Half Moon Bay’s Delaney Dorwin reaches milestone

The three 1,000-point scorers all played together in 2021-22, on a HMB that qualified for the Central Coast Section Open Division tournament. The Cougars’ postseason hopes were stifled that season when Dioli suffered a season-ending knee injury during the final week of the regular season. Still, the talent-rich team was one of the best in recent memory on the Coastside.

“It was probably one of the more talented teams we’ve had, for sure,” Glynn said.

Scoring is only part of Dorwin’s game, though. She recorded a double-double in Wednesday’s Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division opener, totaling 11 rebounds to go with seven assists and four steals. She is now one rebound shy of reaching 700 in her career, a milestone she should reach Friday night when the Cougars host Carlmont.

“To me that’s ... just a testament to her hard work,” Glynn said.

Dorwin also has over 250 assists in her four-year varsity career.

“She’s a complete player,” said Megan Smith, Half Moon Bay’s first-year head coach. “You can call her a point guard, but she just does everything needed for the team, and everything needed for us to win.”

Smith joined the HMB staff last season as an assistant coach on Glynn’s staff. The two flip-flopped roles this year, with Glynn taking an assistant coaching role with his daughter, freshman Makena Glynn, joining the varsity squad this season.

“We work well together so I don’t know that much has changed,” Smith said. “So, it’s been a really good dynamic.”

Dorwin’s role has changed as well, in terms of her senior leadership. Always a leader by example on the floor, HMB needed a more vocal senior leader after the graduation of Emily Lunasin and Sarah Quosig last year. The Cougars have three seniors on roster this year, with Dorwin the only senior starter.

“Her role hasn’t changed on the court but her role has changed emotionally,” Smith said. “Emotionally, she has just become the spark plug everyone needs.”

The Cougars have emerged as a balanced squad this season. Dorwin was one of four players to score in double figures Wednesday, with junior Zoey Lamoge totaling 22 points and eight rebounds, Makena Glynn adding 12 points and junior Xochitl Nieves scoring 10.

“This year, [Dorwin’s] the senior leader and kind of the heartbeat of the team,” Glynn said. “She’s taken her leadership role really seriously. She’s really vocal. ... She’s always been just a really unselfish player. She’s just really amazing.”

Dorwin’s step into HMB history saw a balanced effort Wednesday. She scored four field goals — one in the second quarter, one in the third and two in the fourth — and was 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. Her final field goal of the night put her over the 1,000 mark.

While the coaching staff keeps track of the scoring history, they didn’t inform Dorwin she was closing in on 1,000 points until the final three minutes of the game.

“She didn’t have no idea until we told her,” Glynn said.

Dorwin scored the historic bucket in style, grabbing a defensive rebound and barreling coast-to-coast to score a short layup off the right side with a defender bearing down on her, drawing the foul in the process.

“It was great to see her do that last night in a game where she does what she does best,” Smith said.

Aragon was led by junior Daisy Beltran and sophomore Jaclyn Ruttenberg, each with 11 points.