nivens who will continue to oversee the Frosh program.
What student in 2007 would turn down UC Berkeley and UCLA ?? Allison Samson said 'thanks but no thanks' to the Cal Bears and the UCLA Bruins. She will attend Villanova University outside philadelphia in the fall. One of the oldest, largest and highest ranked catholic universities in the country best known for the shocking NCAA men's basketball title in the '80s under Rollie Massimino. Go Ally !
Four year Varsity center Carlyn Raphel has decided to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall majoring in English. The head coach of the women's basketball team has also offered Carlyn a chance to play with the Division I Big West Conference team if she chooses to.
Last season's co-captain and All-EBAL guard Stephanie Cornell, seen here with ET, will be headed to Sonoma State University where she will be given the opportunity to play NCAA basketball as well as be a student at the lovely wine country campus.
Anina Middleton with her AAU team this spring in North Carolina
participating in the "Deep South Shootout" held at University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University.
Where are the Seniors Going Next Year ?
May 5, 2007
The information will be posted as the seniors' plans become firm. Kerry Beeman will be heading to UC Santa Barbara to play waterpolo and Natalie Sipos will be attending Scripps College, perhaps further her basketball career with the Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps consortium squad.
Final Tribute To A Great Season
April 28, 2007
To cap off her coming out season, Niveen Rasheed was named to the All State Sophomore Team by StudentSports. In addition, she is also named the #4 ranked player in northern California for the class of 2009 by NorCalPrep.
More Honors for Niveen...
April 20, 2007
The post season honors continue to roll in for Niveen Rasheed. The sophomore was named yesterday to the Division I All Norcal team by Rival.com.
All Metro Honor...
April 15, 2007
Niveen Rasheed was named All Metro Honorable Mention by the San Francisco Chronicle and Contra Costa Times All Times second team. Monte Vista High School finished the season ranked 5th in the region by the Conta Costa Times and 12th by the Chronicle in northern California. Congratulations !
Memorable Night Revisited...
March 28, 2007
Pictures from one of the most memorable nights in Monte Vista Basketball are now available on the Kodak Gallery.
Senior Class Of 2006-07
March 22, 2007
Niveen Rasheed
First Team All EBAL Selection; EBAL Most Valuable Player 2006-07
Stephanie Cornell
First Team All-EBAL Selection
Carlyn Raphel
All EBAL Honarable Mention
Frosh-Soph Year-End Party
March 15, 2007 - 12:19 AM
More Year End Party
March 13, 2007 - 12:18 AM
JV Year End Party
More NorCal Actions...
March 10, 2007 - 08:52 PM
Oakland Tech 41 - Monte Vista 35
March 8, 2007 - 08:51 PM
Monte Vista did not play its best game and the great season ended at 27-3. Congratulations to the 2006-07 squad that posted the second most successful season ever in the program !
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We Can Do It.....
March 6, 2006 - 08:49 PM
We will again be underdog against Oakland Tech, the 2004 and 2005 CIF Division 1 State Champions. This is the team that eliminated San Ramon Valley last season from the regional. They have the athleticism. We have the Determination...
State Tournament Bracket
March 4, 2007 - 08:48 PM
As expected, Monte Vista received the #6 seed in the NorCal Regional Tournament and will face Oakland Tech Thursday, March 8th, 6:00pm at Cal State East Bay in Hayward. Berkeley, naturally, received the #1 seed.
Berkeley 61 - Monte Vista 42
March 3, 2007 - 08:47 PM
Berkeley lived up to its #1 seeding by defending its North Coast title against a determined but overmatched Monte Vista team. Alex Mitchell surprised MV's zone defense by hitting three outside shots in the opening minutes of the game. The Yellowjackets led 17-11 after one quarter but outscored Monte Vista 18-4 in the second quarter to build a virtually insurmountable 20 point lead by half time including a long 3 pointer as time expired. The second half was played on more even terms but the Lady 'Stangs could not trim Berkeley's lead to less than 17. Senior Stephanie Cornell led the team with 10 points including repeated drive through heavy traffic. Niveen Rasheed was blanketed by Jennifer Gross and Jazmine Perkins but still managed to score 9 points and collected 7 rebounds along with helping Stephanie Cornell break the full court pressure thrown by Berkeley. Center Carlyn Raphel added 8 points opposing the Oregon State bound Alex Mitchell while Kerry Beeman hit a pair of baskets from the deep left corner. Anina Middleton contributed 4 tough points one on a steal under the basket and one off a fast break. Monte Vista now awaits the CIF State Tournament Committee to release its seeding for the tournament. MV may play at Oakland Tech, Carlmont ( San Mateo ) or in Sacramento.
Tony Visits From SoCal
March 3, 2007 - 08:46 PM
Former Monte Vista Assistant Head Coach Tony Arndt made a special one day trip up north from Los Angeles to provide bench support against Berkeley at the North Coast Section championship game.
Title Game Against Mighty Berkeley Tonight
March 3, 2007 - 08:46 PM
Normally at this time of the year, the web site would be posting spring and summer basketball programs but it's March and Monte Vista is still practicing hard as they head into tonight's confrontation with the Berkeley High juggernauts. The Yellowjackets had a monopoly on the Northcoast title the past 2 decades but San Ramon Valley upended B-High last season to grab the NCS banner and it is now up to Monte Vista to carry on the task. This is Gene Nakamura's final season at Berkeley after 25 years and they are motivated to send him off with not only a sectional but possibly a state title. Beating the 'jackets at Berkeley would not be easy but Monte Vista is an unglamorous but quietly dangerous squad. We are a huge underdog and no one believes MV can even stay close to the host team. This is a perfect setup for an upset of monumental proportion...GO 'Stangs
Monte Vista 45 - San Leandro 37
February 28, 2007
By defeating San Leandro, Monte Vista improves to 27-1 and advances to the NCS Championship game against Berkeley High School (23-6) which beat Washington 58-41 in the other semifinals game. Monte Vista also qualifies for the NorCal Regional, the next step towards a Division I CIF state title. The Pirates led most of the first half although at no time over 5 points. This occured at 11-6 and 20-15 while MV was ahead only once at 13-11. San Leandro led 20-17 at the half and 29-27 after 3 quarters but the Lady 'Stangs made a 10-2 run midway through the 4th quarter to assume a 6 point lead at 37-31 only to see the Pirates came back off 2 MV turnovers to tie the score at 37-37 with 64 seconds left in the game. Carlyn Raphel's inside basket and foul conversion gave Monte Vista a crucial 40-37 lead they would not relinquish. Niveen Rasheed had a brilliant game with 17 points 6 rebounds and 3 steals while Carlyn Raphel added 11 points and 8 rebounds and senior captain Stephanie Cornell had 9 points along with 6 assists. The Championship game will be played at 8:00 pm Saturday at "neutral" Berkeley High School, compliment of North Coast Section.
Huge Game Tomorrow At Home Against San Leandro
February 28, 2007
San Leandro is a highly athletic, high scoring run and gun team that wore down Deer Valley at Deer Valley. They also can play defense as evident by their ability to limit the Wolverines to 57 points. They had defeated D-4 powerhouse Moreau Catholic and Bishop O'Dowd in the HAAL this season. On the other hand, San Leandro suffered close losses to Oakland Tech, Castlemont and Arroyo suggesting they can be irratic. A Monte Vista win requires a team defensive effort aka: zone defense and minimum turnovers. Scoring will have to come from sources in additional to Niveen and freethrow shooting needs to be at 70%. Go 'Stangs !
Call Up To Varsity...
February 26, 2007
Morgane Dulfer, Sam St. Laurent, Krystal Mizono, Dani Rabago and Alex Smolen have been called up by Coach Hirschman to varsity for the playoff run (Krystal cannot participate because of softball commitment for Monte Vista.) It is an honor and an honor well earned by the young ladies. Congratulations !
