San Mateo clinches PAL Ocean Division girls’ basketball crown

The big swing came late in the third quarter when Burlingame senior Hailey Miller checked out with her fourth foul. The Panthers (10-1, 15-7) had just upped their lead to 40-26 on a bucket from junior Samantha Arce, but with Miller off the floor, San Mateo ratcheted up the defensive intensity to force a slew of turnovers and close the quarter on a 10-1 run.

“It was huge because we struggled with our press,” San Mateo head coach Paul Carion said of Miller’s foul trouble. “We tried to press early, and with her it’s just too tough. And then when she went out, we were able to press again. And the game was probably won in that two minutes ... because all we wanted to be was in striking distance, and that allowed us to be in striking distance for when she did come back in.”

Miller checked back in to start the fourth quarter, and her presence was felt immediately. The senior big made a quick assist pass on a lob into junior Haleh Ansari for a short jumper for a 43-36 Burlingame lead. The Bearcats answered with transition bucket from sophomore Jeressa Cadiz, but when they forced another Burlingame turnover, Miller stopped the bleeding by zooming out to the perimeter to block a 3-point attempt by Alannah Malone.

The tide seemed to be turning back toward Burlingame’s way when San Mateo sophomore Bella Fong picked up her fourth foul with just over six minutes to go in regulation. But Burlingame turned it over again on a three-second violation. Then the Bearcats closed it to a single-possession game on a post-up bank shot by sophomore Violet MacAvoy, cutting Burlingame’s lead to 43-40.

“Coach Paul always says the five we put out on the court is better than their five,” Fong said. “And I truly believe that till the very end, cause he never gives up on us. ... We believed in our coach and we just never thought they were losing.”

Then with Burlingame clinging to a 45-42 lead, San Mateo kept a half-court possession alive on a scrappy play by Fong.

MacAvoy first sustained the possession with an offensive rebound, and kicked it out to Fong on the perimeter. The ball-savvy wing had the ball jarred loose by a Burlingame defender, however, and there was a scramble for the loose ball. While the Panthers were closer to it, Fong dove into a pile and snatched it away before a Burlingame could even force a jump ball. From her back, Fong then passed it to MacAvoy, who whipped it over to Nunez for a clutch 3-pointer to tie it 45-45 with 3:03 to play.

Fong said she doesn’t know how she got to the loose ball, just that she did.

“I’m not sure,” Fong said. “I really just dove onto the court and I was like: ‘I’m getting this ball.’ So, once I grabbing it, I’m just praying not for the travel call. And then I just threw it to my teammate.”

The turnover bug continued to bite, and bite hard, for Burlingame. The Panthers committed 19 turnovers throughout, with 11 of them coming in the second half, including six in the fourth quarter. And after a traveling call went against them off Nunez’s game-tying 3, the Bearcats took their first lead of the game the next time down when Fong danced through traffic to drive to the hoop off the left side with a sweet Euro step to make it 47-45 with 2:33 to play.

The Bearcats upped it to 49-45 on a Nunez layup to add to her game-high 15 points. But Burlingame refused to go away, answering with a 5-0 run to retake the lead.

“I was really proud of our point guard Miranda Sibley,” Burlingame head coach Ned Diamond said. “We called a timeout after they went on that little run, and she was like: ‘We’ve got this.’ ... She showed great poise. She’s been our fearless leader on the court. She barely comes out. It’s really something special in this day and age that someone has that much of an impact without having to score that much.”

It was senior Natalie Gyde who dialed up a 3, rattling it down from the elbow to close it to 49-48. Then Miller continued to impact the game with a steal, and after a Burlingame miss, Ansari — who finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds — crashed the boards for a put-back to give the Panthers a 50-49 edge.

Then the dreaded foul whistle ended Miller’s night, with her fifth foul sending MacAvoy to the free-throw line with 1:11 to play. MacAvoy converted the second of her two free throws, and San Mateo never trailed again.

“Hailey caused so much trouble on the offensive end and on the defensive end,” Diamond said. “So, losing her to foul trouble was definitely difficult.”

Without Miller, Burlingame didn’t maintain their next possession for long. The Panthers had just advanced it past half court when Nunez pounced on a lazy pass and picked it clean, pushed it forward, and took a clear look to the hoop.

“Sometimes I just give the players a little space,” Nunez said. “If I’m on them, they’re not going to get the pass. And then if I give them a little space, they’ll get a pass, and I jump for it. ... And then I saw no one around me, and started sprinting.”

Nunez finished out the transition layup to give the Bearcats the lead for good.

“Seniors know their moment,” Carion said. “And she knew her moment.”

San Mateo finished on a 6-0 run before celebrating in front of its bench on the south half of the court.

“It was amazing,” Nunez said. “I was starting to get a little doubtful ... but then I just believed in my team, and believed that we could do it. And we did. We got it done.”

Four Bearcats finished in double figures, with sophomore Kaitlyn Schuh sharing the game-high and recording a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. MacAvoy added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Fong finished with 11 points.

San Mateo had to overcome a lackadaisical start though, getting tied in knots by Burlingame’s zone defense. The Bearcats committed 15 turnovers throughout, including 10 in the first half.

“The team has really connected on defense,” Diamond said. “They love playing defense, and that’s pretty much part of our offense. It’s been our offense for the whole year. Defense that transitions into offense.”

Burlingame opened on a 10-2 run and took a 21-10 lead into the second quarter. The Panthers shot 6 of 13 from the field in opening period, and finished at 41.9% for the game, better than San Mateo’s 39.6% scoring clip.

Senior forward Siena La Mark drilled a 3 midway through the second quarter to give Burlingame a 29-14 lead, its biggest of the first half. The Panthers took a 31-18 lead into the half, and opened the second on a 6-2 run, capped by a running bank shot by Miller to make it 37-20 for their biggest lead of the game.

Miller finished with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, five steals and a blocked shot. Gyde added 10 points for Burlingame, and La Mark finished with nine.

The Bearcats, having now won 11 straight, can clinch the PAL Ocean Division title outright Friday in their regular-season finale Senior Night against Sequoia. Burlingame travels Friday to Terra Nova.