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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Almost There!: Del Mar's Ali Mollet, driving to the hoop in a game earlier this year against San Jose, helped the Dons to a 2-2 finish at the Oak Grove tournament.
McGill wins spot at Oak Grove
But Dons win two out of four championship games
By Dick Sparrer
It was no surprise to find Del Mar's Morgan McGill on the all-tournament team at the conclusion of the Oak Grove Holiday Classic.
In fact, it would have been a much bigger surprise had she not been named among the tourney's best.
Because all the 5-foot-11 junior guard did was score 85 points to average 21.25 points a game for the Dons in the four games of the tournament.
Trouble was, it was enough to lead Del Mar to just a split and a consolation runner-up spot in the tourney.
Actually, Del Mar could have done no better than win the consolation championship after suffering a 57-37 loss to Second Baptist of Houston, Texas, in the first round of the tourney.
The Dons came fighting back to beat the King's Academy of Sunnyvale 69-50 and Castilleja of Palo Alto 59-48 to earn a spot in the consolation championship game against Los Gatos.
The game was a rematch for the Dons and Wildcats. Del Mar had beaten Los Gatos in a non-league game earlier in the year. But this time it was Gatos coming out on top 54-53 in a cliffhanger.
The Dons made a valiant second-half comeback after trailing 31-24 at intermission, and they had a shot at the victory but missed a lay-up at the buzzer.
McGill led all Del Mar scorers with 19 points, strangely enough her lowest single game total of the tourney. She had 23 in the opener against Second Baptist and she was in the 30s in the other two games.
Senior forward Justine Stagi had a hot hand for the Dons with 17 points, including five three-pointers. A.J. Galloway supported with nine points and Ali Mollet had a three among her eight points.
McGill poured in 30 points in the 59-48 win over Castilleja that pushed the Dons into the consolation title game.
The Dons, 8-2 for the year, blitzed Castilleja 24-6 in the first period and coasted from there to the win.
Mollet supported with 14 points in the win and Galloway added seven. Helena Oh and Stacie Sakauye hit four apiece.
McGill's biggest game came in the second round of the tourney when she bombed 32 points in the 69-50 win over King's. The senior had a couple of threes among her 10 field goals, and she added 10 more points at the charity stripe.
Stagi also had a big night with six three-pointers among seven field goals to finish with 20 points. Mollet also finished in double digits with 10 points.
McGill poured in 23 points, including a pair of threes, but Del Mar lost 57-37 to Second Baptist, 13-0 for the year after the win. Mollet tossed in six points for the Dons, Galloway four and Oh and Stagi two apiece.
The Dons, who hosted the Del Mar Dons' Club Tournament last weekend, will open league action this week in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. Del Mar will host Piedmont Hills on Jan. 2, 7 p.m., before visiting Silver Creek on Jan. 4, 4:30 p.m.
Warriors open
The Westmont girls will open play in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL this week. The Warriors play host to Valley Christian on Jan. 4, 7 p.m., for their only game of the week.
Westmont joined Del Mar for the Dons' Club Tournament last weekend. The Warriors had slipped to 5-6 for the year with a 57-36 loss to Mills at the Half Moon Bay Tournament before Christmas.
Senior guard Jennifer Brown tossed in 12 points, including a three, to lead the Westmont effort against Mills. Freshman Rachel Gelman had a three among her five points, and Stacy Stenzel, Rachelle Brady and Karly Brownridge added four points each.
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Campbell, California