Monte Vista 54 - Granada 46
February 24, 2007
#3 Monte Vista (26-1) led essentially the entire game to oust #11 Granada from the NCS playoff at the quarterfinals round. In spite of the MV lead, the game was within striking distance until the final seconds. The Lady 'Stangs was ahead by as many as 12 points in the 4th quarter but was never able to completely shake the Matadors and Granada's comeback win against #6 Pittsburg on Tuesday served as a reminder the game is not over until the clock expires. Monte Vista's leading scorer Niveen Rasheed sat out a significant portion of the 1st half due to foul troube but center Carlyn Raphel stepped up huge with a career high 17 points along with 6 rebounds and 2 block shots. Anina Middleton re-emerged from her scoring drought with 10 points with key baskets when Granada threatened to close the gap. Captain Stephanie Cornell had 9 points including a deep 3 from the left corner plus a game leading 7 assists. Nicole Vigar again played well with repeated hustle plays while senior Allie Samson scored a pair of baskets in the first half when Monte Vista was struggling to gain control of the game.
Coach Pat Nevins
February 22, 2007
In his second year at Monte Vista, Coach Pat Nivens has taken on the role of assistant varsity coach in addition to being the head coach for the Frosh-Soph squad which quietly has had a strong 2006-07 season finishing 6-4 in EBAL and 11-7 overall including a 3rd place finish at the San Ramon Tournament and winning the Alhambra Bulldogs Classic. For the few of you who had just returned from a trip to Saturn with the Cassini space probe, Coach Nevins' daughter Kelsey plays on the powerhouse JV team...
Proud Papa Cornell
2006-07 Undefeated EBAL JV Champion
February 18, 2007
The JV team may go down in history as one of the best ever from Monte Vista posting a 12-0 league and 25-1 overall record. The only blemish came in the hands of powerhouse St. Mary's Stockton at the championship game of the Castlemont Tournament early in the season. The JV Lady 'Stangs had a winning margin of over 25 points per game in EBAL which is amazing considering the presense of perennial power teams from Amador Valley, Foothill and Granada. Congratulations to coach Steve Cornell who had 22, 20, 23 & 25 wins in his past four seasons and the JV team of: (left to right) (Juniors) Jenna Velasquez, JD Dulfer, Sam St. Laurent, Morgane Dulfer, (Sophomores) Kelsey Nevins, Sabina Woodward, Kendyl Bachelor (Frosh) Alex Smolen, Krystal Mizono, Dani Rabago, Emilia Ogle-Anderson & Lisa Wulf.
EBAL Champion 2006-07 at Monte Vista ( 25-1 )
The team holds the record for the longest winning streak in Monte Vista Women's basketball history and ties for the best 26 game season record with the 1996-97 squad.
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EBAL Champion 2003-04 at Granada ( 22-4 )
Four year varsity player Stephanie Cornell and Carlyn Raphel were members of the last Varsity championship team. Senior co-captain Kerry Beeman was member of the 2003-04 JV EBAL champion team and senior Natalie Sipos and Ally Samson were key members of the Frosh EBAL champion team of the 2003-04 Monte Vista triple crown season.
One For All, All For One - Monte Vista Women's Basketball
Monte Vista (Varsity) 51 - SRV 34
February 15, 2007
The 2006-07 open gym started in late September and nearly 5 months later, the regular season came to a close at the San Ramon Valley High School gymnasium where the Monte Vista Varsity squad finished 25-1 with a 51-34 win over the host team and a share of the coveted EBAL title.
The game took place on the Wolves' Senior Night. Inspite of a lack luster start, MV jumped out to a 16-7 1st quarter lead and led 26-19 at the half. SRV trimmed the lead to 28-25 but that was the closest San Ramon was going to get as Monte Vista ran off the next 8 points to take an 11 point lead and never looked back. Niveen Rasheed led all scorers with 17 points and senior captain Steff Cornell closed out of her regular season career with 12 points.
Monte Vista (JV) 55 - SRV 24
February 15, 2007
With hopes of closing out their season with a 25-1 record, the Lady JV Stangs took the court at San Ramon Valley High on Thursday afternoon. A turnover in the opening seconds of the game, resulting in a score by Dani Rabago, put MV on the board early but they could not seem to score after that. With 2:40 left in the quarter Morgane Dulfer, broke a tie with a free throw and the Mustangs were off and running. The half closed out at a close 19-14, but Coach Cornell inspired his team to come out in the 3rd and play the way he knew they were capable of, racking up 17 points to San Ramon's 3. Final score: 55-24 Scoring summary: Dani Rabago-13, Krystal Mizono-11, Jenna Velazquez-8, Morgane Dulfer-5, Sabina Woodward-4, Lisa Wulf, JD Dulfer & Alex Smolen-3, Kendyl Bachelor-2.
Congratulations From New York
February 13, 2007
Great going JV for winning league and going 24-1. Congratulations to varsity for the best 25 game start ever. Good luck against SRV on Thursday! Best of luck at NCS seeding meeting.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 51 - Granada 34
February 9, 2007
Monte Vista(23-1, 9-1) rebounded smartly from Wednesday's loss to Amador Valley with a methodical, relatively turnover free win at Granada. The Matadors actually led 13-12 after a quarter but Monte Vista had seized a 24-19 lead by halftime. The second half started with Granada closed to within 2 at 28-26 but 7 straight points by the Lady 'Stangs pushed the lead up to 9. Christine Herman hit her only 3 pointer of the evening to cut the lead to 6 but that was the closest the host team could get. Niveen Rasheed led MV with 13 points followed by Stephanie Cornell with 9, Alexandria 'X' Whalen with 7 and Carlyn Raphel with 6. The team will close out the regular season with a pair of games at home against Livermore and at San Ramon Valley.
Monte Vista (JV) 55 - Granada 20
February 9, 2007
Continuing their march to be undefeated in league, the JV Lady Stangs completely dominated Granada High School on Friday night. Opening up with a mere 8 points the 1st quarter, a running jump shot by Junior Jenna Velasquez, with 4:50 remaining, finally got Monte Vista rolling. MV went on to score 26 points the 2nd quarter to Granada's 2. The 3rd quarter found the Mustangs outscoring their opponent 16-3. Final score 55-20. Scoring summary: Dani Rabago-12, Jenna Velasquez & Alex Smolen-8, Sam St. Laurent-7, Krystal Mizono-6, Jenna Velasquez-4, Lisa Wulf-3, Kendyl Bachelor, Morgane Dulfer & Kelsey Nevins-2, Em Anderson-1.
Amador Valley 44 - Monte Vista (Varsity) 37
February 7, 2007
Amador Valley took advantage of Monte Vista's turnovers, poor outside shooting and lack of inside production to come away with a hard fought victory. MV trailed by 8 points early in the game at 11-3, nearly caught up at 15-13, fell behind again just before the half at 21-14 and closed on a high note with a long 3 pointer by Niveen Rasheed to trail only by 4 after 2 quarters. Monte Vista finally tied the game at 30-30 after 3 quarters and took the only lead at 32-30 in the early moments of the 4th only to see Amador Valley scored the next 5 points and retake the lead. The game was within 2 points till the final minute when back to back turnovers extinquished any hope of a come back. Niveen Rasheed finished with 18 points to lead all scorers. 22 games win streak is over but new streak will begin this Friday at Granada.
Monte Vista (JV) 49 - Amador Valley 31
February 7, 2007
The JV Lady Stangs traveled to Pleasanton fired up and ready to take on the Amador Valley Dons on Wednesday evening. Showing no signs of big game jitters, as they had previously experienced, Junior Morgane Dulfer scored 4 of her 10 points in the opening minutes of the game. The Mustangs easily built up a solid lead only to see it dwindle to 1 point at the close of the 1st quarter. Freshman Dani Rabago had a great 2nd quarter, shooting 100% on her free throws (6-6)and another basket for 8 of her 16 total points. MV closed out the half up 23-17. 3rd quarter saw the Stangs moving the ball well and Alex Smolen hitting 2-3 pointers and two free throws for 8 points. The entire team played great defense and continued to stay focused closing out with a 49-31 win. Scoring summary: Dani Rabago-16, Morgane Dulfer-10, Alex Smolen-8, Sam St. Laurent-6, Krystal Mizono-3, Jenna Velasquez, Sabina Woodward & Lisa Wulf-2.
Amador Valley 20 - Monte Vista (Frosh-Soph) 12
February 7, 2007
Monte Vista10-6, 5-3 managed only 12 points for the game but the defense held the high power Dons to only 20, less than half of their season average. Sarah Purlee led the team with 5 points including a 3 point basket. Jacquie Peterson had 3 points also on a trey. Rachel Scott had 2 points and Kelly Reardon and Laura Chreston both had 1.
