Countdown to Graduation, Shem's Corner

The 8th grade will be graduating tomorrow night.

One of the standouts from the 8th grade is The Shem, who in case you missed it, debuted this episode of his corner Saturday Night at Awards Night.

Relive it as well if you were there.

OT Heroics

While you were watching the Celtics get "jobbed" by the refs once again in the NBA playoffs, game one of the Stanley Cup Finals went into overtime. And here's how it ended:

The Stanley Cup Finals

If anybody cares to join me in watching the Stanley Cup Finals, it starts tonight and you don't even have to have cable.

TV: Ch. 3/11 on NBC
Los Angeles Kings vs New Jersey Devils
Time: 5 p.m.

Awards Night, My Thoughts

Thank you once again to everybody who came out to Awards Night, and especially those who were there the entire time. Hope you enjoyed yourself and found the night a memorable one.

So some thoughts from Awards Night in no particular order:

-Who wins the awards and who votes on these awards?

All boys coaches are eligible to vote for awards for boys and all girls coaches are eligible to vote for awards for girls.

First, the coaches nominate as many names as possible and the top three, sometimes four, are placed onto the official ballot.

That is where the coaches rank the choices from 1-3, and whoever has the most points gets the award.

The only award that is chosen by me is the Lady Byng and Coach of the Year awards. Otherwise, my vote counts just as much or as little as everybody else's.

-Winners

Congratulations to all the winners on the night.

Kaela had a remarkable season and was the hands down choice for the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year award.

As was Jonathan who was the best player of all the boys this season, not many people will be able to dispute either one of those victories.

The other awards however were a lot closer in voting, but everybody who won the award was a deserving winner.

Michael, who took home Rookie of the Year for the boys really opened a lot of eyes. It also helped his team was (7-1).

Most Improved for the boys was a toss up because all three were a lot better than they were last year or at the beginning of the year. The votes were extremely close and it went to Pablo.

The girls most improved award was a little more lopsided, with Jamie getting the bulk of the votes. I believe she was the team's leading scorer this season on a team where scoring was really balanced.

Hustle player was a tight race, all three girls were deserving, but Kelly's energy she brought every time she went out there and perhaps her big personality contributed to her getting the award.

Lady Byngs were not that tough to choose. Brett/Garrick has played basketball since 4th grade and wanted to play soccer and baseball as well. Unfortunately, things did not work out and he was unable to play something besides basketball.

Garrick has always been very kind and helpful whenever I asked for help and the little things added up to me, so I felt he was a deserving recipient of this distinction.

Lili won the award by simply joining the team. She expressed interest for years but because of a lot of external circumstances was unable to do so until this year. She was the only girl in her class to play basketball and she tried as hard as anyone could. Therefore, she was more than worthy of the Lady Byng.

SHEM'S CORNER

Daniel, Hunter and Isabella. Should be interesting to see who gets it. All of them bring a different dynamic to the corner, especially Isabella since she could become the first girl to take the corner.

We'll see in a few months who ends up taking the reigns.

That's all for now, we'll be back this week with a story of a class of 2011 graduate who just won gold.

See ya pals.

Awards Night Quick Recap

Quick recap of Awards Night in case you missed it.

Winners List
Jonathan - Boys Basketball Player of the Year
Kaela - Girls Basketball Player of the Year

Jamie - Girls Basketball Most Improved Player

Kelly - Girls Basketball Hustle Player of the Year

Michael - Boys Rookie of the Year
Kaela - Girls Rookie of the Year

Lili - Lady Byng
Garrick/Brett - Lady Byng

Randy - Coach of the Year
Leslie - Coach of the Year

Congratulations to all the winners and everybody for a fantastic season.

Awards Night Preview Video

Girls Championships and Baseball Playoff Highlights

What a weekend it was for our teams at St. Mary's. Check out the highlights from the 6th and 8th grade girls championship and the 5th grade boys playoff game.

2012 Girls All-Star Sunday Results

Apologies for the lateness on the recaps, but better late than never they say.

Cynthia takes 3 Point Shootout
Cynthia beat Jamie in the final round by a score of 6-4 to win the 2012 Girls 3 Point Shootout. Cynthia had the high score of 9 points in round one, and also drained four in a row at one point, including a money ball. Jamie had a first round score of 7.

Marissa had previously won this event the past two years.

BOXSCORE
1st Round:  Cynthia 9, Jamie 7, Amanda 5, Fiona 4, Kaela 4
Final Round: Cynthia 6, Jamie 4

James and Amanda win 2-Ball
The girls 2-ball trophies were taken home by James and Amanda, who was participating in her final All-Star Sunday as a player. With a final round score of 18, they outlasted Randy and Kaela, 16 points and Nick and Kelly, Amanda's sister, who had a total of just 7 in the final round.

Kaela and Randy had the highest score in round one with 18.

BOXSCORE
1st Round:  Kaela/Randy 18, Amanda/James 17, Nick/Kelly 16, Cynthia/John 14, Jamie/Cecilia 11, Victoria/Zerena 9, Tiffany/Susan 9, Marissa/Justina 8, Leslie/Rebecca 8,
Final Round: Amanda/James 18, Kaela/Randy 16, Nick/Kelly 7

Jonathan wins first knockout trophy
The string of 8th graders winning the schoolwide knockout came to an end when Jonathan outlasted Victoria in this year's Ultimate Schoolwide Knockout.

Close to 30 players vied for the title of knockout champion, which came down to Allen, Victoria and Jonathan.

Ryan drew number one and was immediately knocked out by Christine when she made a shot right after Ryan missed.

Precious leads White Team in Girls Alumni Game
Precious had a game high 10 points to lead the White Team over the Red Team 26-21 in the Girls Alumni Game.

