Half Moon Bay captures PAL Bay girls’ basketball title

The Cougars can now add that hardware to the school’s trophy case after another dramatic win over Menlo-Atherton. A game that saw the Bears bolt out to a 15-0 lead, only to see the Cougars scratch, claw and will their way to a 52-44 win before a packed gym in Half Moon Bay Friday night.

“We were resilient,” said HMB head coach Megan Smith. “Everybody battled.”

Granted, the PAL basketball divisions, based on power instead of geography, is relatively new. It was used from 2010 to 2012 before going back to it prior to the 2024 season.

But it’s a first for the Cougars, nonetheless.

“It’s a crazy accomplishment,” said Half Moon Bay senior post Zoey Lemoge, who finished with a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds.

The game Friday night was really a continuance of the team’s first meeting, that had a similar storyline. In that Jan. 23 game, HMB (10-2 PAL Bay, 18-5) fell behind early, rallied to get back into it and then won when Makena Glynn drained a 3-pointer with less than five seconds left in a 51-49 win.

This time, the Cougars didn’t wait until the end for dramatics. They decided to give themselves more of a challenge by going scoreless for more than six minutes of the first quarter as M-A (9-3, 18-5) connected on its first four 3s to on its way to opening up a 15-0 lead.

To add to the difficulty, HMB senior post, PAL Player of the Year contender Zoey Lemoge, picked up two fouls in less than three minutes to start the game, a pair of offensive charging calls that put Lemoge on the bench.

But only briefly. She returned for the final couple minutes of the opening quarter and got the Cougars on the scoreboard with a driving layup as they finished the quarter on a 7-1 run to trail 16-7.

“My thought process was … I’m not going to worry about Zoey Lemoge,” said Smith, adding that Lemoge is a savvy enough basketball player to play tough with foul trouble.

“I’ve had quick fouls before,” Lemoge said. “I can focus and not get any more.”

Lemoge avoided her third charging call to open the second period, with M-A’s Molly Gray getting called for the block on a bang-bang play. The Cougars still struggled to score in the second quarter, but their rebounding and tough defense was starting to wear on the Bears.

M-A started the game smoking hot, hitting on its first five shots of the game. But the Bears eventually cooled off and after a 16-point first quarter, had only six in the second, but still held a 22-17 lead at halftime.

And then the game really picked up in the second half. A Lemoge driving layup cut the M-A lead to 27-20 and ignited a 12-0 run Cougars’ run. Lemoge followed that with a baseline hook shot and another bucket before Xochitl Nieves used a show-and-go layup and a pair of free throws to give HMB its first lead of the night, 29-27 with 3:16 left in the third.

But the Bears fought back. A physical, driving layup from Natalie Roman kicked off a 10-0 Bears’ run to end the third and retake the lead with a 37-30 advantage going into the fourth.

And over the final eight minutes, the Cougars showed the heart of a champion, outscoring the Bears 22-7. After connecting on just three 3-pointers through the first three periods, HMB drained four in the fourth as Lemoge showed just how much she means to the Cougars’ offense.

“We have pictures where there are three, four and sometimes five, players guarding Zoey. That’s the attention she draws,” Smith said.

Which then opens up perimeter, and Jade Villalobos and Nieves took advantage, as both knocked down a pair of 3s. You knew it was the Cougars’ night when Nieves launched a 3 that bounced high off the rim — and straight through the net for a shooter’s bounce 3 and a 50-43 lead with 1:56 left.

“Jade Villalobos (a senior) doesn’t want her time to end,” Smith said.

Villalobos finished with nine points, on three 3s, for the Cougars, who were led by Lemoge and Nieves.

Nieves, also a senior, tied Lemoge for game-high scoring honors, adding 18 of her own.

M-A was led by Lita Fakapelea, finishing with 14 points. Apé Ulukivaiola and Mary Tava combined for just six points, but they also added 12 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Bears.

While Smith and the Cougars are ecstatic about their division championship, they realize it’s the end of one season and the beginning of the next — the playoffs.

“This was a picture-perfect ending — to league,” Smith said. “Hopefully we’re poised for for more.”