Biggest Game Of Season Tomorrow At Amador Valley !
February 6, 2006
2007 Senior Night
February 3, 2007
Monte Vista (Varsity) 61 - California 35
February 2, 2007
Using full court pressure, Monte Vista created multiple turnovers in the 1st quarter and surged to a 15-1 lead, forcing the Grizzlies to use 2 quick timeouts only to see the lead grow to 20 points by the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Niveen Rasheed led all scorers with 14 points playing only half the game along with 5 steals. On senior night, 12 out of 13 players scored in the game which also featured the return of Kerry Beeman who beat all odds returning to action, albeit a limited one, less than 4 weeks after suffering 2 fractured ribs. Ms. Beeman highlighted her return to the court with a 3 point basket from the wing just before the half. With the win, MV improves to 8-0 in league play and 22-0 over all setting the table for the biggest showdown of the season Wednesday night at Amador Valley for the league title.
Monte Vista (JV) 56 - Cal 28
February 2, 2007
The JV Lady Mustangs continued their quest to remain undefeated in league play, by taking on the Cal High Grizzlies Friday night. First quarter play was tight with Junior Jenna Velasquez hitting a 3-pointer and taking the lead 12-10 but closing out the quarter tied 12 all. The Mustangs rallied in the 2nd to go up by 12 with Freshman Dani Rabago scoring 8 of her 10 points in the 2nd quarter. Fellow Freshman Lisa Wulf had one of her best games, scoring 10 points and jumping right back into the game from what appeared to be a serious ankle injury. Monte Vista continued to dominate the remainder of the game and closed out with a 56-28 win. Scoring summary: Lisa Wulf & Dani Rabago-10, Alex Smolen, Sam St. Laurent & Jenna Velazquez-6, Krystal Mizono-5, Kendyl Bachelor & Morgane Dulfer-4, JD Dulfer-3, Sabina Woodward-2. Up next, Amador on Wednesday @ 5:30 for what will probably be the toughest game of the season.
Monte Vista ( Varsity ) 48 - Foothill 45
January 31, 2007
Most teams win when their offenses are in sync while good teams win even when they are not. Monte Vista (21-0, 7-0) shot less than 10% in the first half from the field, missed all but one freethrows and had the fewest points for a quarter and one half in five years and still managed to pull out a victory against a very determined Foothill squad. Inspite of having a subpar day shooting from the charity stripe, Niveen Rasheed still led the team and all scorers with 15 points along with suffocating defense. Foothill led by six at intermission only to see the lead disappeared in half a quarter. MV eventually built a 9 point lead midway into the 4th quarter but untimely turnovers and a pair of 3 point baskets from Foothill High School closed the lead to 5 and ultimately 2 points late in the 4th quarter. Clutch freethrow shooting by Stephanie Cornell, Carlyn Raphel and Amil Amin in the final minutes sealed Monte Vista's record setting 21 consecutive wins. Amil Amin finished with a season high 14 points with Carlyn Raphel contributing 12 including 6 of 7 from the line.
Monte Vista (JV) 56 - Foothill 30
January 31, 2007
The JV Lady Stangs (pictured above celebrating their latest victory)opened the 2nd half of the league, at home, with another win against the Foothill Falcons. Leading the team was Junior Morgane Dulfer with 16 points for the night, followed by Freshman Alex Smolen with 12. Scoring summary: Morgane Dulfer-16, Alex Smolen-12, Krystal Mizono-11, Sabina Woodward-7, Em Anderson & Dani Rabago-4, Sam St. Laurent & Lisa Wulf-2. Up next, Cal High at Monte Vista Friday 2/2 @ 5:30.
Monte Vista (Frosh-Soph) 30 - Foothill 5
January 31, 2007
Coach Pat Nevins's team played their best defensive game of the year, limiting Foothill to a season low 5 points including a 1st quarter shutout. Alyssa Wisk again led the team with 8 points and Lindsay Peters scored a season best 6 points. Sarah Purlee, Rachel Scott and Malori Redman each added 4 points while Kelly Reardon and Laura Chreston both contributed 2. The win improves the season record to 9-5 along with a league record of 4-2. The team will next face California Grizzlies at home on Friday.
Second Half Of League Season Begins Wednesday !
January 29, 2007
Monte Vista (Varsity) 49 - San Ramon Valley 30
January 27, 2007
Monte Vista forced 20 first half turnovers against SRV but could only manage a 21-10 half time lead due to inability to finish easy inside open baskets and poor outside shooting. Niveen Rasheed had to sit out more than half the game because of foul trouble but still managed to score 12 points and pick off 7 steals in the first quarter alone. Captain Stephanie Cornell also had 12 points including a pair of 3's. With Niveen on the sideline, San Ramon Valley was able to trim a 16 points 3rd quarter MV lead to 8 in the second half but three pointers by Alexandria 'X' Whalen and Anina Middleton quickly put to rest any hope of a San Ramon Valley upset. The win gave the team a record tying 20-0 season record and sole pocession of EBAL first place at 6-0 into the second half of the league season.
Monte Vista (JV) 59 - San Ramon Valley 36
January 26, 2007
Two quick Monte Vista turnovers, which fortunately San Ramon was unable to covert to points, had the JV Lady Stangs afflicted with "big game jitters" during the 1st quarter. Krystal Mizono hit a 3-point shot to put MV on the scoreboard. The 1st quarter remained tight when Junior Jenna Velasquez hit a 3-pointer to put MV up 15-13. The Mustangs shook off their 1st quarter jitters and came out smokin' in the 2nd with Dani Rabago hitting 4 shots for 8 points and Sabina Woodward scoring 4 to close out the 1st half 34-20. The Mustangs stayed on track in the 3rd with Mizono hitting the 4th of her 3 pointers and leading MV with 14 points total. Lisa Wulf and Kendyl Bachelor each hit a 3-pointer in the 4th quarter to close out the game with a Mustang win 59-36. Scoring summary: Krystal Mizono-14, Dani Rabago-13, Sabina Woodward-6, Sam St. Laurent & Jenna Velasquez-5, Morgane Dulfer-4, Lisa Wulf & Kendyl Bachelor-3, Em Anderson & JD Dulfer-2.
Monte Vista (Frosh-Soph) 34 - San Ramon Valley 28
January 27, 2007
MV(8-5,3-2) had built a comfortable 23-8 lead over San Ramon Valley but a few Monte Vista turnovers coupled with a pair of 3's and SRV was back within 3 at 28-25. Sarah Purlee, however, came to the rescue with 7 points in the 2nd half to pull Monte Vista to a 34-28 six point victory. Sarah finished with a game high 9 points. Shaiela Buhiyan also contributed 7 points including a three point basket while Alyssa Wisk added 6. Malori Redman had 4 points with Lindsey Peters and Kelly Reardon with 2 each.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 57 - Livermore 18
January 19, 2007
It was never fun to play Livermore either at home or on the road. The expectation of an easy game frequently led to letdowns and the poor attendance and quiet gym did not help to motivate the players from either side. Well, Livermore hasn't yet emerged as an EBAL power but Matt Garza has coached intensity into the Cowboys who use desire and will to overcome shortage on size and talent. Friday night and CYO 3rd grade halftime scrimmage from St. Michael's has brought in a boisterous crowd and the game was played with spirit even though Livermore had a great deal of difficult breaking the Monte Vista press. After tying the game at 4-4 in the opening minutes, the Cowboys allowed MV 19 straight points and trailed 34-8 at the break ultimately losing by 39. Neither Raber or Hoehne could offer much offense inspite of the tandem averages a combined 20 points a game for Livermore. Center Carlyn Raphel had an amazing 1st quarter in which she scored 12 points - the highest single quarter output by a Monte Vista woman player in at least 5 years. Carlyn finished with a game leading 14 points after giving way to the bench for most of the second half. She also had 5 block shots and 9 rebounds. Niveen Rasheed added 9 points in a short day along with the usual 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Crystal Florida, Natalie Sipos and Alexandria 'X' Whalen all contributed 6 a piece.Ally Samson had 6 rebounds in limited time along with _ points. The now 19-0 Lady Mustangs will return to action next Friday 7:00pm at home against San Ramon Valley.
