Friday night high school roundup: Big upsets in girls hoops, top-ranked boys teams handle business, plus soccer
No. 7 Priory 40, No. 4 Pinewood 39
A historic win for Priory on Friday night upended the conventional order in the West Bay Athletic League and set the stage for what should be a thrilling finish to the league title race.
Priory (8-5, 2-0), which entered the game 1-18 against Pinewood (11-1, 1-1) since 2017, picked up only its second win in the series and first since 2024.
“I am super proud of our girls’ fight and resilience in the second half,” Priory coach Buck Matthews told the Bay Area News Group.
Ugreat Daniels led the way for Priory on both ends of the floor with 19 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. Her clutch free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining provided the winning margin.
Jordyn Moss added seven points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
Caitlin Kramer led Pinewood with 14 points, and Abigail Yew added 11.
The win kicks off a big Martin Luther King Jr. weekend of competition for Priory. The Panthers will face No. 8 Bishop O’Dowd on Saturday at the MLK Classic held at O’Dowd.
Then on Monday, Priory will return to O’Dowd for an MLK Classic matchup against No. 11 Piedmont.
There’s quite a ways to go in the WBAL season. The Panthers have eight games remaining in league play, including a rematch with Pinewood on Feb. 10 in Portola Valley.
But Friday’s result was a seismic event that shook up the established power structure in Bay Area girls basketball.
Pinewood entered Friday’s game ranked No. 11 in the state by MaxPreps, Priory 48th.
Much remains to be seen this season. But for one night at least, Priory got the chance to admire the view from the top of the mountain in Los Altos Hills.
– Christian Babcock
No. 10 Archbishop Riordan 55, No. 5 St. Francis 53
A night of unexpected upsets continued in the West Catholic Athletic League, where Riordan (8-4, 2-0) rallied from down five points with three minutes to play to snap St. Francis’ 15-game winning streak.
Mafalda Fontan hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get Riordan within striking distance, then Zion McGuire’s layup put the Crusaders up with 20 seconds left.
Sophie Holmes’ last-second putback at the final buzzer was waved off for St. Francis, and Riordan survived with a big win to keep pace atop the WCAL.
Nylah Dyson led the Crusaders with 15 points, and Fontan finished with 13. Chayana Collins added nine.
For the Lancers (15-2, 2-1), Katia Grizelj led the way with 17 points. Grace Curley chipped in 17 and Holmes had 11.
It was St. Francis’ first loss since the first game of the season, when the Lancers fell 75-42 to No. 2 San Ramon Valley.
– Christian Babcock
No. 20 Dougherty Valley 79, Livermore 33
Dougherty Valley (14-2, 2-1) dominated its way to an easy win in the East Bay Athletic League thanks to a big night from Keira Tom, who poured in 31 points plus a pair of assists, steals and rebounds. Bhavana Manivannan added 11 points plus an assist, a steal and a rebound. Chloe Omega chipped in nine points, four assists, a steal and a board. Livermore dropped to 9-11, 0-4. – Christian Babcock
Los Altos 53, Milpitas 22
Los Altos (14-2, 4-0) made a statement in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division on Friday night, dominating Milpitas (6-9, 0-4) on the road. Ella McFarlane led the way for Los Altos with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals. Taylor Ware went for seven points, three assists and five steals. Chloe D’Amico added eight points and reached double figures with 10 rebounds. Los Altos hosts perennial league champion Los Gatos on Tuesday. – Christian Babcock
No. 1 Salesian 85, Pinole Valley 53
Salesian cruised to yet another Tri County Athletic League Rock Division victory behind 17 points from Elis Obenyah and 10 points each from Isaiah Davis and Carlton Perilliat Jr. Jaylin Reed scored 11 points and Ahmari Otis had 10 for Pinole Valley (12-6, 1-3). Salesian has won its six games and is now 15-2, 4-0. – Nathan Canilao
No. 2 Riordan 85, St. Francis 51
Riordan ran away with another West Catholic Athletic League contest, this time beating St. Francis on the road. JP Pihtovs scored 18 points and freshman Judah Van Ewijk – who started in place for injured USF-bound point guard Andrew Hilman – had 12 for Riordan (11-1, 4-0). Devin Turner had 13 points for St. Francis, which dropped to 7-7, 0-4. – Nathan Canilao
No. 3 St. Ignatius 72, Sacred Heart Cathedral 42
The Wildcats won the second straight Bruce Mahoney game played at Chase Center behind 24 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore Alex Moore. Sophomore Noah Kirsch-Lopez added nine points for St. Ignatius (13-1, 4-0 WCAL). Freshman Jaden Hector had 10 points to lead SHC, which dropped to 8-6, 1-3. – Nathan Canilao
No. 8 The King’s Academy 54, Sacred Heart Prep 43
Playing in their third game without star Boss Mhoon, the Knights defeated Sacred Heart Prep in a West Bay Athletic League showdown, despite a furious third-quarter push from the Gators. Claxton Ladine led the way for TKA with 21 points. Xavier Barnett added 15 points and Hezekiah Sires chipped in 10. Alex Osterloh had a game-high 26 points for SHP, which dropped to 7-6, 1-1. TKA improved to 12-2, 2-0. – Nathan Canilao
No. 9 Dougherty Valley 72, No. 17 Livermore 49
