The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) men’s basketball team took down Woodside Priory Portola Valley 61-50 on its home court in the NorCal Div. V quarterfinals last Saturday, March 12. 
The Pilots were in control of the contest from the onset. Their defense held the Panthers to just seven first quarter points. Meanwhile, the Pilots offensive tallied 19 points to give them a double-digit lead at the end of the first period.

The Pilots kept the pressure on the Panthers in the second quarter. They outscored their opponents 14-11 to extend their lead to 33-18 at halftime. The third quarter saw more of the same with the Pilots putting on the pressure offensively. The Pilots outscored the Panthers 18-13 to bring its lead to 51-31 at the end of the third quarter.

The Panthers finally got its offense on track in the final period, but it was too late to make a serious comeback.

The game was won on the 3-point line. SJND made 11 3-pointers, while Woodside Priory made just four from behind the arc. Sophomore Cameron Ba chipped in 19 points to lead the Pilots. He made three of the Pilots’ 11 3-pointers. Junior Darne Duckett was second on the team with 12 points, while freshman Adam Campos added 11 points.

The Pilots are currently 23-9 on the season. They faced Urban of San Francisco in the NorCal Div. V semifinals last Tuesday, March 15. The winner will play the winner of University and Stuart Hall, both of San Francisco, in the regional final on March 19. 

SJND Women
The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) women’s team eliminated its first round opponent Mt. Shasta from the NorCal Div. V women’s tournament with a 69-51 victory last Saturday, March 12. 

The Pilots mauled the Bears early in the contest. They jumped out to a 20-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The Pilots won every quarter in the contest. SJND outpaced the Bears 17-16 in the second period, 14-12 in the third and 18-15 in the final quarter. 

SJND had four players score in double figures including sophomore Kayla Nunn who accounted for 27 of her team’s points to lead the squad. Freshman Zhane Duckett scored 13 points, junior Aiyanna Dueberry scored 11 points, while senior Ayesha Kearns chipped in 10 points. 

The Pilots lived at the free throw line. They converted 15 of 20 free throws in the game. The Bears converted just eight of its 15 free throw attempts.

The win improves the Pilots overall record to 25-8.

The Pilots, who were the number two seed in the Div. V playoffs, are now in the regional semifinals. They took on Woodside Priory in the semifinal round on Tuesday, March 15. The winner will face the winner of Eastside College Prep of Palo Alto and Urban of San Francisco on Saturday, March 19, in the NorCal final.