Monte Vista (JV) 47 - Livermore 26
January 19, 2006
The JV Women added a win in Livermore Friday night, easily defeating the Lady Cowboys 47-26. Top scoring honors went to Dani Rabago and Morgane Dulfer both finishing with 8 points. The game included some of the most interesting referee calls that any of the MV fans had ever witnessed. This led Coach Cornell to push his team to keep scoring, even after they led by 17 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Krystal Mizono and Sabina Woodward each added 7 points while Sam St. Laurent had 6 points. Scoring Summary: Morgane Dulfer & Dani Rabago-8, Krystal Mizono & Sabina Woodward-7, Sam St. Laurent-6, Alex Smolen-4, Jenna Velazquez-3, Lisa Wulf & Em Anderson-2. Up next, the Lady Stangs hope to add to their winning streak by defeating cross town rival San Ramon.
Monte Vista (Varisty) 44 - Granada 38
January 17, 2007
It will not go down in Monte Vista history as one of its more memorable games but it will serve to extend the second longest winning streak in school history at 18. The game was nip and tuck throughout the first half with Monte Vista leading by 2 after one quarter and 5 at the half. With outside shots not falling, the Lady Mustangs had to rely on defense, limiting the Matadors to only 4 points in the 2nd quarter and 9 points in the third. The final score is somewhat deceptive as MV had a 12 point lead into the final minute with Granada scoring the last 6 points to keep the score respectable. Niveen Rasheed had to handle double duty including carrying the offensive load and defending the always dangerous Kristine Herman who was held to 12 points 6 of which came at the waning moments of the contest when the game was already out of reach. Ms. Rasheed finished with a game high 14 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and had 5 steals. Carlyn Raphel was cold in the first half and back up center Natalie Sipos stepped up and scored 8 points while Carlyn recovered her touch in the second half to finish with 10 points. Livermore up next on Friday.
Monte Vista (JV) 57 - Granada 37
January 17, 2006
Improving their season record to 17-1, the JV Lady Stangs took on Livermore's Granada High School at Monte Vista on Wednesday night. With Freshman Dani Rabago leading the 1st quarter charge with 8 points the Mustangs went up 16-10 and never looked back. Krystal Mizono and Alex Smolen were hot in the 2nd quarter each putting up 3-2's and 1-3 pointer and closing out the half with Monte Vista up 39-13. Although up by 26, the JV team opened the 3rd quarter aggressive with 4 blocked shots in under a minute by Junior Morgane Dulfer while classmate Sam St. Laurent made 4 of her 6 free throws to add to her 10 point game. A frustrated Granada came back strong in the 4th quarter outscoring MV 15-6 but at that point the Mustangs had the game in the bag. Scoring summary: Alex Smolen-13, Krystal Mizono-11 Sam St. Laurent-10, Dani Rabago-8, Morgane Dulfer-7, Kendyl Bachelor-4, JD Dulfer & Sabina Woodward-2. Up next, the Friday commute to Livermore to meet the Cowboys. Tip off time: 5:30
Granada (Frosh-Soph) 38 - MV 23
January 17, 2006
How Cold Did It Get Last Night ?
January 16, 2007
Schedule
January 16, 2007
Monte Vista Featured Team On High School Sports Focus
January 13, 2007
The 17-0 varsity team was the featured high school team on this week's High School Sports Focus. The show was aired yesterday and will be replayed tomorrow (Sunday) at 4 pm on Cable 6. Kerry Beeman was interviewed about her injury along with Niveen Rasheed and Stef Cornell. Don't miss it !
Monte Vista (Varsity) 57 - Amador Valley 50
January 12, 2007
There was 42 seconds left in the game with Monte Vista ahead of Amador Valley by a slim 3 points having squandered an 11 point lead barely 3 minutes earlier. AV fouled Stephanie Cornell deliberately to send her to the line on three consecutive possessions just to watch her calmly sank 4 of 5 shots to seal the victory and pushed Monte Vista to 3-0 in league and 17-0 overall for the season. The game was close throughout the first half with Amador Valley ahead by 4-0 to open the game and Monte Vista led at 12-10 and 16-15 only to see Amador scored the next 7 points to lead by 6. The first half ended with Monte Vista cutting the deficit to 2 at 26-28. 3rd quarter did not start well for the host team as Amador Valley scored the first 2 baskets to again lead by 6 at 32-26 but Niveen Rasheedseized control of the offense while Monte Vista's defense tightened up to limit Amador to 3 more points the rest of the quarter with MV taking a 39-35 lead into the final segment. A 10-3 run by Monte Vista landed the Lady Mustangs the largest lead of the evening at 49-38 but the 11 point advantage was quickly knocked down to a scant 3 over the next 4 minutes on 8 consecutive AV points, setting up Stephanie Cornell's heroics from the freethrow stripe. Stephanie Cornell finished with 13 points while Niveen Rasheed had her second consecutive 22 point game along with 4 steals, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Anina Middleton had another strong game with 8 points and 4 steals while center Carlyn Raphel added 7. Granada is next up on Wednesday at home.
Monte Vista (JV) 47 - Amador Valley 33
January 12, 2007
Led by Freshman Krystal Mizono, who played an outstanding game, the Monte Vista JV Women defeated perennial powerhouse Amador Valley, 47-33. Mizono hit 3-3 pointers and 3-2 pointers to lead the team in scoring with 15 points. Tough defense was played by both teams and the Mustangs closed the half up by 13 (27-14). The Amador Dons returned from half time fired up and pulled within 3 points of MV to close out the 3rd quarter 31-28. The 3rd quarter scare saw Coach Cornell and his squad get back on track and outscore Amador 16-5 in the 4th. Scoring summary: Krystal Mizono-15, Alex Smolen-10, Sam St. Laurent-7, Jenna Velasquez-6, Lisa Wulf-4, Sabina Woodward-3, JD Dulfer-2. Up next, Granada at MV Wednesday @ 5:30.
Monte Vista (Frosh-Soph) 21 - Amador Valley 26
January 12, 2007
Monte Vista (Varsity) 54 - California 33
January 10, 2007
Monte Vista (16-0,2-0) extends the winning streak to 16 games by overcoming a pesky California team who threw everything they had at the Lady Mustangs. MV was ahead the entire game after a 2-2 tie in the first minute of the contest but the Grizzlies stayed within striking distance most of the contest. Monte Vista led by 12 at the break at 30-18 but California trimmed the lead to 6 at 30-24 in the 3rd quarter after scoring the first 6 points of the second half. Back to back baskets by Niveen Rasheed brought the lead back into double digit and Monte Vista was not threatened again. Niveen Rasheed finished with a career high 22 points along with an amazing 10 steals and 7 assists to lead all scorers with Amil Amin contributed 8 points off the bench. Next contest is Friday night at home against a very good Amador Valley team that features a pair of exceptional freshmen. This may be the toughest test for the Lady Mustangs to date this season. A fullhouse is espected.
Monte Vista (JV) 47 - California 33
January 10, 2007
Taking their 14-1 record to San Ramon's Cal High, the JV Lady Stangs met some stiff competition in the 1st half of their game against a much-improved Grizzlie Team. Both teams came out playing strong defense, but 3-pointers by Krystal Mizona and Jenna Velasquez in the 1st quarter put the Mustangs up by 6 (14-8). 2nd quarter play had MV scoring 12 to Cal's 11, again with 3-pointers by Mizono and Velasquez, putting Monte Vista up 26-19 to close the half. The 3rd quarter found the JV team playing hesitantly, perhaps because all calls seemed to be going Cal's way, but they recouped and came out strong in the 4th led by Freshman Alex Smolen, who was high-scorer with 13 points. Final score: 47-33 Scoring summary: Alex Smolen-13, Krystal Mizono & Dani Rabago-10, Jenna Velasquez-6, Kendyl Bachelor, Morgane Dulfer, Sam St. Laurent, Lisa Wulf-2. Up next Pleasanton Power House Amador at Monte Vista, Friday @ 5:30. A BIG GET WELL WISH FROM THE JV TO VARSITY PLAYER KERRY BEEMAN!
