Menlo School girls' basketball team celebrates end of an era

“The last time we wore these was at state,” Lee said. “Our moms made them. They looked so great, they smelled so great. And we’re just so grateful to wear these. It’s just a grateful circle moment.”

Lee was riding high as a sophomore, when it looked as though Menlo was positioned to possibly repeat, or even three-peat, with a majority of the 2018-19 starting five returning for two more years. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, however, that state championship two seasons ago will be the last CIF basketball championship played until at least next year.

“I just tell the girls, my senior girls who participated in that are going to be graduating as defending state champions,” Menlo head coach John Paye said. “So, I think it’s pretty cool for them.”

The anticlimactic legacy of Menlo’s seniors continued to wind down Tuesday with a 61-55 home victory over Notre Dame-Belmont. The Knights looked rough around the edges for much of the night but fought to find a tempo in the second half.

Even though Lee wasn’t as sharp as she likely would have been had Menlo played a full season — Tuesday marked the team’s fifth game of the year, thanks to a 10-day shutdown earlier this month due to COVID contact tracing protocols — the senior point guard still put up impressive numbers with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Lee’s performance even garnered a comparison from her head coach to the NBA’s triple-double machine Russell Westbrook.

“She’s developed all facets of her game,” Paye said. “She’s also just gotten bigger, stronger, faster.”

Paye recounted his memory of Lee walking into the Menlo program as a freshman. Specifically, he recalled her uniform order — small shorts, small shirt. Now, the 5-8 senior bound for Yale University is getting her money’s worth with the few high school games she has left, crashing boards and shouldering for rebounds, while still demonstrating the agility on ball that has made her one of the most prolific point guards in Menlo history.

“That run at Golden 1 was probably the best experience of my life,” Lee said. “Just to play here one last time, Menlo basketball has been like the best thing that’s ever happened to me. So, it’s crazy, I’m speechless. But I’m so grateful for everything this program has given me. It’s brought out the best in me. Coach Paye handed me the reins when I was a freshman and trusted and believed in me since then. It’s been unreal, and I couldn’t be more happy and more grateful.”

Menlo sent off four seniors for Tuesday’s home finale, with Coco Layton, Danielle McNair and Marissa Li also being honored.

But it was junior Sharon Nejad who posted the monster game, recording a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while also pitching in four assists. There was one discernable moment that defined Nejad when she was walloped with a foul in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot center hit the floor hard, but at no time did she stop smiling.

“I’m just used to getting beat up,” Nejad said. “And, you know? You’ve just got to laugh it off sometimes.”

Lee and Nejad, along with some sharp shooting by McNair, fueled Menlo’s takeover of the game in the second half. Notre Dame-Belmont held a 35-30 lead midway through the third quarter, but Nejad responded by crashing for every board. Her inside presence freed up McNair, who crushed back-to-back 3s to swing the Knights into a 41-37 lead.

The quarter ended with Nejad passing inside out to sophomore Riley Jensen, who sank a corner 3 to stake Menlo to a 44-39 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“We’re good at playing unselfish basketball,” Nejad said. “Because, you know? I wasn’t making too many. So, I was like — let me pass it out, let me share the wealth.”

NDB senior Aliyah San Juan led all scorers with 19 points and was particularly sharp from 3-point territory in the first quarter when she popped three 3s. The 5-3 senior bound for Dominican University next season tried to energize her team in the final quarter, but the ball simply refused to bounce the Tigers’ way.

San Juan had a clean look at a 3-pointers down the stretch with Menlo holding on to a 59-52 lead. The shot looked to be on target but drew just enough back iron to rattle out.

“I think we played hard from the beginning to the end,” San Juan said. “We were in it. We just couldn’t make a shot at the end. Things weren’t going our way.”

A four-year varsity starter, San Juan probably passed as much Tuesday night as she did her entire freshman year of 2017-18. She finished with three assists on the night.

“I think my leadership has grown, especially since freshman year, and it’s taught me how to run a team more than just take it myself,” San Juan said. “So, I can rely on other people, rely on them, trust them.”

But the night belonged to Menlo, and fittingly so. The Knights have three more games on their schedule this season, all road games.

Come next season, and the hopefulness of a return to normalcy, just one starter will remain from the championship of two years ago from which Menlo reigns.

“I’ve been with these seniors forever, since like sixth grade,” Nejad said. “So, it’s going to be hard to see them go. But I’ve always been with the upcoming kids since sixth grade too, so I’m also excited for next year too. But it’s definitely going to be hard missing these power players.”