Menlo ‘D’ saves the day

The Knights (6-1) improved their record to 6-1 at home Wednesday with a low-scoring 23-20 non-league victory over over Palma-Salinas (3-1). While Menlo shot just 14.3% from the field, the team totaled 11 steals, with six different players recording takeaways, while Palma turned it over 18 times throughout.

“We graduated two really good players that handled the ball 90% of the time for us,” Menlo head coach Ryan Cooper said. “So, we’re still a work in progress in terms of learning how to execute offensively, and initiate offense. But when it counted, we made the right plays with the right reads, and we didn’t turn it over (on the final possession).”

Menlo was plagued by turnovers, committing 21 in the contest, but was able to get the ball up the floor when it counted.

After Palma freshman Zaniyah Washington sunk the second of two free throws to close Menlo’s lead to 3 with 38 seconds to play, the Knights navigated the full-court press with junior guards Ava Allen and Sophia Longinidis passing and weaving to push the ball up the court. Then the Knights spread the court and played keep-away effectively, until finally getting a 3-point look out of the corner as the shot clock was winding to zero.

While the 3 didn’t fall, and Palma got the rebound, it left the Chieftains just eight seconds to try to create a shot out of a timeout. Not so easy against Menlo’s defense. Palma got flustered in a tight 1-on-1 man matchup and double dribbled, leaving Menlo to merely have to inbound the ball to wrap up the win.

“We felt as if we could dictate space and we can see where they’re running to the ball, we could probably execute and at least get a shot attempt, which we weren’t always successful at getting against their pressure,” Cooper said. “And I thought we did what we had to do to close the game.”

With Menlo now on a six-game winning streak, the oppositions’ scoring numbers speak volumes to how good the defense has played. Since falling 32-31 to Fremont-Sunnyvale in the season opener, the Knights haven’t given up more than 25 points in a single game. Tuesday night against Seaside, Menlo’s defense played three quarters of shutout basketball before allowing a free throw and a layup down the stretch of a 53-3 victory.

Wednesday started with more of the same, as it took Palma over five minutes to get on the board with a transition layup from Washington.

Everything starts with the takeaways, as Menlo set the tone against the Chieftains with five first-quarter steals.

“I think it’s definitely a strength of ours,” Allen said. “In practice, we always prepare, like trying to know their actions, know their plays, know what they’re going to run. And I think just anticipating that next pass has really helped us to be able to get those steals, get those fast-break opportunities. Because if we’re struggling offensively, that’s one way for us to get going and get some points on the board. So, I think those steals have just really helped us find our rhythm this year.”

Allen led all scorers with a mere seven points, but added six rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. And it was the junior point guard’s 3 off the wing to start the second half that got Menlo some traction from beyond the arc. The Knights shot 0 of 9 from 3-point territory in the first half, but continued bombing from deep nonetheless. Junior forward Sanji Gaitonde and sophomore forward Anika Shah added third-quarter 3s, as Menlo broke a 9-all halftime tie with a 10-3 run.

“I think our coach ... has really just let us know that he trusts us, he believes in us, so to just keep letting it fly and shooting the ball,” Allen said. “Because they’re going to fall eventually, even if they weren’t falling in that first half. We stayed together as a team, we stayed together defensively to keep us in the game, and then we got them to fall in the second half.”

Menlo also dominated the paint — cycling starting posts Maren Mulloy and Lisi Mahe with reserves Elise Darling and Sierra Wynn — out-rebounding Palma 37-23. Shah, a 5-9 sophomore, totaled a game-high nine rebounds, while Wynn, a 5-9 freshman, had eight.

The Chieftains were led by Washington with eight rebounds.

The Palma girls’ basketball program is in its second year, as the Salinas school, formerly an all-boys school, went co-ed in 2024-25. It didn’t take head coach Robbie Johnson long to establish the program, as the Chieftains finished in second place in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division, posted a 21-4 overall record and advanced to the semifinals of the CCS Division V playoffs.

“[The hardest part] was getting girls to come out,” Johnson said. “I think that was the biggest challenge, trying to get girls to come out, trust the process. Just to come out and see what it was about.”

Wednesday marked the Chieftains’ first loss of the program’s sophomore season.

The young season is a brave, new world for the Knights, who, despite the team’s fast start in non-league play, has their work cut out for them come West Bay Athletic League play. Even with the run of CCS titles, in the past two years since Cooper took over for former head coach John Paye, Menlo hasn’t finished better than third place in the competitive Foothill Division.

“We went into this with an open mind,” Cooper said. “We graduated two really highly coveted players for four years. So, we loved our core group, and we’ve added some really nice, young freshmen. And so we’ve taken the approach of every day is a work in progress, and we’re really enjoying the journey together. So, the record is not going to be an indication of how successful we are this year. It’s just about getting to the places that we want to get as a unit, and a little bit better daily.”