Monte Vista (Frosh-Soph) 29 - California 23
January 10, 2007
Monte Vista's Frosh-Soph team goes to 2-0 in EBAL play by clipping host California Grizzlies. Alyssa Wisk had another double digit output with 12 points. This follows her 13 points performance Monday against Foothill. Sarah Purlee added 6 points, Shaiela Bhuiyan contributed 4 and Kelly Reardon hit her first 3 pointer of the season.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 53 - Foothill 34
January 8, 2006
The Lady Mustangs opened the 2007 EBAL season with a solid win at notoriously tough Thomas Hensen Gym against the Foothill Falcons. As usual, Monte Vista raced off to a fast start and had built a 20 points cushion with a minute left in the first half at 27-7 only to watch Foothill scored the final 5 points and went into the locker room trailing by only 15. MV scored the first basket of the 3rd quarter but went ice cold for 6 full minutes with Foothill eventually cut the lead down to 8 at 31-23 only to see Monte Vista tightened its defense limiting the Falcons to 11 points the rest of the way while scoring 22. Anina Middleton led all scorers with 13 with repeated outside shots against the Foothill zone defense while Niveen Rasheed added 12 points and 8 rebounds. Carlyn Raphel contributed 8 strong points including a couple of nice inside baskets against the Falcons' 6'2" center Kata.
With the win, Monte Vista moves to 15-0,(1-0). Next up is the improved and dangerous California Grizzlies at Cal High on Wednesday.
Monte Vista (JV) 53 - Foothill 26
January 8, 2007
Opening the league without the home court advantage, did not deter the JV Team from posting a big win against Pleasanton's Foothill Falcons. Morgane Dulfer opened the game with two points to put the Lady Stangs on the board first. Foothill struggled against Monte Vista's strong defense and could only score 5 points in the 1st quarter (14-5). Sophmore Kelsey Nevins had a great night rebounding and scoring 12 points. Holding Foothill to 3 points during the 2nd quarter (35-8) the Lady Stangs posted 21 points with 3-pointers by Alex Smolen, Dani Rabago and Jenna Velasquez. Krystal Mizono played well with numerous steals and 10 points. Scoring summary: Kelsey Nevins-12, Krystal Mizono-10, Dani Rabago-9, Alex Smolen-8, Jenna Velasquez & JD Dulfer-3, Morgane Dulfer, Em Anderson, Lisa Wulf and Kendyl Bachelor-each with 2. Up next a trip to San Ramon's Cal High on Wednesday. Tip off time: 5:30
Monte Vista (Frosh-Soph) 39 - Foothill 17
January 8, 2007
Photos from Las Vegas at KodakGallery
January 7, 2007
Most of the pictures taken during the Las Vegas Tournament are now available for viewing at Kodakgallery under Keith's Gallery. Please use the link at the upper left hand corner of the page.
Revisit the Frosh-Soph Team...
January 6, 2007
The Frosh-Soph team has been off for three weeks during the winter holidays. Here is another look at the team with pictures courtesy of Mr.Bhuiyan. EBAL play will start next week.
JV Women Support Teammate Morgane Dulfer injured in final seconds of Wednesday's game
JV Women Win Newark Memorial Tournament
December 30, 2006
After easily eliminating tournament hosts Newark Memorial on Friday, 12/29 (54-23) the Lady Stangs took on the Notre Dame Tigers, meeting their first real competition since playing St. Mary's of Stockton in the Castlemont Tournament. Strong defense was played by both teams but a big three-pointer by Jenna Velasquez at the end of the 1st quarter tied the game at 7-7. A quick assist from Morgane Dulfer to Dani Rabago, put the Mustangs up by 2, only to trail the remainder of the quarter and close it out down by 5 (13-18). A half-time "pep talk" by Varsity coach, Ron Hirschman, brought the JV squad back motivated to play. The game remained close through the 3rd quarter but the Mustangs got back on track in the 4th with "Birthday Girl" Jenna Velasquez hitting her 2nd 3-pointer to take the lead 25-20. Taking All Tournament Honors were Alex Smolen and Morgane Dulfer while the Newark Memorial MVP Award went to Freshman Dani Rabago. Scoring Summary: Dani Rabago-18, Jenna Velasquez-8, Morgane Dulfer-4, JD Dulfer and Kelsey Nevins-2, Sam St. Laurent-1. Next it's back to Monte Vista to meet Oakland's Fremont High School on Wednesday, January 3rd.
Coach Hirschman likes to employ full court trapping defense to start a contest and frequently creates turnovers from the opponents and a large Monte Vista lead. Kerry Beeman and Stephanie Cornell are seen here double teaming on the inbound with Niveen Rasheed lurking like a free saftely for the steal off an errant desperartion pass. The Lady Cougars of Newark Memorial will likely get a good dose of such defense.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 60 - Menlo Atherton 48
December 29, 2006
The fast start has become a trademark of this season's team as Monte Vista(12-0) again took a big 19-5 first quarter lead over Menlo-Atherton and cruised to a comfortable win at the semifinal of the Lady Cougar Classic. Niveen Rasheed led all scorer with 16 points including 4 for 4 from the line and Stephanie Cornell added 13 points along with 6 assists. Center Carlyn Raphel contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds while forward Kerry Beeman had 9 points. Monte Vista now moves into the championship game against the host Newark Memorial at 7:45pm.
JV - Monte Vista 62 - Skyline 29
December 28, 2006
Although missing a few teammates, the JV Women opened the Newark Memorial tournament with a resounding defeat of Oakland's Skyline High School. The Lady Stangs started out slowly, closing out the 1st quarter up by only 4 points (18-14)in what appeared would be a close game Two big three's in the 1st quarter by Freshman Dani Rabago, contributed to her 14 point total, sharing high scoring honors with Junior Sam St. Laurent. The 3rd quarter saw the Mustangs repeatedly stealing the ball and putting up 17 points to Skyline's 6. The 4th quarter proved to be much of the same, with the Mustangs playing strong defense and holding Skyline to just 3 points. Final score: 62-29. Up next for Coach Cornell and his squad, host team Newark Memorial Friday at 1:30. Scoring summary: Dani Rabago & Sam St. Laurent - 14, Alex Smolen & Morgane Dulfer - 6, Em Anderson & Krystal Mizono - 5, Lisa Wulf, Jenna Velasquez, JD Dulfer and Kelsey Nevins - each with 4.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 40 - Notre Dame Belmont 31
December 28, 2006
ND Belmont's zone press defense troubled the high power Monte Vista offense resulted in the lowest output of the season although Notre Dame Belmont could only muster 11 first half points themselves and trailed throughout the game. Anina Middleton led Monte Vista with 11 points with Niveen Rasheed adding 9, Steff Cornell 8 and Carlyn Raphel 7.The win puts MV at 11-0 and will play last season's Central Coast Section semifinalist Menlo Atherton tomorrow at 6:15pm.
Newark Memorial Tournament
December 27, 2006
The Monte Vista Varsity will open its title defense tomorrow at 3:15 PM against Notre Dame Belmont which gave MV the battle of its life last year before losing 31-30. The JV squad will open in the same tournament against Skyline at 12:00 Noon.
2006 Las Vegas Lady Wolves Christmas Tournament Champions
JV Girls Know How To Have Fun...
Monte Vista 53 - Rancho (NV)39
December 20, 2006
A fast start again placed Monte Vista (9-0) into a big early lead of 12-1 but the athletic Rancho five made it a game by cutting the lead to 15-8 after one quarter. Both Stephanie Cornell and Niveen Rasheed had to sit early 2nd quarter after each picked up 2 fouls. Latasha Brown of Rancho who had 20 points in the game scored 10 consecutive points, the last on a freethrow to tie the score at halftime at 21-21. This represented the only time this season MV was not ahead at the break. The game remained close in the 3rd quarter with Monte Vista holding leads of 31-27 and 35-30. A 3 point basket by Anina Middleton pushed the advantage to 38-30 at the end of 3 quarters of play. Niveen Rasheed, who probably played her best game this season seized control in the final quarter by hitting a 3 at the top of the key and a long 2 from the right wing to push the Lady 'Stangs into double digit lead. Niveen fininshed with a career high 19 points combined with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Anina Middleton also had a season high 12 points while senior forward Kerry Beeman hit her first career 3 pointer from the deep left corner. Stef Cornell contributed 8 points along with 4 assists and Amil Amin added 5. Monte Vista will now play California rival Castlemont (7-2) of Oakland who disposed of Boyd County from Kentucky for the championship tomorrow at 1:30PM.
