Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Half Moon Bay’s Zoey Lemoge

Now, with HMB having graduated star point guard Delaney Dorwin, the program is looking to pave a new road back to the same state championship stage.

“I think definitely high hopes,” Lemoge said. “We are the most together and united team in terms of teamwork I’ve seen. And I think that energy means a lot and definitely keeps us together through those hard moments. So, I definitely think we have the chance.”

Lemoge has earned Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors for getting the Cougars off to a fast start in the right direction in 2025-26. HMB improved to 5-2 over the weekend by taking the consolation championship at the 50th Annual Jim Soden Varsity Tournament at Terra Nova, with Lemoge averaging a double-double of 24.7 points and 13 rebounds through three games.

While the 6-foot center’s post presence is reminiscent of her 2024-25 Peninsula Athletic League Co-Player of the Year season — an award she shared with Dorwin — the “beast,” as head coach Megan Smith refers to her, has shown some new skills in the early going this season.

“She’s the same beast,” Smith said. “She’s even better. She is now super confident with the ball in her hands and dribbling the ball up the court. So, that’s kind of a new skill in her bag.”

That’s right, PAL rivals. As if the power presence of Lemoge’s post game wasn’t enough to keep you busy by throwing double- and triple-teams Lemoge’s way, now you’ve got to contend with her Draymond Green sensibilities in transition. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

“Full court, bringing the ball up against Terra Nova, she just has a big smile on her face,” Smith said. “Any time you get to see a player showing joy, it’s great.”

Nothing gave Lemoge more joy than opening the tournament with the toughest draw imaginable, as HMB matched up with powerhouse Pinewood. While the Cougars fell to the consolation bracket with a 72-34 loss to the eventual tournament champion, it wasn’t quite the bloodbath the final score might suggest, especially the first half. The Cougars won the first quarter 11-10 before the perennial Central Coast Section Open Division contender Eagles did what they do in the second quarter and beyond.

“We were so fired up that whole game till the very last minute,” Lemoge said. “We were just putting our all out there. They’re a crazy good Open Division team ... and we have a legacy to live up to ... so, we just wanted our play to be up there and really show what we can be.”

Lemoge finished the game with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds, then carried that dominance into the tourney’s second round. HMB fared better against Presentation-San Jose, rolling to a 63-25 victory. Lemoge recorded another double-double with 25 points and 16 rebounds.

Then came HMB’s showdown with archrival Terra Nova for the consolation championship. Leave it to the HMB-Terra Nova rivalry to inspire egg socks as a fashion statement, but that’s precisely what Cougars assistant coach Gabe Glynn wore as a reaction to Half Moon Bay fans getting egged at the Skull Game rivalry football showdown in Pacifica in November.

“Gabe wore his egg socks to the game,” Smith said. “So, we didn’t need too much extra motivation, and we were glad they gave it to us.”

Lemoge took the motivation and ran with it, falling short of her usual double-double by totaling just eight rebounds, but making up for it in the paint by scoring a 30 points.

“Ever since we played Pinewood in the first game of the Terra Nova tournament, I’ve made it a personal challenge to keep that level of intensity for every game afterward,” Lemoge said. “And I think it’s that mindset ... that’s just allowed me to get in the flow state.”

As a senior, this might be Lemoge’s final year of organized basketball. She said she wouldn’t mind playing basketball in college if the situation is right, but it isn’t her top priority as she hopes to base any schooling around fire science for a wildland fire career — a path she chose after her family’s home in La Honda was saved by the La Honda Fire Brigade during the CZA Lightning Complex fires in 2020.

Lemoge is off to a fast start in this respect, having worked in the civilian conservation core in the Sierra Mountains over the summer.

First, Lemoge has some unfinished business on the varsity basketball court. And the new-and-improved senior is showing she’s willing to do whatever it takes to lead the Cougars, even if it means handling the ball in the team’s more transition-style play.

“I’ve always just been the post,” Lemoge said. “Just run down as fast as you can and pick up the rebounds. So, I’d say it’s kind of new, and kind of exciting actually.”