DANVILLE – San Ramon Valley’s women basketball workforce just isn’t notably tall, with no participant standing over 6-foot-1.
And but, in opposition to one of many South Bay’s most storied applications and a workforce famed for its taking pictures prowess, the Danville faculty made Pinewood appear as if it was operating units in opposition to skyscrapers in a cellphone sales space on Wednesday evening.
The key to the Wolves’ success within the NorCal Open Division first spherical sport?
San Ramon Valley, the third seed, switched on virtually each display screen each on- and off-ball in opposition to sixth seed Pinewood.
Moderately than attempt to combat via site visitors and presumably lose a deadly shooter, Ella Gunderson, Carly Stern and firm as a substitute handed alongside their task to the closest teammate.
The San Ramon Valley bench celebrates a 3-point basket in opposition to Pinewood within the third quarter of their the CIF NorCal Division Open playoff sport at San Ramon Valley in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
The faces guarding Pinewood’s scorers modified, however the end result remained the identical no matter who was defending the ball.
The tactic labored so brilliantly that Pinewood went 10 minutes with out scoring within the second half of a sport SRV gained 56-32.
“They understand the help, and the help the helper, and the switch and the hedge and all of that, and they just execute it so well that you don’t really need a traditional shot blocker,” SRV coach John Cristiano stated. “If your mentality is no middle court, ice the edges, don’t go around the edges … it’s hard to get into the paint.”
The offense wasn’t too shabby, both, in San Ramon Valley’s first victory in three Open Division appearances.
Gunderson led the Wolves with 14 factors, Rudd and Stern every scored 9, and SRV as a workforce made 11 3-pointers as San Ramon Valley turned a 25-22 halftime lead right into a rout with a 16-0 run from the early third quarter to the mid-fourth.
That run included two Kaitlyn Mills three-pointers and 5 factors by Maya Knapp.
Cristiano made certain to provide Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler his props after the sport, noting that the longtime coach had mentored him when Cristiano was beginning out as a coach a decade in the past.
“He took me under his wing, and he taught me everything I know about basketball,” Cristiano stated.
Pinewood’s Jolyn Ding (12) takes a shot in opposition to San Ramon Valley’s Maya Knapp (23) within the second quarter of their the CIF NorCal Open Division playoff sport at San Ramon Valley in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
Because the scoreboard confirmed, Doc taught him effectively.
The hosts had dabbled with the switch-everything scheme in its 76-43 blowout of Acalanes within the North Coast Part championship sport victory on Saturday.
Except for contesting virtually each shot, San Ramon Valley dominated within the rebounding division and received a number of second probabilities due to good work by Stern, Rudd and Maya Knapp.
“We knew they could all shoot,” Stern stated. “And the last game we played against them, we did not rebound, and rebounding changed the game for us.”
San Ramon Valley’s Carly Stern (24) takes a shot in opposition to Pinewood’s Katherine Garr (14) within the third quarter of their the CIF NorCal Division Open playoff sport at San Ramon Valley in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
Pinewood did get open photographs, each from behind the road and within the paint, on multiple event. However the usually-knockdown snipers couldn’t get one to undergo the rim.
Jolyn Ding led Pinewood with eight factors, and her fearless drives to the rim had been one of many few vibrant spots for the Panther offense.
Scheppler acknowledged his workforce’s open misses, he additionally showered reward on San Ramon Valley’s senior-less workforce.
“You don’t get to be great shooters and great players without putting in time in the gym, so I know the work they put in, and it manifests itself in that they played well in a big game,” Scheppler stated of SRV. “I think that mentally, their girls have a great mindset, and they were physical and they were strong.”
San Ramon Valley’s energy will probably be examined within the semifinal on Saturday in opposition to maybe the most effective workforce in NorCal.
The Wolves will take the lengthy drive to the Fresno space and play 32-0 Clovis West, a workforce that’s skilled, gifted and athletic.
However with confidence sky-high and on a profitable streak that’s now at 14 video games, San Ramon Valley likes its possibilities of advancing to its first NorCal Open Division remaining.
“They have a really good press, so we’re going to need to work on that,” Mills stated. “But I like our chances.”
San Ramon Valley’s Alyssa Rudd (21) scores a basket in opposition to Pinewood’s Sloane Parenti (33) within the fourth quarter of their the CIF NorCal Division Open playoff sport at San Ramon Valley in Danville, Calif., on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