Monte Vista (JV)45 - Basic 19
December 20, 2006
Monte Vista 59 - Palo Verde (Nevada) 21
December 19, 2006
A relentless trapping defense forced Palo Verde into a dozen turnovers in the first half while limiting their dynamic duo of Pride and Henderson to a game total of only 15 points. Palo Verde was also held to a grand total of 5 points in the entire second half.
All 13 Monte Vista (8-0) players scored with NIveen Rasheed leading the way with 11 and Kerry Beeman added 8 points.
Monte Vista (JV) 42 - Bishop Gorman 19
December 19, 2006
The Bishop Gorman program has a long tradition of being the best in the state of Nevada. Their varsity team currently ranks 6th in the nation on a recent USA Today poll. Monte Vista JV squad(7-1) jumped out to a 14-4 lead to open the game only to see Bishop Gorman stormed back to within a point at 14-13. Back to back to back fastbreak baskets by Morgane Dulfur, Dani Rebago and Crystal Mizono started a 14-0 run that brought the lead back to 15 and Bishop Gorman never threatened again.
Monte Vista 69 - Bonanza (NV) 27
December 18, 2006
The Monte Vista varsity squad flew into Las Vegas Sunday night, had time to shop and sight see Monday afternoon, then went on in the evening to defeat an overmatched Bonanza High School at the seeding round by 42 points. Stephanie Cornell led all scorers with 14 while Niveen Rasheed added 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Alexandria 'X' Whalen had a career high 11 points including a pair of 3's while Kerry Beeman chipped in 8. The 7-0 Lady Mustangs will take on Palo Verde at the first round of the Basic Christmas Tournament tomorrow at 5 pm.
Coach Hirschman Wins #300 !
In his 17th years at Monte Vista, Ron Hirschman now ranks with the like of Dan O'Shea of Pinole Valley and Gene Nakamura of Berkeley High in tenure and with his 300th victory, joins a small, elite fraternity of the winningest coaches in the state. Teams coached by Ron Hirschman at Monte Vista have made the NCS playoff the last 13 consecutive year and 15 of his 17 years of coaching. His teams also reached the NorCal regional championship twice, one game short of contending for the California Interscholastic Federation north state title in 1997. In the 2003-04 season, Monte Vista claimed the rare triple crown honor by capturing the EBAL title in frosh, JV and Varsity with 24, 20 and 22 wins respectively. A particularly distinctive hallmark of the Monte Vista Girls basketball programs is their high academic achievements alongside their successes on the court. MV's teams have won multiple North Coast Section Scholastic Awards for being one of the top three basketball academic programs in the vast NCS region which reaches the Oregon border. Nice going coach. We are looking forward to reaching 400 wins, starting tomorrow !!
Monte Vista (Varsity) 55- Rodriguez 32
December 14, 2006
Monte Vista opened its home schedule against a completely unknown, athletic squad from Rodriguez High School (Fairfield). Both teams employed a fierce trapping man defense that featured a low scoring first 6 minutes but offensive rebounds and turnover points gave Monte Vista a 13-6 lead after 1 quarter which was extended to 22-8 at the half. An 18-2 run at the start of the 3rd quarter gave MV its largest margin at 40-10 from where it cruised to a comfortable 23 point win. Sophomore Niveen Rasheed had an outstanding all round game collecting 14 points, 9 rebounds with 6 on the offensive end and 4 steals. Anina Middleton also came up with 3 steals along with 4 points and stellar defense. Alexandria 'X' Whalen came off the bench and scored a season high 7 points while post Carlyn Raphel contributed 6 points and 7 rebounds. Starting forward Kerry Beeman picked up two early fouls and had to sit out most of the first half and was flagged for her 3rd foul 3 minutes into the second half. Kerry stayed in the game, however, and went on to score 9 points. Backing up KB was Amil Amin who had an efficient 6 point and 5 rebound game in 15 minutes of play. The large lead allowed coach Hirschman to substitute liberally. All 13 players saw meaningful playing time with forward Ally Samson notching 4 and guard Crystal Florida contributing 2 points. Nicole Vigor also hit her first high school 3 point basket off the right wing to complete the scoring. Co-captain and point guard Steff Cornell had an off night offensively but ran the floor flawlessly and continued to defend with fiery intensity. Next up - DFAL foe Dublin Friday night at 7:30 pm.
JV Women Repeat as Champions at Alhambra Tournament
Monte Vista (Varsity) 50 - Alhambra 35
December 2, 2006
Monte Vista (3-0) captured the Alhambra Bulldog Classic title that eluded them last season by defeating the host Alhambra High School. The Mustangs trailed 10-5 in the first quarter but went on a 21-4 run to lead 26-14 at the break. MV expanded the lead to 31-14 in the first minutes of the 3rd quarter and 38-20 late in the same quarter but Alhambra fought back with 10 straight points with post Aly Conway contributing 6 of the points to close the game to 38-30 and brought the crowd back in the game. 2 clutch jumpers by Stephanie Cornell, a steal and lay up by Niveen Rasheed and baskets by Kerry Beeman and Carlyn Raphel brought the lead back to 18 and essentially sealed the victory. Stephanie Cornell finished with a career tying best of 16 points and was awarded the tournament MVP honor. Niveen Rasheed had her 2nd consecutive 13 point output and was selected to the All Tournament team for the fourth time in 4 tournaments. Kerry Beeman had her first double digit scoring for the season with 10 and was also selected to the All Tournament team. Center Carlyn Raphel added 6 points and 7 rebounds. Guard/Forward Nicole Vigar scored only 2 points but earned extensive playing time off the bench with her tremendous, fierce defensive effort.
JV Mustangs Take 2nd Place at Castlemont Tournament
December 2, 2006
After beating Oakland Tech on Friday evening, 42-32, Coach Steve Cornell and his Lady Stangs took on the very strong team from St. Mary's of Stockton. The Stockton Rams had beaten their previous opponents by 30+ points, so Coach Cornell knew his team had their work cut out for them. A fast-paced game saw the Monte Vista women facing continuous pressure from the Lady Rams. The end of the first half found Monte Vista down by 9. Rallying in the 2nd half, the Mustangs pulled within 7 points of their opponent only to finish the game down by 10 (50-40) and a 2nd place title for the Castlemont Tournament. Named All Tournament Players were Junior Sam St. Laurent and Freshmen Dani Rabago, Krystal Mizono and Emilie Anderson. Up next for the JV Ladies, the annual Alhambra Tournament in Martinez where again they will be defending their title.
December 2, 2006
Freshman Dani Rabago dribbles up the court to face the St. Mary's Rams.
Come Support Kerry Beeman !
November 10, 2006
The top seed Monte Vista (24-2) women's water polo team will take on 2nd seed Northgate in the North Coast Section Championship game to be held tomorrow (Saturday November 11, 2006) at the Soda Aquatic Center, Campolindo High School. Game time is 1:00 pm. Our very own Kerry Beeman, who is expected to start at the forward position on the varsity basketball team, will be the starting goalie for the EBAL champion water polo team. Kerry is an ALL LEAGUE selection in water polo in 2006. For directions to Campolindo High School, please click on directions under menu bar on left of page.
Off Season Basketball
June 15, 2006
More Monte Vista players than ever particiate in spring and summer club basketball to sharpen their basketball skills. Columbia bound Erin Tao plays with the San Francisco Enchantees with her team finished spring season with a 16-5 record reaching the championship game in 5 of 7 tournaments winning 2 of them. Incoming senior center Carlyn Raphel plays with the Orinda Magic along with MV teammate Anina Middleton. The team will be heading to Oregon City in July to play in the End of the Oregon Trail Tournament, widely considered one of the most competitive tournaments in the nation. Senior Stephanie Cornell who plays for the West Coast Elite will skip their trip to Memphis to participate in an Elite Top 50 Camp in southern California. Christie Beeman, who also plays for the younger Orinda Magic squad, will be heading to the AAU National Championship in Louisiana after finishing 2nd in the Paicfic AAU Super Regional Championship in Reno during Memorial Day weekend. Niveen Rasheed stars on the 14U East Bay Xplosion team that won the Pacific AAU Super Region and will be heading also to Lafeyette, LA for the AAU National following their trip to Oregon. Amil Amin, Alexandria Whalan and Nicole Vigar all plays for coach Steve Cornell as well as Sam St. Laurent, Ellen Campbell, Dannon Kuiper, Kendyl Bachelor, Francesca LeBreton, Jenna Velasquez and Sabina Woodward in various spring and summer tournaments. Varsity Head Coach Ron Hirschman will open summer camp on June 19 at Monte Vista as well as summer league at Las Positas College.