After a school yard style pick, it was 5 on 5 the entire way, as the former St. Mary's stars showcased their talents that brought back a lot of fond memories.

Sophia and Shari represented the class of 2009 for the White Team, as did Serina and Marissa, class of 2011.

Team Red consisted of Susan, class of 2007, Natalie, Jamie and Tiffanie, class of 2008 and Melinda, class of 2010.

Jamie had a team high 7 points as she played in her first game in several months. She was sidelined with a broken ankle since early this year.

UPDATE - Jamie broke her foot, not her ankle.

Coaches Game
Team Red defeated Team White in the Coaches Game by a final score of 52-26.

Team Red featured James, Leslie, Freddy, Zerena, Randy and Nick. Team White, Alex, John, Marissa, Justin, Precious, Susan and Jamie.

James had a game high 29 points and Alex had a team high for Team White with 18 points.


Queens of the Court
Kaela, Fiona, Kelly and Lily won the inaugural Queens of the Court, a quick less than one hour tournament that was a free for all among 4 teams.

Pamela takes home MVP honors in All-Star Game
Pamela scored more than half of her team's points as Team White defeated Team Red 19-16 in the 2012 Girls All-Star Game.

The scoring for the White Team was very distributed as Amanda, Jamie, Kaela and Edwena all had 4 points each.

Pamela had the game high of 10 points, as she took home MVP honors. Cynthia added in 3 points while Fiona and Lesly both scored a bucket each.

Disastrous 2nd inning eliminates 5th graders

The 5th grade boys baseball team completed the best season in St. Mary's baseball history.

The 5th grade boys baseball team could not overcome a horrific 2nd inning and lost their first ever playoff game 11-1.

After giving up two unearned runs in the 1st inning, the 5th grade didn't do themselves any favors in the field when they made several critical errors in the 2nd inning that opened the floodgates to an 8 run mercy rule inning, which put the 5th grade behind 10-0 after two innings of play.

Ricardo, who started the game for the 5th grade, had a shaky outing as he walked the bases loaded to start the second, putting runners at every base with no outs. 

Then the floodgates opened.

An easy grounder to third base that would've resulted in at least one out was botched, leading to a run. Also, the exchange between catcher and pitcher today was as bad as it has been all season. If the ball goes by the pitcher on the throwback, the runners can advance, and they did so.

Missed grounders by the infielders, balls getting by the outfielders, errant throws. Everything that could've went wrong for the 5th graders did in the 2nd inning and they were down 10-0 after two.

The 1st inning wasn't much better as walks and errors led to the first two runs.

Andy got under a pop-up to left field, but the ball glanced off of his glove. Then a pop-up in the infield hit the dirt when shortstop Jason H. and second basemen Justin both went for the same ball without telling each other. The two collided and the out was never recorded.

In the first two innings, the other team didn't record a clean base hit, and because of the errors and walks, it was 10-0.

At the plate, it was going to be a tough afternoon as the other team had some good pitchers who could bring the heat at the 5th grade level. Runs were going to be a premium and through the first three innings, the 5th grade either struck out or drew a walk.

They had runners on every inning, but failed to get the big hit.

Jason L. drove in Ricardo in the 4th inning when he slapped a hard opposite field base hit to right that rolled all the way to the wall.

After drawing a walk, Ricardo raced all the way around from first to score and Jason L. stood at third, where he was stranded.

The next two batters struck out.

Their defense did make some nice plays in the bottom of the fourth as Justin caught a pop-up. And for the second and third out, Justin snatched a flare and then threw to first base to double off the runner to end the inning.

Jonathan made his second appearance as pitcher and finished the game in relief of Ricardo.

With the loss, the 5th graders end their successful rookie campaign, as they were the first St. Mary's baseball team to record more than one win in the season.

They also became the first St. Mary's team to score a run in the playoffs, as the 2009 team was shutout in their playoff game.

It was a really good season and hopefully a strong foundation for these boys and the rest of the school to build on for years to come.

This sport is not exactly the most popular with parents, so for the 5th grade to come out and have success, hopefully it can change the minds of some moms and dads out there that are hesitant for their child to play baseball.

Putting in two practices a week, the boys were able to make great strides in a span of a little over two months.

With a year of experience and hopefully some work in the off-season, this team could possibly be a perennial playoff contender.

6th grade girls come close, but ultimately fall short in championship

The 6th grade girls' quest for a championship fell short Friday night

Two huge keys coming into the championship game for the 6th grade girls were making lay-ups and boxing out.

They had trouble doing both consistently Friday night, and lost 18-13 in the championship.

They took a 2-0 lead minutes into the game when Fiona looked like she set the ball, volleyball style, into the net to give the girls a quick lead. But the other team scored 7 unanswered points the rest of the first half and put the girls in a 7-2 hole at halftime.

The girls had several opportunities to pad their 2-0 lead in the first half, but missed at least three wide open lay-ups by the basket. Had they converted on any of those opportunities, it might've been an entirely different game.

Instead the score stayed at 2-0 until late in the 1st quarter, as the other team got one of their many offensive rebounds on the night, scoring on and a basket and foul to make it 3-2 after the end of six minutes.

Their shooting woes were apparent in the first half, their Achilles heel all season long. They had their share of good looks, but just like in many of their other games, they just weren't able to score.

Defensively, they were decent, but not anywhere close to their suffocating style of play last week in the playoff game.

Starting the game, they did generate a lot of turnovers to create fast breaks but weren't able to convert on them.

Those opportunities decreased as the game went on as the other team adjusted and took care of the ball a lot better than they did to start the game.

Ball security for the 6th graders was not very good for the most part. For a championship game, there were way too many lob passes including one in the 3rd quarter that absolutely killed the momentum the 6th graders had.

