The NCA 11th grade team won seven games in 4-days of competition and were crowned champions of the All-Star bracket at the MSNM Pacific Coast Championships in San Diego. The team, coached by Jeff Paul and Erik Oden, included All Empire Player of the Year Katie Daly (Santa Rosa), All-Empire players Devin Murray (Santa Rosa), Jenna Petray (Analy), NBL All-League players Kylie Oden (Santa Rosa) and Andrea Flinn (Windsor). Niambi Saint Louis (Montgomery), Madison Nordby (Montgomery), Hayley Komrij (Montgomery) Vai Thompson (Maria Carrillo) and Emily Codding (Santa Rosa) rounded out the rest of the team. Unable to attend due to injury were Claire Wheeler (Maria Carrillo, NBL All-League) and Maddie Taylor (Santa Rosa).
The NCA 11th grade team competed in a 4-day college viewing tournament in San Diego, CA, July 27-30. The team competed in the All-Star category which had four brackets of 16 or more teams for a total of 56 teams. The four brackets would eventually produce one champion each and then each champion would advance to a final four bracket to determine the tournament’s overall winner. Five days prior to the kick-off of this tournament the NCA team finished 4th in the Rocklin MSNM Pacific Coast Championships and it would serve as a tune-up for San Diego.
The first game of the competition was a play-in game to seed the 16 team bracket. The team came out raining down 3’s against the Oregon Elite Red team and had a commanding half-time lead scoring 43 points in the first half. Oden, Flinn, Nordby and Codding all hit on multiple 3-pointers as NCA finished the game with a 65-51 victory. In their second game of the day against the Sierra Stars the NCA team easily rolled to a 64-38 victory.
In the third game on the second day of competition the NCA team had its work cut out for them as they faced Columbia Waves who had a challenging inside game. As in the previous two games, excellent team shooting lead by Oden, along with stepped up defense, allowed NCA to hold on to a 56-50 victory. The fourth game against CA Vikings was another narrow victory as the Vikings had an early 15-4 lead, most of which came from a sharp shooting guard. A combined defensive effort from Saint Louis and Komrij shut down the hot shooting guard for the rest of the game and propelled NCA to another victory.
A close game against Sportstrong in the Black Bracket Championship game, brought a balanced offensive and defensive effort by NCA to win a close game at the wire, 55-50. By securing this victory, NCA went on to the Final Four on day four of the tournament.
NCA’s next opponent, Shasta Magic Red, featured a dominant inside game, as well as a potent offense. NCA found themselves down early and often, by as many as 15 points in the first half. Timely 3-pointers by Oden, Nordby, Daly and Flinn, kept the game within reach. With renewed effort, NCA found their turning point in the last five minutes of the game. Nordby found her stride and rattled off 13 points in a row, tying the game and then hitting two free throws late in the game, gave NCA a five-point lead and the eventual victory.
The final game against Triple Threat Hoops Red did not prove to be much of a challenge as NCA came out raining down 3’s once again. Although Triple Threat featured two solid post players over six feet, NCA posts, Petray, Murray, Thompson with help from Komrij successfully shut them down, providing an extra boost to the NCA championship victory.
NCA contributes their undefeated tournament record to a full team effort, as well as individual standouts. The overall play of All Empire Player of the Year point guard Katie Daly through her ball handling skills, shooting, assists and defensive intensity, proved why she deserves that title. In addition to Daly, guards Norby and Oden, assisted in giving NCA a formidable backcourt.
We want to congratulate the NCA 11th grade team for becoming the first ever NCA team to finish first in such a competitive tournament which fielded teams from Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and California. We are proud of your accomplishments as you represented your club and area extremely well. Many words of praise regarding your individual and team performances were echoed by opposing coaches and the college coaches in attendance.
Go NCA!
Tournament Game Summary:
July 27
Game 1: NCA 65 vs. Oregon Elite Red 51 – Francis Parker Middle School
Game 2: NCA 64 vs. Sierra Stars 38 – Town and Country Convention Center
July 28
Game 3: NCA 56 vs. Columbia Waves 50 – Town and Country Convention Center
July 29
Game 4: NCA 56 vs. CA Vikings 50 – Francis Parker Middle School
Black Bracket Championship Game
Game 5: NCA 55 vs. Sportstrong 50 – Town and Country Convention Center
July 30:
Final Four Game
Game 6: NCA 60 vs. Shasta Magic 55 - Alliant International University
Championship Game
Game 7: NCA 56 vs.Triple Threat Hoops Red 43 - Alliant International University