Professional photographs taken at the MV-SRV game at home by Chris Scott are now posted on his website ( CalSportsPhoto.com). Images can be viewed and pictures ordered through the website using the link below.
CalSportsPhoto
Thank You Coaches and Good Bye Tony.......
March 9, 2006
Five months of daily commitment each season is what the varsity coaches had promised and delivered. For Coach Hirschman, his 16th and for Coach Arndt, his 7th. Monte Vista not only has arguably the best program in the area but one of the very best in Northern California. Averages 19 wins per season the past 4 years and, finished 1st, 2nd, 2nd the past three seasons in the tough EBAL and 11 straight trips to the north coast section playoff speak volume on the quality of our teams and coaching. Thank you Ron. Thank you Tony! Tears flowed when Tony broke the news at the season end party that he will be moving to southern California effective this summer. Stern, meticulous but immensely compassionate, Tony is loved by everyone. He provided the voice of reason when emotion ran high and maintained the checks and balances that are required for a successful program. We wish you and the family the best in Los Angeles and there will always be a seat on the bench for you.
Senior Night at Monte Vista
February 24, 2006
Monte Vista (Varsity) 48 - San Ramon Valley 50
February 24, 2006
The largest home crowd of the season rocked the Monte Vista gym and the spectators came away with a thrilling nail biter of a game with the SRV Wolves edged MV for the EBAL title. Monte Vista was up by 1 after a quarter, by 2 at the half and tied after three quarters. Jen Dressen's three point play gave San Ramon Valley a 5 point lead, their largest with 55 seconds left in the game. Erin Tao hit a 3 from the deep left corner to bring the game to within 2 points and Carlyn Raphel made a steal to give Monte Vista a chance to tie the contest but Erin Tao missed on an 8 foot jumper. Niveen Rasheed, who had 14 points for the night, pulled her 9th rebound off the offensive board but the 'Stangs was unable to convert. After the Wolves made 1 of 2 free throws to extend the lead to 3, Erin Tao was fouled on her three point attempt but was able to connect on only two of three free throws. Meghan Yetman's final free throw and a close miss by Stephanie Cornell at the buzzer closed out the most exciting games this season with both team heading into the NCS playoff next week. Erin Tao finished her EBAL career with 17 points with Carlyn Raphel adding 6.
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2005-2006 Monte Vista JV Team
Coached by Steve Cornell, the Monte Vista JV basketball team finished the season 23-3 and 10-2 in EBAL. By the conslusion of the season, this team is arguably one of the best JV basketball teams in the greater East Bay. Members of the team: Christie Beeman, Ellen Campbell, Claire Castiglioni, Morgane Dulfer, Crystal Florida, Dannon Kuiper, Shawn Pohlson, Allison Samson, Lex Santos and Samantha St. Laurent.
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2005-2006 Monte Vista Frosh-Soph Team
Members of the team: Izzy Askanas, Kendyl Bachelor, Shaiela Bhuiyan, Alexis Dinsbach, JD Dulfer, Kaitlyn leadabrand, Francesca LeBreton, Jessica Montevago, Chanel Nagra, Kelsey Nevins, Alex D' Souza, Jenna Velasquez and Sabina Woodward. Head Coach: Pat Nevins
More game photo against San Ramon Valley to come...
Better Late than Never - Here are More Carwash Pics...
February 5, 2006
A lot more car wash photos coming but huge San Ramon game first...
January 30, 2006
Monte Vista 38 - Amador Valley 34
January 28, 2006
On this one day, Monte Vista's game plan worked to near perfection - exploiting the relative inexperience of the AV guards and blanketing AV's Sara Vandehorst with Niveen Rasheed and Nicole Vigar. Amador Valley led 17-13 at the half in a defensive struggle and scored on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter to lead by 6. Seven consecutive points by Monte Vista including a 3 pointer from Niveen Rasheed gave MV the lead it would not relinquish. Co-captain Stephanie Cornell continues her stellar season with an outstanding defensive effort along with breaking the occasional half court trap. Carlyn Raphel again led the team in scoring with 14 along with 8 rebounds and 3 huge blocks. Erin Tao added 13 while Niveen Rasheed finished with 7 points. Amil Amin and Kerry Beeman both played a very strong game especially on the board. The victory at Amador Valley set up a meeting of the league leaders between undefeated SRV and 4-1 MV on Tuesday at San Ramon.
2001-2002 St. Isidore "A" team Members
Monte Vista women's basketball's sixth woman team
Monte Vista (Varsity) Wins Newark Memorial Tournament
December 30, 2005
Using a balanced attack and intense trapping defense, Monte Vista (9-3) was able to build an early 8-0 lead and never trailed in the contest winning 61-37. The coaches utilized all 13 players including 4 freshmen at one time on the court and 9 players got on the scoring column. Kerry Beeman and Erin Tao each had 13 points with Natalie Sipos adding 8, all represented season highs. Tournament MVP Stephanie Cornell contributed 7 points, 5 assists and tough all round defense. Center Carlyn Raphel matched up well against Skyline's huge 6'4" center with 6 early first quarter points plus 6 rebounds. Alexandria Whalen put in heavy minutes at the point while Niveen Rasheed finally started to move like her pre-injury self with 3 steals and multiple deflections. Lauren Lentz and Amiel Amin both again had strong games. Sipos and Tao were named to the all tournament team along with Cornell. The victory represents the first tournament championship this season after making to the final at Alhambra and Fortuna. A rematch at Skyline is next on Thursday.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 31 - Notre Dame Belmont 30
December 29, 2005
Monte Vista scored a season low 31 points including no point for the 3rd quarter yet managed to pull off a come from behind one point victory over a tenacious ND-Belmont squad. MV was down by 8 after three quarters having scored just 17 total points up to that moment. Coach Hirschman sent out three point specialist Lauren Lentz who promptly nailed a trey to break Monte Vista's 10 minute scoring drought and opened the flood gate for a 14 point quarter while holding Notre Dame to just 5 points for a second consecutive period. The win was not assured until Notre Dame's last second shot clanked off the iron. Monte Vista (8-3) will face the winner of tonight's Newark Memorial-Skyline contest in the championship game.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 47 - Menlo Atherton 41
December 28, 2005
The full court pressure created multiple first half turnovers with which Monte Vista (7-3) built a 12-3 first quarter and eventually 29-16 halftime lead. The MA Bears staged a fourth quarter comeback with sharp shooting from the line twice cutting the lead to 4 but could get no closer with Monte Vista holding on for a 6 point victory at the first round of the Newark memorial Lady Cougar Tournament. Stephanie Cornell had a season best 16 points hitting key shots each time Menlo Atherton threatened. Erin Tao made her season debut scoring 9 points with Carlyn Raphel adding 8 and Kerry Beeman 7 points. Freshman Alexandria Whalen played another strong game with 5 points standing in for starter Niveen Rasheed who is finally shaking off her ankle and back injury.
Dublin 42 - MV (Frosh-Soph) 12
December 14, 2005
The bigger and quicker JV team from Dublin proved to be a tough match up against the younger and less experienced squad from Monte Vista (6-2). Despite of the score, the contest was spirited and attended by a large, boisterous crowd. Particularly gratifying to coach Nevins is the performance of freshmen Shaiela Bhuiyan, Alexis Dinsbach, Kaitlyn Leadabrand, Jessica Montevago and Alex D'Souza. Ms. Bhuiyan scored on a driving bank shot and Ms. Leadabrand had a beautiful floater from the middle of the paint to hightlight the fourth quarter. Jessica Montevago and Alex D'Souza both showed excellent ball handling skills against a pressure defense and Alexis Dinsbach utilized her long arms both on the defensive and rebounding department. Next up is College Park High School at home on Friday.
