St. Bernard Can’t Rise to Occasion

Putting the ball in the basket is hard enough without three 6-foot post players flailing their arms in your face. That was the predicament Playa del Rey St. Bernard faced against Kentfield Marin Catholic on Friday in the state Division IV girls’ basketball championship.

Guard Alexis Kendricks and her St. Bernard teammates either drove against the taller players and had their shots altered or hoisted errant three-pointers during a 66-48 loss before about 1,000 at Arco Arena.

The Vikings (23-8) shot 27.7% from the field, including 12.5% during a fatal third quarter, as Marin Catholic outscored St. Bernard, 36-20, in the second half in winning its first state title.

Kendricks finished with 15 points after making five of 23 shots, including only one of 11 from three-point range.

“They took away our drives and it was hard for us to score,” said Kendricks, who fouled out with 2 minutes 30 seconds remaining.

“It was hard to get off a good shot.”

Marin Catholic’s post players were led by 6-foot-3 Brooke Smith, who scored 13 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots. Nickie Warren, 6 feet 1, added 14 points and eight rebounds, and 6-0 Lauren Nestor had 10 points.

Guard Adrienne Payne, who led the Wildcats with 15 points, hit a jump shot in the lane just before the first-half buzzer to give Marin Catholic (29-5) a 30-28 lead. The Wildcats opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 36-28 advantage and never led by fewer than five points again.

St. Bernard’s Shannon Clay (13 points, 10 rebounds) made three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, but her teammates remained cold.

“Some of my shots were in and out,” Kendricks said, “and I could not get it going.”

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Ben Bolch