To start the second half, Jamie hit consecutive shots to pull the girls within 7-6. But an egregious turnover off of a lob pass led to a fast break lay-up for the other team.

Down 9-6, Rebecca made a nice move in the half court, driving to the basket to make it once again a one point game.

The other team went on a 5-0 run to start the 4th quarter to make it 14-8 with about 3:31 to go.

A Victoria free throw and a Lesly put-back once again cut the lead in half and it was a one possession game with less than two minutes to go.

But twice, the girls couldn't convert on offense, and the other team went coast to coast on two straight possessions and put the game away.

Lesly did hit a nice jump shot to cut the lead back to 5, but that's as close as they got.

In a nutshell, the other team converted on their lay-ups and easy shots, the 6th graders did not.

And so it goes for the 6th grade girls who wrap up a memorable year to say the least.

None of the girls had ever played in a pressure packed game until last week, and even tonight was a brand new atmosphere for everybody.

It didn't look like the girls were too nervous for the most part as their game played out like most of their games this season. Early on, jitters probably could've attributed to some missed easy shots, but after that, the game became just a game.

One thing the girls certainly have proved is their ability to fight back. Twice in the game they were down by a few shots, but both times they were able to make it a one possession game.

Their coach Leslie pointed out after the game their mindsets and confidence are a lot better than they were a year ago. Now they have reached a level where they expect themselves to win and expect nothing less, a complete 180 of a turn from year past when they automatically gave themselves a loss even before the ball was tipped.

This was a game the girls could've won, but the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs or championship can come down to just a handful of plays.

One missed lay-up by the 6th graders, and one made lay-up by the other team. A missed box-out, a bad pass, an air-ball. And on the grandest stage of them all, a championship, everything that happens during a game as big as this is magnified.

Now the question becomes where do the girls go from here.

They will move up a division next season and face a lot stiffer competition next year. So the girls are going to have to work even harder if they want to get back to the big dance again.

But all in all, it was a fantastic season for these 9 girls, who in just a span of a few months, transformed and took their game to another level.

Now they'll have about 9 months to bring it even higher.

And if there's a team that could do it, it's them.

8th grade's perfect season ends in bitter way

The dream of a perfect season went up in flames Friday night as the 8th grade girls lost for the first time all season long, 21-16 in the championship.

All season long, the 8th grade defeated teams by large margins, winning all games but one by double digits -- their closest margin of victory was 8 points.

But tonight was a different story as the other team came out firing on all cylinders in the 1st quarter, and the 8th graders trailed 10-4 after one.

In the 2nd quarter, the play started tilting back in favor of the 8th graders who scored 5 points to make it a 10-9 game going into halftime.

When the two teams met during the regular season, the 8th graders beat tonight's opponent by 19 and 12, so there might have been a sense of entitlement the girls were feeling.

It also helped in their previous two encounters they had Sabrina, who missed tonight's game. She was the team's best rebounder, and the lack of her presence tonight was felt.

The other team was bigger and controlled the boards, and got a lot of second chance opportunities. Off of that, they were able to score.

So with only 5 girls, the 8th grade did as much as they could but in the end, it just wasn't enough.

They actually took a lead in the third quarter and led briefly 11-10, but quickly found themselves down again heading into the fourth.

Trailing 16-11, the 8th grade scored back-to-back buckets to get within one, and even had a chance to take the lead. But a missed lay-up and two quick scores by the other team pretty much sealed the 8th grade's fate to second place.

Towards the end of the year, the 8th grade wasn't at their best. They had games where they seemed to be on cruise control, not doing the things they did early in the season that got them where they were.

They left their guard down and had to pay the ultimate price in a championship loss.

At the end of the day, there are a lot of should've, would've and could'ves.

The entire year, this team practiced with a full six players no more than a handful of times. Their team chemistry and rapport with each other was never even close to where it could've and should've been.

Their effort Friday night was where it should've been, but because of the inconsistent practices, they lacked execution.

One bright spot the team had this season was Lili, who was the only St. Mary's student to ever play basketball in her class.

With a chance to play basketball from the 4th grade on, Lili became the first girl in the class of 2012 to sign up and actually play basketball.

It was very brave of her to come onto a team where she didn't know anybody and play as hard as she did.

It was an unfortunate way to end the season for the girls, and sometimes the lessons learned through losing are far greater than through winning.

Double defeat for the 6th and 8th grade girls

Both the 6th and 8th grade girls came up short in their championship appearances tonight, as they each lost by five points respectively.

The 6th grade girls cut the lead to a point in the second half but could get no closer, losing 18-13.

And there will be no second undefeated season for St. Mary's, as the 8th grade girls were beaten for the first time this season, 21-16.

Full recaps to come later tonight.

Girls All-Star Sunday

Join us at NDV this Sunday for the annual Girls All-Star Sunday, once again broken up into two (Ramon) sessions.

The first session in the morning will feature the Girls 3-Point Shootout, Queens of the Court and the Girls Alumni Game.

For Queens of the Court, girls from all grades will be broken up into teams and play in a quick 45 minute tournament to determine this year's Queens of the Court. That event starts at 12 p.m.

Session One concludes with the always exciting Girls Alumni Game as graduates from the past comeback to showcase their talents since they have left St. Mary's. Tip-off for that is scheduled at 12:45 p.m.

The morning starts with the 3-Point Shootout where a new winner will be crowned. Marissa won the event in 2010 and 2011.

In the afternoon session, the Coaches Game, always a fan favorite, starts up at 4 p.m. Come watch your coaches battle it out against each other and now you get a chance to watch and critique them

Coach and Player 2-Ball follows, and then we have our annual School-wide Knockout featuring all the boys and girls from the school. Everybody is encouraged to participate.

And to close it out, the best players from the 5th through 8th grade will play in the final game of the year, the Girls All-Star Game.