Rashod Cotton Jr. continued his hot shooting streak, scoring 23 points to lead Dougherty Valley past Livermore (14-5, 1-2) on the road. Rylan Sevilla added 19 points, as did sophomore Alonzo Walker III, whom coach Mike Hansen called “dominant on both ends.” Sophomore sensation Amare Chandler scored 22 points – 15 in the second half – for Livermore, which dropped its second straight EBAL game. Dougherty Valley is 13-6, 2-1. – Nathan Canilao
No. 10 Liberty 90, Pittsburg 50
The high-scoring duo of Dante Vigil and Jaiden Miller got going again as the Lions easily took down Bay Valley Athletic League rival Pittsburg at home. Miller ended with 22 points and Vigil had 21, helping Liberty improve to 16-2, 5-0. Pittsburg (8-6, 4-1) got 12 points from Terrance Wiley. – Nathan Canilao
No. 14 Granada 68, No. 5 California 63
Four double-digit scorers couldn’t get California over the hump as Granada’s Brandon Hahn scored a game-high 34 points to give the Matadors their first EBAL win. Logan Weger and Emeka Ifediora each had 15 points while Brayde Kuykendall and Jaiden Jones both had 12 for California (10-9, 1-2). Granada (13-5, 1-2) got 16 points from Damien Miles. – Nathan Canilao
No. 17 Monte Vista 55, Foothill 30
Monte Vista rolled to its third straight EBAL win, defeating Foothill on the road. Ian Desai had 18 points and Max Nishikawa added 11 for Monte Vista, which improved to 13-6, 3-0. Foothill (11-7, 0-3) got 12 points from Tyler Sum. – Nathan Canilao
No. 19 Amador Valley 53, San Ramon Valley 50
San Jose State commit Cade Krueger scored 27 points as the Dons picked up a solid EBAL win over SRV. Jaylen Smith added 12 points and Elijah Stanley had eight for Amador Valley (12-7, 2-1). SRV (8-11, 1-2) got 13 points from Tyler Smith. – Nathan Canilao
Athenian 47, Bentley 41
Koen Feyock scored a team-high 15 points as Athenian squeaked by Bentley in a BCL East Division matchup. Paul Foster had a game-high 19 points for Bentley, which dropped to 14-3, 1-2. Athenian is 6-7, 1-2. – Nathan Canilao
Brave Christian Academy 101, Making Waves Academy 31
The Dublin private school reached triple figures as it breezed past Making Waves Academy to improve to 13-4, 7-0 Bay Counties General Division. Freshman JP Oka poured in 23 points, sophomore Adama Kona added 17 and senior Logan Reth had 12 for Brave Christian. Making Waves dropped to 4-12, 1-6. – Nathan Canilao
College Prep 67, Head-Royce 59
In a battle between small Oakland private schools, the Cougars got the best of Head-Royce in a BCL East Division showdown. James Pak led the way for College Prep (14-2, 3-1) with 20 points. Tua Montoya scored 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting for Head-Royce, which dropped to 8-9, 1-2. – Nathan Canilao
Cornerstone Christian 75, St. Joseph Notre Dame 64
Shifty guard Benjamin Lukas scored a team-high 19 points, James Perry added 18 and Cornerstone Christian downed St. Joseph Notre Dame to improve to 10-7 and undefeated through three Bay Counties East Division games. Ariel Garcia-Jajeh scored a game-high 25 points for SJND, which dropped to 6-11, 0-2. – Nathan Canilao
Fremont-Sunnyvale 49, Lynbrook 48
Fremont came away with a narrow win over Lynbrook to remain tied for first with Saratoga in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division standings. Kota Xu led the way for the Firebirds with 17 points, Kai Daron added 16 and Kishan Shah had 11 as Fremont improved to 9-6, 4-1. Lynbrook senior Judah Marks had a team-high 16 points for Lynbrook, which dropped to 10-5, 3-2. – Nathan Canilao
Priory 70, Menlo School 48
Mate Palotai scored 17 points and Teddy Xanthopoulos added 11 as Priory (11-4, 2-0) made easy work of Menlo School in its WBAL matchup. Menlo (9-6, 1-1) got 16 points from Ethan Zhao. – Nathan Canilao
Serra 60, Valley Christian 54
Wyatt Vonblanco scored 15 points to lead Serra (9-5, 1-3) to its first WCAL win of the season as the Padres won at home. Sebastian Margate added 12 points and five assists. Bryant Clark had a game-high 24 points for Valley Christian (9-5, 1-3). – Nathan Canilao
St. Mary’s-Berkeley 76, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 57
Senior C.J. Baltrip scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in St. Mary’s win over SPSV. Malakai Kelley added 13 points and Marcellus Collins had 11 in the win. St. Mary’s improved to 9-7, 3-1 TCAL Rock Division. SPSV dropped 8-7, 1-3. – Nathan Canilao
No. 8 Carondelet 2, Dublin 0
Carondelet (7-1-3) continued its strong start to the season with a road shutout of Dublin to run its record in the East Bay Athletic League to 3-0. Natalia Brunal and Madeline Roder scored the goals for the Cougars, while April Sagar and Addison Bowles each played a half in goal and recorded one save apiece, ensuring Carondelet’s sixth clean sheet of the season. Dublin dropped to 3-6-1, 0-3. – Christian Babcock
Menlo School 9, Pinewood 0
Menlo (5-3-2, 3-1) enjoyed a cakewalk at home Friday afternoon in West Bay Athletic League action, getting two goals each from Chuck Wynn and Blake Putanec to put away Pinewood (0-4-1, 0-3-1). Sam Beckerson and Tyler McMullen each netted a goal and an assist. Stevie Halprin, Declan Sitter and Matthew Bowden each added a goal. Cameron Rafati and Charlie Allard each had two assists, and Allen Wang added another. Dylan O’Malley and Sebastian Quezada shared the shutout in goal. – Christian Babcock