Notre Dame-Belmont basketball team runs past undermanned Monte Vista Christian in CCS Division IV opener

Senior guards Alaiyah San Juan and Alex Salise ran the perimeter like clockwork at both sides of the court. San Juan didn’t net a single field goal in the first half but went large after the halftime break to finish with eight points and three assists. Salise tallied just five points but added four assists and was a menace on defense with four steals.

“With Alaiyah and Alex, either one could go off any night,” NDB head coach Sam Rossi said. “Alaiyah did exactly what she does coming out in that third quarter, hit those baseline jumpers, had great passes attacking, getting it to our post. A lot of stuff goes through her, especially teams that are playing us in a zone, we’re asking her to make a lot of decisions. … So, she’s kind of doing it all for us.”

Monte Vista Christian (6-11) was without three of its starters — including 6-4 senior center Hanna Harvey and 6-foot forward Sophie Allen — and NDB took the opportunity to counter with freshman power forward Julia Oliveira-Killmon.

Oliveira-Killmon emerged for a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds and served as a steadying force as she dominated the court in the game’s opening minutes.

Prior to joining the varsity Tigers this season, the 5-7 Oliveira-Killmon had played center in middle school. NDB head coach Sam Rossi quickly tasked her with learning the guard position this season, but the freshman slid back to the post Monday to man the power forward position.

“So, it was a familiar role,” Oliveira-Killmon said. “But it’s nice. It’s been very different from my other seasons, just how we work and how this team plays.”

The Tigers got key contributions from all five positions. Senior center Mia Adao totaled 13 points while sophomore Molly Pham glorified the sixth-man role by scoring a team-high 14.

But it was the perimeter defense of San Juan, Salise and Adao that forced Monte Vista to stretch to the outside more than usual from the opening tip-off.

“I thought they were going to have one of their bigs tonight, so our whole thing was we were going to pressure them even more so they couldn’t get the ball into their bigs,” Rossi said. “But then we adjusted a little bit based on their personnel.”

Harvey was in the house for Monte Vista but with an ankle in a cast, an injury she sustained April 30 against Aptos. Allen recently graduated and — like so many seniors throughout the CCS — is on her grad trip. And even starting guard Marissa Cortes, a junior, was out of action after getting injured May 18 against Watsonville.

The result was Monte Vista head coach Jennifer Keathley being forced to play with a lack of experience and almost no depth.

“I think it’s hard when you’re dealing with seven (players) and only five who have been playing varsity all year,” Rader said. “So, I’m really proud of them. Notre Dame’s a great team. They have 14 on the bench.”

Monte Vista kept it close until midway through the second quarter. Junior guard Paloma Ramirez — who scored a game-high 19 points — powered for a put-back off an offensive rebound to close the score to 22-17.

After a defensive stop, Ramirez got a similar chance the next time down the floor and put the ball in the basket, only to have the points nullified on a travelling violation. NDB responded by going on a 12-point run, sparked by a short floater by Adao.

Then in the second half, NDB came out blazing. Even though the Tigers shot 36.7% in the game, they hit 10 of 17 shots in the third quarter while getting multiple scores from each of their five players on the floor.

“We settled in a little bit in that second half,” Rossi said. “I think we were able to make the right reads and attack from the baseline and from the top. I think we were a little more patient with the ball, getting ball movement and getting it to the opposite side. … I’m lucky that I have four great seniors. They’re setting the tone. They’re probably doing a lot more of the work than I do.”

Monte Vista was relegated to playing zone defense and its usual aggression was tamed by a passive approach, a necessary sacrifice, according to Keathley.

“We can play really aggressive man, but we can’t have anybody in foul trouble,” she said.

The result was a showcase of what the Tigers can do when they get a head of steam. NDB outscored Monte Vista 23-7 in the third quarter.

“I think we really just started running,” Oliveira-Killmon said. “We really just realized that if we start working them up and down the court, we could get some easy buckets.”

NDB now advances to Thursday’s CCS semifinal round to take on the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 3 King’s Academy and No. 6 Terra Nova. NDB will host Thursday at 7 p.m.