The full schedule and participants are below. Hope to see you there.

11:15 a.m. - 3 Point Shootout
PARTICIPANTS: Kaela, Jamie, Fiona, Cynthia, Melina, Amanda

12 p.m. - Queens of the Court
PARTICIPANTS: ALL GIRLS from Grades 3-8

12:45 p.m. - Girls Alumni Game

SESSION 2
4 p.m. - Coaches Game

4:45 p.m. - Coach/Player 2-Ball

Marissa - Justina
Precious - Maggie
Randy - Kaela
Jamie - Cecilia
Miles - Ivy
Nick - Kelly
Leslie - Rebecca
Zerena - Victoria
John - Cynthia
Susan - Melina
James - Amanda
Alex - Lili

5:15 p.m. - Schoolwide Knockout
BOYS AND GIRLS

5:30 p.m. All-Star Game
PARTICIPANTS - Kaela, Lily, Michaela, Jamie, Fiona, Lesly, Edwena, Cynthia, Julia, Amy, Melina, Tiffany, Amanda, Maria, Lili

Girls Playoffs and Baseball Highlights

5th grade girls win the championship

From Left to Right Jamie, Kaela, Michaela, Miles, Ivy, Lily, Randy, Christine, Becky and Cecilia. The 5th Grade Girls won the championship Monday night.

The 5th grade girls showed why they were a championship team Monday night at Mission Dolores.

With Kaela, doubled, tripled, and at times quadrupled team for the bulk of the game, her teammates stepped up and delivered a clutch performance in a gut-wrenching 9-4 championship win.

Clinging to a 6-4 lead with under a minute left in the game, the girls crashed the offensive boards and Michaela scored on a putback which sealed the title. She was also fouled and hit the free throw to give the girls a 5 point lead.

The 5th grade then held on defensively for the next 46 seconds and as the buzzer sounded, Kaela ran to the bench to give her dad Randy, the 5th grade coach, a huge hug. And as father and daughter embraced, the rest of the girls and coaches jumped for joy as they had just made history, becoming the first St. Mary's team to go undefeated in the current St. Mary's Athletics era.

West Portal had a gameplan and stuck to it, pressuring Kaela to no end. They threw at least two girls on her at all times, not giving her any room to operate.

When it was all said and done, Kaela was held scoreless for the first time this season, shocking to say the least.

If anybody would've picked the 5th graders to win Monday night with Kaela being left off the scoresheet, you would've looked at them like they were delusional.

But Kaela, being the player she is, found other ways to contribute to the team and it began early in the 2nd quarter.

With all five girls on defense converging on Kaela, she dumped it down to Becky in the low block who banked in a shot to start the scoring. The girls finally felt that they were in the game.

Then later in the quarter, Kaela drove left, and again with the entire West Portal team collapsing towards her, Lily was left wide open by the basket and all Kaela had to do was find her and she did. Lily caught the zip pass from Kaela and banked it in to give the girls a two point lead.

Lily followed that up with a putback shot off a rebound that extended the 5th grade's lead to 6-2 going into halftime.

A bucket by West Portal early in the third made it 6-4, but that was the extent of the scoring for the better part of the second half.

From that point forward, it didn't look like anybody wanted to win the game. Both teams were not taking care of the ball, and committed turnovers possession after possession.

On the rare occasion they got a good look at the basket, they were unable to convert.

Even though it was a two point lead for the St. Mary's girls, there was a feeling that the next basket was going to win the game. And luckily, Michaela came through at the right time.

Her basket, followed by a free throw with 46 seconds left pretty much put the game on ice, since 3 pointers don't count in the 5th grade.

It was an auspicious start to the game for the girls as they looked tense and nervous the entire 1st quarter. The pressure of playing in a championship definitely gave them the jitters, because the 5th grade played extremely cautious and tentative. They didn't have any jump in their step and were a good step slower than their normal selves.

They were fast breaking all over the place in their playoff game Saturday, but in Monday night's game, they were very station to station with Michaela or Kaela slowly walking the ball up the floor for most of the game.

Offensively, they just didn't have it but luckily their stellar defense did enough to get the job done.

This was the only time the entire year the 5th grade was held to single digits.

After the game, Kaela showed why she is the definition of a team player, and had no problem she didn't score in the championship.

"I did it with my teammates," Kaela said. "That's the best part. We all worked together to win."

From top to bottom, every girl in the white jersey had a helping hand in the win. The Twins, Christine and Cecilia were their aggressive selves on defense.

Ivy was causing trouble defensively as she always does with her hustle.

Becky and Lily had some huge buckets in the first half and Michaela put it away at the end.

What a remarkable story for a team put together late in February. For them to come together in a span of a few months is nothing short of remarkable.

In the team huddle late in the game, Randy looked at the girls, and told them, "If you want it, you gotta go get it."

The 5th grade girls got it.

Dominating team performance puts 5th grade in the championship

The 5th grade girls came into the playoffs knowing that it was going to take more than just one or two players for them to get where they want to be. And because they got the contribution they wanted from everybody on the team, they are now one step closer to winning it all.

Five out of the seven girls on the team scored in the 5th grade's dominating 30-7 playoff win Saturday afternoon.

Kaela had a game high 12 points, but it was her passing that really took this team to another level.

After going full court to beat the buzzer on a lay-up in the first, Kaela dished out two beautiful assists in the 2nd quarter, one to Michaela and another to Ivy, to give the 5th graders a commanding 14-3 going into halftime.

She did the same thing in the second half when she took a pass from Michaela from about 10 feet away from the hoop, and then zipped it to Lily for an easy shot.

A few possessions later, she displayed her speed beating everybody down the court for an easy lay-in.

The Twins, Cecilia and Christine, did not get on the scoresheet but were stellar on defense, as they have been for the latter course of the season.

