Slow start dooms Menlo in loss to SI in Open Division

Menlo did win the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 28-25 over the final two quarters. But that first-half hole proved too deep as No. 4 St. Ignatius topped No. 5 Menlo 66-50 in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division bracket Friday night at Gunn High School.

“It was pretty deflating,” Menlo head coach John Paye said of his team’s first-half struggles. “But I like how they responded (in the second half).”

It wasn’t so much that Menlo (21-4 overall) played poorly in the first half. It was that SI (17-9) played nearly flawless in the opening two quarters.

The game was tied at 5-all following a putback bucket from Menlo’s Sharon Nejad, but when SI’s Angie McAdams buried a 3-pointer it gave the Wildcats the lead for good and ignited a 9-0 run as SI pushed its lead to 14-5 with 2:14 left in the opening quarter.

Menlo stayed close, however, trailing 18-10 after eight minutes.

The Knights chances took a significant hit, however, when Maeia Makoni picked up two quick fouls in less than two minutes. She ended up earning two more fouls in the second quarter, leaving her with just one foul to play with before fouling out. Makoni is one of Menlo’s best shooters and it took a while for the Knights to come up with other options.

“Obviously, it was a little unfortunate Makoni got two quick fouls,” Paye said. “Maeia is an important part of our team and one of our best 3-point percentage shooters. For us not to be able to have her (available) much got us out of rhythm.”

The Wildcats helped keep the Knights from getting comfortable as well, as they used a suffocating defense and then shot lights-out from the floor. After connecting on 7 of 14 shots in the first quarter, the Wildcats followed that with a scorching 9 for 13 performance in the second period as they outscored the Knights 23-12.

SI shot 57 percent from the field for the game, hitting on 26 of 46 shots.

After an Avery Lee layup cut the SI lead to 21-15 with 7:22 left in the first half, the Wildcats responded by outscoring the Knights 20-7 the rest of the way and led 41-22 at the break.

Menlo tightened things up in the third quarter and played SI to a virtual standstill, outscoring the Wildcats 15-14 in the third and 13-11 in the fourth.

Lee led Menlo with 17 points, while Nejad, who was matched up with SI’s Maddie Ennis for most of the night, had a solid game as well, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds. Coco Layton added 11 and Makoni did nail a pair of 3-pointers to finish with six points.

Ennis — who resides in Burlingame — led SI with a double-double, finishing with a game-high 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. She also added two steals and had a pair of assists as well. Emily Jones chipped in 13 points, while Rachel Harvey finished with 11 for the Wildcats.

Despite the loss, Menlo remains alive and still has plenty for which to play. The Knights will play in a consolation game Thursday when they host West Bay Athletic League rival Eastside College Prep. The eighth-seeded Panthers were buried by top-seeded Mitty, 83-48.

And, by virtue of making the Open Division, Menlo automatically qualifies for the Northern California tournament.

But first things first. When the Knights take on the Panthers next week, they will be attempting to win their first Open Division game. Menlo has been to the Open Division four straight years, but have gone 0-2 each time.

“We still haven’t won our first Open (Division) game,” Paye said. “This is an excellent opportunity for us to get better.”