San Jose Archbishop Mitty wins Division II girls’ basketball title
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Reporting from Sacramento -- Her name is Emily Dinger, but she might as well change her last name to Dagger, because her three-point shooting in the second half and clutch free throw in the final seconds were the daggers in helping San Jose Archbishop Mitty defeat Riverside North, 56-54, in the Division II state championship game for girls’ basketball at Power Balance Pavilion on Friday night.
North (30-6) kept coming back but couldn’t overtake the Monarchs (28-5) after Dinger’s free throw put her team ahead by four points with 11 seconds left.
Simone De Coud scored 14 points and had nine rebounds and Akilah Martin and Priscilla Brooks added 11 points apiece for North, whose coach, Leonard De Coud, promised afterward that his team would be back next season to win a state title.
Dinger made three of her four three-point attempts in the second half. Each one seemed to be at a decisive moment in the game.
“A shooter’s mentality is wonderful, because they continue to shoot, and that’s what Emily has,” Coach Sue Phillips said. “We needed her to score.”
Dinger finished with 16 points, the same as teammate Kalyn Simon. It was Mitty’s fifth state title.
Kelsey Plum stars
It was the Kelsey Plum Show in the Division IV championship game. Plum, a junior considered one of the top point guards in the nation for her class, scored 32 points to lead La Jolla Country Day (32-1) to a 72-41 victory over Richmond Salesian.
Plum was five for 11 from three-point range and seven for eight on free throws. Tia Kanoa added 19 points and 13 rebounds.
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