The two are very quick up top and pressure the ball and are hardly ever out of position. They cause the other team to throw up bad shots and that helps the girls in their transition.

Becky also did a solid job of grabbing rebounds and had a nice putback of her own in the first half, which at the time, gave the girls a 10-0 lead.

They also got a nice lift on the offensive side of things as Michaela, the only 4th grader in our school to play anything this season, scored 8 points on the day, including two nice free throws in the 3rd quarter.

Ivy rounded out the afternoon with a nice lay-up off of a pass from Lily seconds before the game ended.

Up and down the lineup, everybody is contributing.

With only a day's rest in between the playoffs and the championship, they'll need the exact same effort and execution as they play for the championship Monday night at Mission Dolores. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.

Like their coaches Randy, Jamie and Miles have said, the team is at its best when everybody is scoring and feeling like they are apart of the team.

Right now, the girls are confident and playing their best basketball and are hopefully peaking at the right time.

They'll need to be a little cautious because the team they play in the championship is no slouch. The only loss their opponent had all season was to the 5th grade girls, so it's teams number one and two going at it Monday night to see who is the true number one.

For a team that was put together just this year, they've been able to develop team chemistry pretty quick.

Only Ivy and Michaela are leftover from last season, so this team featured five new girls, four that are complete basketball rookies.

And of course, they look like a team, as every girl has a pair of red "elite' socks.

In modern day St. Mary's Athletics history, no team has ever gone undefeated. The 5th grade girls will look to change that Monday night.

Defense wins playoff game for the 6th grade girls

Look no further than the 6th grade girls playoff game Saturday afternoon to explain why defense can win games.

The girls did not score a single point in the second half, yet still were able to punch a ticket to their first ever championship.

Their defense was relentless in an 8-2 win and they'll need that same time of intensity Friday night when they go for gold.

For a team that has trouble scoring, getting on the board early was a key for this game.

Jamie did so midway through the 1st quarter with two free throws and Lesly scored a career high 4 points, with two crucial buckets late in the first.

Leading 6-0 and less than 10 seconds to go in the half, Edwena caught a ball off the out of bounds play and gracefully banked in her shot. And that was the last bucket the 6th graders made on the afternoon.

It didn't matter they didn't score again because the defense was swarming. Their head coach Leslie said she had never seen the girls as fired up as she did during the game.

Mentally, the girls were focused and they played like they were determined to do whatever it takes to win the game.

Edwena and Fiona both grabbed really tough rebounds down low, and Rebecca, Kelly and Jamie were relentless of their pursuit of the ball during the press.

The 6th grade didn't give the other team any room to operate the entire afternoon, giving up only one basket off a turnover in the 3rd quarter.

Offensively, they still needed to score more to give themselves a cushion. Even though they had a decent lead throughout the game, one or two bounces the other way, and the game might've been a whole different story.

Many of the shots the girls took were from close range, but they overshot one too many times. From right in front of the basket, the girls had several shots that were way too high off the backboard that didn't even hit rim after the glass.

They still have a tendency where they get nervous and rush their shots, which explains the lack of accuracy on some of their shots.

On the defensive end, the girls played as well as they could've wished. And in the championship, they'll need to do the exact same to avenge an 11 point loss earlier this season.

Never in anyone's wildest dreams a year or two ago could anyone fathom these girls playing for the title.

With three of the girls not winning a game until their third season of basketball, and four of the girls coming aboard this year as rookies, this is definitely one of the feel good stories of the year.

This team has gone through a lot of triumphs and tribulations in a short span of two to three months, from dominating their first two regular season games, and then scoring just one point in a loss late in the season.

But all that matters now is one game, and that game is Friday night at Mission Dolores, where they'll look to cap off a magical season.

It was probably meant to be for the girls since a lot of the shots the other team took just rimmed out.

Also the scorekeeper set the clock for 7 minutes instead of the normal 6 minutes, per 6th grade rules.

But in the end, they could've played another six or seven minutes, because on this afternoon, their defense was just that good.

Baseball team pitches shutout, clinches playoff spot

The 5th grade boys baseball team added to their historic season with a 6-0 shutout win that clinched them a playoff spot Saturday afternoon.

On a windy and foggy 50 degree field, the boys managed to push through the frigid temperatures for the their third straight win to finish the season with some spectacular pitching and timely hitting.

Allen (2-0) started again for the 5th graders and got the second win of his career with four innings of shutout baseball.

He was given an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Michael came around to score after he was hit by a pitch. With some heads up base running, Michael was able to take home after the catcher overthrew the pitcher.

The boys added a run in both the second and third inning.

Jonathan led off the second with a double, and then came around to score on an infield single by Barret.

Then Allen drove in Jason H. with a single in the third.

Defensively, they were solid and made plays left and right. Allen threw out several base runners at first including a nice bare-handed pick-up in the 4th inning that retired the side.

Jason H. also threw out a runner from shortstop, even though he slightly bobbled the exchange.

Jonathan took the mound for the first time in his career with a six run lead and struck out the first two batters he faced on just six pitches.

After walking a batter, he fielded a comebacker, then threw to first to end the game.

With the win, the 5th grade (3-5) is headed to the playoffs. They were winless in their first five games, but won the next three and finished two games ahead of the last place team.

In their first year of baseball, they are the first St. Mary's team to win more than one game in a season.

Their playoff game is currently scheduled for next Saturday. Game time will either be 11:30 a.m. or 4:30 p.m.

8th grade girls win playoff game

The 8th grade girls won their playoff game 21-10 Saturday morning and remain undefeated so far this year.

All five girls in uniform got on the scoreboard, and Lili registered a new career high with 4 points.

It was 13-5 at the half, and the girls never looked back.

Their championship game is still to be determined.

