Gondringer Celebrates Big Day

Mater Dei forward Rhonda Gondringer celebrated her 18th birthday Saturday night with another big performance in a two-year career that now includes a state championship.

As her Monarch teammates began to hit three-pointers in the second quarter of a 59-48 victory over San Jose Archbishop Mitty in the state Division I girls’ basketball championship, Gondringer, who transferred from La Quinta two years ago, planted herself under the basket at Arco Arena.

She grabbed what few rebounds there were and put them back in. Or she would take a lead pass from a Mater Dei guard and score on a layin.

Nine consecutive attempts, nine consecutive baskets, spanning the second quarter and a portion of the third. Mater Dei had a commanding 27-point lead.

She finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

Said teammate Margaret Hollis: “She’s amazing. I’ve always been one of her biggest fans. I love her scoop shot and she’s one of the most humble people in the world.”

Gondringer’s night was much easier thanks to the foul trouble of 6-3 center Kerri Walsh of Archbishop Mitty. “We knew she was a big concern,” Archbishop Mitty Coach Sue Phillips-Chargin said of Gondringer. “She was better than we expected.”

Gondringer is making a habit of this. She had 18 points in last year’s state final, a 52-50 loss to Atherton Sacred Heart. And earlier this season she was the most valuable player at the Marina tournament.

But entering Saturday’s final, she had been struggling to find the rhythm that had helped her score an average of 15 points per game.

“Ronnie was due,” Mater Dei Coach Mary Hauser said. “All year she had been unstoppable around the basket and she chose the right time to show that tonight.”

Gondringer wasn’t one to offer answers for her performances, preferring to let coaches do the talking. She nodded ever so slightly when questioned about her performance, and when pressed, wasn’t sure how to act.

“These are the games that count,” Gondringer said. “We’re playing good teams and if you’re not going to step up now, you aren’t going to step up at all.”

At a brief awards ceremony on the floor after the victory, teammates handed Gondringer the state championship plaque. As she wiped tears off her cheek, a couple of dozen boys, all wearing red T-shirts, pressed against a rail near the arena floor and sang “Happy Birthday.”

Gondringer blushed and tugged at twin braids held together with a black scrunchie.

“This is the best birthday present I have had in my whole life,” she said.