M-A coach proves iron woman in Pro-Am playoffs

In fact, it only seems to inspire the former Stanford point guard.

“It’s fun,” Coleman said. “I am one of the older ones to play against girls who love the game as much as I do.”

Coleman came up short in her bid to earn her first Pro-Am championship as San Francisco fell 68-57 to Bay City in the championship series finale Thursday night at Kezar Pavilion. At 32, she has played in the league every summer — save two seasons, which she missed due to injury — since she played at Stanford from 2003-07.

And absolutely no one got more minutes than Coleman in the championship series. Through two 40-minute contests, she accrued 80 total minutes, not once leaving the floor through the two games.

“I’ve got to keep playing while I can,” Coleman said.

And the all-out effort brought out the best in Coleman. She enjoyed her two best scoring games of the summer in San Francisco’s two championship series losses. In Thursday’s loss, she racked up 12 points. In Tuesday’s opener — as Bay City won 108-75 backed by a game-high 26 points by UC Davis forward Morgan Bertsch — Coleman answered with a season-high 18 points.

“She was on fire Tuesday,” San Francisco head coach Monica F. Wiley said.

At M-A, Coleman has grown into the essential players’ coach. When she’s at the helm, she’s part coach, part mentor, and part friend as she has continued the legacy of one of the most dominant girls’ high school programs in the Bay Area.

Coleman said her personality as a coach is informed by every coach she has had along the way, dating back to her days at Eastside College Prep. Her playing for Wiley in recent years is no different. And what a legend — not just on the Pro-Am circuit, but also on the California Superior Court circuit — Wiley is.

A San Francisco Superior Court Judge since 2009, she was appointed by former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, becoming the second African-American woman ever to preside over a San Francisco court.

As a longtime coach on the Pro-Am circuit, Wiley has an extensive resume as well, including leading San Francisco to a championship three-peat from 2001-03. San Francisco has won seven titles all-time, and has now earned runner-up honors for three consecutive seasons.

“San Francisco has a storied past,” Wiley said.

Coleman has played for three different teams throughout her Pro-Am career, including South Bay and Bay City. She was on San Francisco’s runner-up team in 2016, but missed last summer due to a knee injury.

Quite a motivational presence herself as a coach, Coleman said Wiley’s upbeat nature is the part of the coaching style she most identifies with.

“She’s very energizing,” Coleman said. “She’s able to get her point across even when we get down. … She motivates us to keep going.”

San Francisco played the championship series without two starters, including UC Davis forward Nina Besselo, who was in attendance Thursday but did not suit up. Besselo was one of San Francisco’s best sharpshooters during the regular season, and the team could have used her Thursday.

When Coleman opened the game by draining a 3-pointer from the perimeter, it looked as though San Francisco was dialed in. But the shooting percentage quickly went south. After jumping out to a 10-4 lead, San Francisco ultimately shot just 26.8 percent in the first half. On the game, it improved to 33. 3 percent (25 for 75) with guard Raquel Avila out of Santa Clara University scoring a team-high 16 points.

“We played hard,” Coleman said. “We came up short. But it was a good game.”

Bay City’s Bertsch owned the court though, as the 6-4 forward totaled a game-high 22 points.

The championship marks Bay City’s second straight and fourth all-time.

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