Three teams headed to the championship, baseball clinches playoff berth

It was a historic day for St. Mary's as three of the girls basketball teams all won their playoff games and will be headed to the championship.

The 8th grade began the day with a 21-10 win.

The 6th grade followed suit with a defensive shutdown of the ages, winning 8-2, a game they didn't score in during the second half.

Then the 5th grade capped off the day on the court with a dominant 30-7 win, which saw five of the team's seven girls get on the scoresheet.

And in frigid cold temperature, the 5th grade baseball team made history again, becoming the first St. Mary's team to win two regular season games, as they shutout the other team 6-0. With the win, the boys clinched a playoff berth.

It's going to be a quick turnaround for the 5th grade as they will play in the championship Monday night at Mission Dolores against West Portal. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

The 6th grade will then take the court Friday at 6 p.m. for their championship. The game will also be played at Mission Dolores.

The 8th grade championship is still to be determined.

Playoffs for the 5th grade baseball team will be next Saturday at Miraloma. Game time is set for either 11:30 a.m. or 4:30 p.m.

Full recap and highlights to come late tonight. Everything should be up by tomorrow morning.

Offense stalls as 7th grade loses in playoffs

The 7th grade girls were defeated in the playoffs Thursday Night 16-11, in a game which was winnable to say the least.

For a team that should've been excited and pumped up for their first ever playoff appearance, they looked more like a team that was playing in the CYO tournament for the first time all season.

There was a lack of jump in everybody's step, and hardly any energy from any of the five girls in the 1st quarter.

Bad looking shots, turnovers, lazy passes, and yet the girls were still only down 3-0 after one.

Tiffany scored 4 points in the span of a minute in the 2nd quarter, which got the girls going a little bit offensively, and Cynthia made her only field goal of the game with a runner late in the half which at the time cut the lead to 7-6.

With less than 10 seconds to go, the other team drove down the court off of a made basket, and banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, an absolute dagger, which made it 10-6 at halftime.

Any momentum the girls gained with the Cynthia bucket was erased by the lucky three.

Amy made a nice putback rebound and Cynthia hit a free throw to begin the 3rd Quarter and just like that the girls were within one.

However, the girls would score only one more time the rest of the second half, on an Amy bank shot midway through the fourth.

Even though they were not at their sharpest, they could've easily won this game. They missed a ton of lay-ups down low, and were an awful 1-for-8 from the free throw line.

With two minutes left in the game, Cynthia had a chance to cut the lead to three points, but her free throws were off.

Cynthia was held to only 3 points.

Having only five girls looked like it finally caught up to the 7th grade as they looked a step slow the entire game. They weren't winning the battles to the loose ball and played defense with their arms.

The other team, although not world-beaters by any stretch, were aggressive, trying to rip the ball away from the girls. The 7th graders however hardly did any of that in a game that lacked any type of rhythm.

It was a slow and painful way to lose a playoff game, as it looked like neither team wanted to really take control of this game.

Turnovers were another problem, and the team chemistry they exhibited in their past three wins were not there tonight.

Many of the passes were just floated toward the vicinity of a girl in red, and there was hardly any communication on the court between the five girls.

Mistakes like the ones that were in the game are a result of not having consistent practices, since the five girls showed up to practice as a whole only a handful of times.

Despite the tough loss, the girls did have a good season. At (2-3), they needed to win at least two of the final three games for a playoff spot and did one better, sweeping all three and getting the number three seed in the playoffs.

We saw Cynthia really get her game on track after a slow start, and really take her game to another level. After not playing last year, she was a bit rusty. But as the season went on, she became more efficient all around.

Julia, in her first season of playing basketball, really made strides as well as the season went on and even had a career high 10 points in a game.

Melina and Amy both developed into decent rebounders down low for a team that lacked size since their center left the team in the middle of the year.

Tiffany had a bad 1st quarter in the playoff game, but bounced back strong, and started the comeback with 4 points in the second.

With another year's of experience, the girls will look to up their game to another level and make their final year a memorable one come next Spring.

Shem's Corner - Girls Basketball Playoff Preview

Be sure to check out this past weekend's highlights as well as our girls basketball playoff preview hosted by The Shem. Tell a friend or family member, I think you'll like this video, maybe...

Twitter Interview

@JasonNg15 and I, @StMarysSports will be doing a Twitter interview tonight at 8 p.m., so be sure to log on to my Twitter, or better yet, follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to search, try the hashtag "#" #BCINT

Highlights from 5/4-5/5

Gritty win gives 7th grade the third seed

The five girls on the 7th grade team left CYO Serramonte tougher than when they walked in.

Up against a team that was physically imposing to say the least, the girls won convincingly 19-10, clinching the third seed in their division. At (5-3), they will play the number two seed in the playoffs.

Cynthia, who took a hard foul to the face in the first half, played with a lot of emotion and really stuck it down the other team's throat, with an inspiring 10 point performance.

On several occasions, she drove by the other team right to the basket to lay it up and in.

Their opponent Saturday was rugged, very physical and not fundamentally sound. In many ways it was hardly basketball, because it got rough out there, and borderline nasty.

In the 1st quarter, Julia went for a loose ball at half court when out of nowhere a girl on the other team looked like she was on skates, hip checking Julia into the crowd.

Somehow, Julia bounced right back up and was okay to continue.

Since both teams had trouble spacing out on the small CYO Serramonte court, there were a lot of jump balls, a lot of elbows and a lot of slapping.

It soon became a battle of wills instead of a clean basketball game.

But the 7th grade girls didn't back down from the challenge and were able to adjust to that type of game. They were just as physical at times and weren't going to be pushed around, which frustrated the other team.

Even when a lot of the fouls were being let go, the 7th graders kept their composure and continued to play their game.

