Prep roundup: Pinewood finishes strong, shuts down Salesian’s rally to remain unbeaten

LOS ALTOS HILLS — Pinewood controlled the script early, building a comfortable first-half lead that suggested a routine night. 

But against a team like Salesian, basketball rarely follows plan. 

When Salesian surged in the third quarter and into the fourth, turning calm into chaos, the Panthers were forced to respond. 

They did so emphatically. 

Pinewood scored 14 unanswered points in the final four minutes and slammed the door on Salesian’s upset bid in a 55-38 win. 

“We responded well to their aggressiveness,” Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler said. “They were very ball hungry the whole game and we were very off put by it. So those games are great for us to learn how to handle physicality better, and I thought we did that in the fourth quarter. … Proud of the girls.”

Senior Andri Wilkinson led Pinewood with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Abigail Yew also had 13 points and Caitlyn Krammer added 12. 

Emma Bryant had nine points and Ezra Palec totaled eight for Salesian.

“I think if a couple of plays go the other way, we get them. We think we can win every game we play,” Salesian coach Stephen Pezzola said. “We’re young but I think we’re tough, and I think everybody who plays us will know that they’ve been in a battle. I think we weren’t used to some of the physicality that happened. But I’m proud of the effort.”

Pinewood opened the game strong with an 11-2 run. The Panthers held an advantage as big as 13 in the first half, but Salesian just wouldn’t go away. 

A 12-5 run to end the second quarter got Salesian within six points of Pinewood at halftime and the momentum continued after halftime. 

Salesian scored seven unanswered points to take a brief one-point lead, forcing Pinewood into a timeout three minutes into the third quarter. The Panther retook the lead after a strong end to the period, but it was still anyone’s game in the fourth quarter. 

That was until Pinewood turned up its defense. 

The Panthers suffocated Salesian with a full-court press and turned the ball over numerous times, leading to the Los Altos Hills school going on a 14-0 run to end the game. Four different players scored a basket in that period as Pinewood escaped Salesian’s comeback bid. 

Pinewood outrebounded Salesian 37 to 28 while forcing the Pride into 17 turnovers. 

“We were getting super excited when every bucket went in, but obviously getting back on defense and continuing to get stops, I think, is what really pushed us,” Kramer said. “We were getting really hyped. The bench was getting really high. We’re all pointing at each other, and that was really great.”

Pinewood remains undefeated through its first 10 games. The Panthers will start league play on Tuesday at Notre Dame-Belmont. 

“The league will be between us and Priory,” Scheppler said. “We have a big game Tuesday. We know a lot of the girls – they played with a lot of our girls in our AAU program. So it’s going to be a big game Tuesday. So that’s going to be our focus.”

– Nathan Canilao

Ontario Christian 96, No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 87 (2OT)

A matchup of the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the country lived up to its star-studded billing as Ontario Christian’s Kaleena Smith scored 50 points to lead the Knights to a classic win over Mitty in Santa Ana. McKenna Woliczko led Mitty with 25 points, and Ze’Ni Patterson had 21. Christian Babcock has the full story here.

Del Mar 50, Santa Teresa 46

Senior Zoey Hinkle scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half to lead Del Mar past Santa Teresa. Del Mar’s Kimani Yarber added eight points. Junior Trinity Lacy had 17 for Santa Teresa, which dropped to 8-5. Del Mar improved to 9-6. – Nathan Canilao

Heritage 57, Monte Vista 47

The Patriots notched an impressive win over Monte Vista at the Alhambra Shootout behind 12 points from Jessie Cooper. Lily Wilright had 10 points and Olachi Nwosu added eight. Juliette Leonard had a game-high 27 points for Monte Vista, which dropped to 8-6. Heritage is now 10-3. – Nathan Canilao

Boys basketball

Berkeley 50, Pinole Valley 46

Kavi Jivan scored 15 points, Donte Joseph had 10 and Berkeley defeated Pinole Valley after trailing for most of Saturday’s game. Jaylin Reed put up a game-high 17 points and Ahmari Otis had 12 for Pinole Valley, which dropped to 12-4. Berkeley is now 6-7. – Nathan Canilao

Eastside College Prep 58, Hillbrook 19

The Panthers remain undefeated through 10 games after routing Hillbrook on the road. Gonzalo Patino scored a game-high 24 points. – Nathan Canilao