Monte Vista (Varsity) 47 - Mission San Jose 24
December 13, 2005
Monte Vista (5-2) rebounded from a frustrating loss to Arcata with a convincing road win against Mission San Jose. The Lady 'Stangs led from the opening tip and was never threatened. Stephanie Cornell led all scorers with 11 including a pair of three's. Alexandria 'X' Whalen continued her scoring streak with 9 along with 8 from center Carlyn Raphel. Carlie Nagel, Anina Middleton and Niveen Rasheed added 6 each. The game also marked the season's first appearance by Kerry Pohlson who is recovering from a serious knee injury that had severely restricted her playing last year. Home opener is Friday 7:00 pm against College Park. Pasta feed tomorrow (Thursday) at the Rasheed's.
Thank You Ron & Tony !
March 5, 2005
Ron Hirschman has just completed his 15th season as head coach at Monte Vista and saw his team made the North Coast Section Playoff for the 10th consecutive year. The length of the tenure and level of success is virtually unparalleled in the Bay Area. His contributions are also reflected by the enormous success of the MV freshmen and JV program coached by Howie Cousin and Steve Cornell. Tony Arndt has been associated with the team for over a decade both as a parent and assistant varsity coach. He altered his life and work to be with the squad at both games and practice. The no nonsense approach and disciplines he preaches play a major role in the continue success of women's basketball at Monte Vista. We thank you coaches !!
----------The Freshmen team enjoys some sunshine at the park on picture day!
............................................................The fabulous JV !
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..................................................................Or Not............................
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................................................The Lean, Mean Machine - Monte Vista Varsity........
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Amador Valley 55 - Monte Vista (Varsity) 49
January 8, 2005
An exciting but ultimately disappointing game with defensive lapses in the second half costing MV a chance to walk off with an away victory. The inability to contain Sara Vanterhorst and some arguable foul calls sent her to the line 18 times and caused Stephanie Cornell and Liz Harvey to both fouled out of the game. Kendall Williams led the team in scoring with 15 points. Liz Harvey kept the Lady 'Stangs in the game in the first half with sharp outside shooting finishing with 10 points. Erin Tao shook off early gitters and turn in a solid floor game against relentless full court pressure. She also contributed 10 points while Felicia Lopez added 8 including a big three pointer that gave Monte Vista a 47-45 lead with 2:54 left in the game. Next up is Livermore on Wednesday.
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Monte Vista 48 - Sacramento 47 ( OT )
December 28, 2004
Playing relentless defense and continuous double teaming of their huge forwards, Monte Vista pulled off a stunning upset of the tournament's favorite earning them a trip to the Championship game against yet another team with big, skilled forwards in 13-1 Castlemont. The forward quartet of Liz Harvey, Kendall Williams, Carlyn Raphel and Kerry Beeman did a marvelous job containng Sacramento's highly touted frontline including UCSB bound Shantell Thomas and Pac-10 recruit Jessica Bradley. Monte Vista stayed close throughout the contest with Kendall Williams hitting a leaning 19 footer with 2 seconds left to send the game into overtime. MV took the lead at the 2:30 mark on Erin Tao's 3 point basket and the defense made the lead stand up. Aside from Kendall Williams' heroics, Liz Harvey heavily contributed to the victory by controlling the weakside rebounding, frequently limiting the much taller Sacramento Dragons to only a single shot per possession.
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Monte Vista (Varsity) 45 - Benicia 38
December 16, 2004
After a fast start scoring 18 points in the first quarter, Monte Vista (5-1) struggled mightily in quarter 2 and 3 scoring a season low 4 points in a dismal 3rd quarter allowing Benicia to stage a come back from a 12 point deficit to within 1 at 31-30. The Mustangs did right the ship and went on to close out the game without ever surrendering the lead on consecutive baskets by Stephanie Cornell and Liz Harvey both finished the game with 8 points. Erin Tao led the team with 19 points but only hit 3 of 7 from the freethrow line. Chesaray Banda and Kerry Beeman each grabbed 7 rebounds and both played aggressive defense to help offset the loss of Kendall Williams for a second straight game. Next up - Roseville tonight at 6:30pm.
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Monte Vista ( Varsity ) 56 - Campolindo 41
December 1, 2004
Monte Vista ( 1-0 ) won the season opener for the first time in three years and it wasn't easy. The Mustangs never trailed in the contest but Campolindo on several occasions cut the margin to under 5 points and the outcome was not assured until late in the fourth quarter. Felicia Lopez led all scorers with a career best 18 points including three treys and Liz Harvey had 11 points including a couple of crucial baskets when the Cougars threatened. Kendall Williams and Erin Tao each added 8 points with Stephanie Cornell and Carlie Nagel contributing 5 and 4 points each. Kendall Williams also had 18 rebounds and 3 steals. Next up - Mission San Jose 7:00 pm tomorrow evening at Monte Vista.
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........................................................................................EBAL Varsity Champion 2003-04 (22-5)...................................
Pittsburg 60 - Monte Vista 57 ( Overtime )
March 3, 2004
Storming back from a 17 points deficit at 30-13, the Mustangs focused on defense, forced overtime, took the lead but eventually fell short to a visually exhausted Pittsburg team. The second half and overtime was like a slugging match between two tired prize fighters with the outcome undetermined until the final buzzer. The loss was bitter but the effort memorable. A large group of loud Monte Vista supporters witnessed the final game from our four seniors Kathryn Buckles, Katie Cornell, Lauren Gray and Sarah Harvey along with principle Becky Smith, Athletic Director Craig Bergman and many teachers. Congratulations to coach Ron and Tony and all the players for a great championship season !
Monte Vista (Varsity) 61 - Mars Township, Pennsylvania 58 ( Double Overtime )
December 21, 2003
An exhausted Monte Vista team pulled out a gritty double overtime win against a sharp shooting Mars Township team from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which had just beaten Castlemont from Oakland earlier in the day 67-52. Playing without a shot clock, the Pennsylvania team held for a last shot with 2 minutes left in regulation with score tied at 47-47 and again in the first and second overtime after taking a brief 53-51 lead. Sarah Harvey spoiled the strategy with a big steal in the 2nd OT and 2 subsequent foul shots to tie the game with Kendall Williams making a decisive 3 point play to seal the win. Balanced scoring is the hallmark of this year's varsity team and this game is a prime example with Sarah Harvey contributing 11, Kendall Williams 13, Lauren Gray 10, Felicia Lopez 9 and Erin Tao 16 points. Kendall Williams and Erin Tao were selected to the all-tournament team but the selection process has again bypassed Sarah Harvey who had make so many critical plays the absense of anyone would put MV's victory into jeopardy. Felicia Lopez continues to be a force on both offense and defense starting in place of the flu strickened Kathryn Buckles. Freshman Center Carlyn Raphel again made significant contribution with Katie Cornell out with a sprained ankle. Monte Vista is now at 9-1 with the game weary Lady 'Stangs having to play their 10th game in 14 days tomorrow night at Albany.
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Monte Vista Wins Fortuna Tournament
December 14, 2003
An awesome display of pressure defense and balanced scoring enabled Monte Vista to capture a title that has eluded the Lady 'Stangs in recent years including last year's heart-breaking final second loss to Moreau Catholic in the championship game. Every player scored in the 73 - 27 contest against Piner H.S. from Santa Rosa most notably freshman center Carlyn Raphel with 3 power baskets in the paint and Felicia Lopez finishing an outstanding tournament with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Katie Cornell capped a 5 for 7 shooting night with 10 points. Sarah Harvey contributed 9 points along with her unflappable floor game and Kendall Williams added 8 points and 10 rebounds. Lauren Gray continued to dominate the paint with 3 block shots and 6 points with freshman guard Stephanie Cornell and sophomore guard Carlie Nagel provided strong backup guard play with 3 and 2 points respectively - contributing to the rare depth Monte Vista currently displays. Erin Tao finished with 13 points and was voted Tournament MVP. Kathryn Buckles who had 4 points and 3 steals was voted to the all tournament team along with Kendall Williams. Monte Vista improves to 4-1 for the season and #21 on the power rating. Next up is Tuesday at Mission San Jose.
Times-Standard - North Coast
NCS Playoff : Monte Vista 46 California 42
March 5, 2003
A sweet victory at California's home court erased the bitter memory of the February 21th loss in the hands of the Grizzlies and moved Monte Vista into a North Coast Section semifinal match up with the Berkeley Yellow Jackets at Berkeley on Friday.
Rodriquez 44
Monte Vista (JV) 44 - Moreau Catholic (JV) 42
December 30, 2009
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