Leading 13-6 after three quarters, the girls put it away in the fourth on two straight Cynthia lay-ups.

It was a very gutsy performance by Cynthia who played fearlessly throughout the game even though you could tell on her face she wasn't feeling 100%. Her face was flushed because of the contact she had been taking, but you couldn't tell by the way she played.

She still drove to the basket relentlessly, drawing fouls and on many occasions, scoring.

Up next for the girls is a playoff date against a team they forfeited against earlier in the season.

In five regular season games that the girls have played, they have only lost once, and that was against the undefeated top team in the division.

Melina, who grabbed a lot of tough rebounds down low despite getting hammered, scored 5 points. Tiffany scored the first 2 points of the game.

Julia shot at her own basket in the 4th quarter and luckily missed, but the other team gathered the miss shot and put it in for 2 points. Julia did hit a free throw in the game.

In one of the weirder moments in recent CYO history, Amy was awarded a total of 4 free throws, since someone in the crowd made noise on her first attempt.

Even after the referee notified the crowd that there was no noise to be made, someone decided to "cough" on the next attempt. Luckily Amy did hit her final free throw for her only bucket of the game.

5th grade baseball team wins, via forfeit

The winning streak for the 5th grade boys is now at two. Their latest triumph was courtesy of a forfeit. With a win next week, the 5th grade clinches a playoff spot.

3rd grade closes out inaugural season

The 3rd grade girls ran into a hot team and lost 13-4 to end their first basketball season.

After spotting the other team a 10-0 lead, Veronica scored in the 2nd quarter to cut the lead to 10-2 at halftime.

But from that point on the girls played a lot better defense, giving up only 3 points the rest of the way.

Sofia added 2 points in the second half to round out the scoring.

It was a tough year for the 3rd graders, as they were matched up against a lot of teams that were already really good for 3rd graders.

With only 6 players on the team, conditioning was also an issue as it's tougher to run all four quarters when you are that young. Physically, they were not built to do that.

Their best chances are wins were the two games that they lost 6-4, one coming in the middle of the season, and then one last week in sudden death overtime.

The biggest problem for the girls this season was their fear of shooting the ball. Whether it was a lack of confidence or always looking to make an extra pass, not shooting the ball was the norm.

Even in today's game, the girls had some clean looks at the basket around the key, but either hesitated to fire, or looked to pass the ball away to a teammate.

Another part of their game that has to improve is ball security. There were too many turnovers, which led to a lot of easy points for the other team.

A year of basketball is incredibly valuable in terms of experience, because a lot of the girls who have graduated in the last few years weren't able to start playing basketball until they got closer to middle school.

Look no further than their coach Marissa, who didn't get a chance to play CYO until 5th grade. Now she's on the basketball team at Sacred Heart.

So getting started at a young age will definitely benefit the girls in the long run.

Sofia ended the year as the team's leading scorer.

5th grade sluggish in win

The 5th grade girls completed a perfect regular season Saturday afternoon, with a very sloppy 20-4 win.

For a team that has made major strides within the last month, their latest game was a step back.

Kaela did have 10 points, but forced up too many shots when a lot of her teammates were open by the basket.

The girls did get plenty of shots by the basket but continued to miss. The margin of victory could've been a lot wider had they made even a quarter of their shots.

Lily was able to get her hands on some offensive rebounds but struggled shooting from the field and finished the game with just 2 points.

Same goes for Ivy who had three wide open looks by the basket. She finally converted on her fourth try.

Cecilia scored the first 2 points of the game, which usually sets the tempo for a game where the team as a whole contributes to the victory. But a good portion of the game felt very similar to the games earlier in the year when the team relied way too much on Kaela.

In turn, Kaela gets into a habit of trying too much to do everything herself instead of trusting her teammates.

Nonetheless, the girls are undefeated and the number one seed in their division going into the playoffs.

The good news is that they have beaten every team and are capable of doing so again. The bad news is now they have a target on their back, and they'll need a lot better effort and execution than today if they want to make history and make a post-season run.

One of the few bright spots in the game was Becky, who really made a contribution on the glass. The rookie forward got to tough areas of the court and was able to grab the rebounds when the team needed it, especially in the 4th quarter.

Even though she didn't score, she was an asset to the team simply because she brought some energy onto the court, when a lot of her teammates looked a step slow.

With the win, the girls finish the season (8-0), a pretty remarkable accomplishment with a team of four rookies. Of the seven girls, only two played with St. Mary's last season, so the team chemistry started from scratch.

A lot of their success or failure will really depend on whether the team as a whole has a good game. Kaela cannot be relied to carry the team, because other teams will prepare against that.

Kaela is going to need to be able to score when she needs to, and differ when she needs to.

Everyone on the team this season has scored and has shown that they can be key contributors to the game. It's going to take a team effort like their win last week for the girls win in the playoffs.

Michaela added 4 points in the win.

6th grade caps off first winning season

For Fiona, Edwena and Victoria, it's been a long time coming.

After three losing seasons, the three 6th grade girls who have been playing basketball since 3rd grade are finally going to the playoffs, completing a (5-3) season with a 14-2 win Saturday morning.

The girls could've had 30 points in this game had they made even half their lay-ups and shots by the basket. Unofficially, they missed close to 20 shots from point blank.

Their shooting woes were problematic in the first half because they should've put this team away early in the game. They led only 2-0 until the final minutes of the 2nd quarter when Jamie and Edwena both made jump shots to extend their lead to 6-0 at halftime.

Fiona tied her career high and scored 6 of the team's 8 points in the second half, as the girls sealed it early in the fourth.

Rebecca scored off an out of bounds play and had 2 points for the second straight week.

Besides the inability to make shots by the basket, the 6th grade girls have really turned their game up a notch. Their press really gives the other teams trouble and is a catalyst for them to score points.

Among the most improved girls on the team are Lesly and Rebecca, who are both enjoying strong second halves of the season in their rookie campaign.

At this time, their (5-3) record puts them in a three-way tie for second place and it's unknown at this time what is next for the 6th grade girls.

They could play a tie-breaker game as early as Monday to decide seeding in the playoffs.

One seed they will want to avoid is the fourth seed, because they would then have to play the first place team St. Cecilia, in their home gym.

The road to the championship is not going to be easy, and if they have to play in another team's gym, it will only be that much harder.

Whether the girls can win their playoff game is really going to be a battle against themselves. If they can score enough points (stating the obvious), they will be in good shape. However, struggling from the field is going to make their task that much more difficult.

Getting early points is also a key factor for this team. When they can score early, it lifts a huge weight off of everyone's shoulders.

If they constantly see a 0 on the scoreboard, mentally the girls don't feel as confident and their play will take a turn for the worse.

Fiona, Edwena and Victoria played a grade up in 3rd and 4th grade without winning a game for two seasons. It wasn't until mid-season last year they won a game. Needless to say, they have come a long way.

Now they're going to be on an even bigger stage, the playoffs, for the first time in their careers.

Saturday Results

The 6th grade girls were winners 14-2 in their final regular season game and finish the season (5-3). They are headed to the playoffs for the first time in team history.

5th grade completes their undefeated season with a 20-4 victory.

The 3rd grade plays at 4 p.m. and the 7th grade 5 p.m.

7th grade on the brink of playoffs with latest win

With a 14-11 win, the 7th grade girls assured themselves at least a tie-breaker playoff game, and can seal a playoff spot with a victory tomorrow in their season finale.

The girls played stifling defense and made stops when they needed to on their way to their fourth win of the season.

Cynthia had a game high 6 points, leading the way for the girls who could've easily had a lot more than just 14 points.

Defensively, they caused a lot of turnovers disrupting the rhythm of the other team. This helped them fast break, however rarely were they able to convert in transition.

Everybody had their share of open looks by the basket, but they had trouble finishing on their shots.

They did get buckets when they needed to however, none more important than a Cynthia drive to the basket midway through the 3rd quarter.

Leading by two buckets a halftime, the other team scored four quick points to even the score at 8-8.

But the 7th graders had some push back and scored the next two baskets before yielding a free throw to end the third.

In the middle of the fourth, Cynthia got free off of a steal and went charging towards the hoop. Her shot was blocked but Julia was in the right place at the right time, and laid it in right by the basket to give the girls a 14-9 lead.

After scoring a bucket to cut the lead to 14-11, the other team still had a chance to send the game to overtime.

With only one second left on the clock, the other team threw a baseball pass to the front court setting up a good look at a possible game tying three. But Julia hustled back and deflected the shot as time expired.

At (4-3), the girls have clinched no worse than a tie-breaker playoff game early next week. With a win Saturday, they will clinch third place in their division, something unfathomable when they forfeited two of their first four games of the season.

When the girls have actually played a game this regular season, they're (3-1).

It's starting to come together at just the right time, and the team chemistry is starting to develop. Without consistent attendance at practices for the bulk of the year, the team has struggled with finding a rapport.

But with two wins in a row, they are starting to trust each other more, and the product shows on the court.

Melina added 4 points in the win, and Tiffany made a jumper right before halftime with her feet glued to the floor.

Shem's Corner - Draw Something Ep. 03

Happy Birthday Marissa

Reracking last year's birthday video for Marissa, one of our favorites. Just a freshmen in high school and she has already started coaching the volleyball and girls basketball teams this year. Too bad we didn't have more students like Marissa back then and even now. Happy Birthday Melissa.

5th grade baseball team wins!!!

The 5th grade boys won the first St. Mary's baseball game since 2009

It was history in the making at Excelsior Park Tuesday night as the 5th grade boys were victorious 5-3, the first St. Mary's baseball win since 2009.

The 5th grade got on the board in the bottom of the first, when a walk forced in the the first run of the game. Jonathan then followed with an RBI single which gave them a 2-0 lead.

Leading 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 3rd, the 5th grade added some much needed insurance runs and put a 3 spot.

Justin drove in the third run with a base hit, and then the next two came in to score on bases loaded walks to make it 5-1.

Allen, who got the win, got the start and pitched a solid 4 innings and left the game with a 5-2 lead.

In relief, Michael was able to escape from jams in the final three innings, getting crucial strikeouts at the most important times.

He had his share of walks but got the outs when the team needed it.

With two runners on in the 6th, Michael got a popup and fielded it himself to end the threat.

As Michael took the mound in the top of the 7th, it was on him to save the first St. Mary's win in three years.

He walked the first batter, and the second batter reached on an infield hit.

The first out of the inning was a grounder to first, which scored a run, making it 5-3.

Michael walked the next batter putting runners on first and second with only one out. The other team's clean-up hitter then popped up and the ball landed right between Allen and Jonathan. Luckily, the runners didn't run on contact and Allen was able to pick up the ball and shove it to Jonathan for the force-out at third.

Now it was up to Michael to get the most difficult out of the game.

He got ahead of the hitter 1-2, and then got him swinging on a fastball to end the game.

The players jumped up and down, celebrating in euphoria their first win in team history.

It was almost equivalent to winning a championship considering the struggles of the baseball teams in the last four years. Coming into this game, St. Mary's baseball had won two games combined in the last four years.

So for the 5th grade to win in their first year does wonders for the spirits and confidence of everybody involved.

As long as the players make the effort to want to play a new sport, and stick with it, anything is possible and Tuesday night was a perfect example of that.

Congratulations to the 5th grade boys for making history. Hopefully this is one of many wins to come.

Highlights from 4/27-4/29

This week is a must see.