Notre Dame-Belmont Eliminates Soquel in CCS Semifinals

 Notre Dame 45, Soquel 37

The Star: No. 3 Soquel High’s Ragine Graves dropped a game-high 19 points in her team’s Central Coast Section Div. IV semifinal loss, playing heads-up guard play that even allowed her to do a self-pass on an inbounds play off a Notre Dame defender. Though Graves and teammate Maddy Woodward (10) broke double digits, the Knights fell to a stingy Notre Dame defense that allowed only three Soquel points in the second quarter. The Knights were stout in their own right, limiting Notre Dame to only six points in the second frame.

The Turning Point: The Soquel offensive contingent performed in crunch time. The Knights were able to outscore No. 2 seed Notre Dame (13-14) in the fourth quarter 14-10, paced by 6-foot-4-inch center Maddy Woodward’s eight fourth quarter points. The outburst wasn’t enough to make up the 35-23 deficit to open the quarter though. Notre Dame’s defensive corps stifled the Knights to only 10 points in the first and third quarters respectively and only one field goal and a free throw in the second.

The Quotes: “There were no passing lanes out there. It was really hard to create shots. They did a really good job with constant pressure. I just tried to rely on my athleticism to get by. I hope to be back next year.”-Soquel guard Ragine Graves on the difficulties in penetrating the defense of Notre Dame, who also ousted Soquel from the CCS Division III playoffs in 2007.

Woodward battled hard down the stretch in her final game as a Knight.

"I didn't feel good, but my teammates kept telling me this might be my last game, so I turned it on in the fourth quarter," Woodward said.

What’s Next? Soquel’s line-up, a roster featuring eight juniors and sophomores including starting guards Madison Rocha and Ragine Graves, look forward to building on their success in the first season after a move from Div. III to Div. IV in CCS.

The Bottom Line: Soquel’s height appeared to be an advantage for the Knights, but a strong performance by Notre Dame’s 5-foot-10-inch Emily Morris and her 15 points managed to eliminate that strength. Soquel (20-8) will miss the 6-foot plus presences of co-captain Tess Dominguez and Maddy Woodward  as they wrapped up their Soquel careers Tuesday night. Junior guard Ragine Graves and co-captain Sophomore Madison Graves will look to build on a successful run that had the Knights a win away from the CCS Div. IV title game.

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Notre Dame 45, Soquel 37.

S – 10 3 10 14 -- 37
ND – 15 6 14 10 – 45

S: Graves 8 2-3 19, Woodward 5 0-2 10, Bell 2 0-0 5, Stewart 1 0-0 2, Rocha 0 1-2 1, McDermott 0 0-3 0. Totals 16 3-10 37.

ND: Morris 6 3-6 15, Brazil 4 2-3 11, Flaherty 4 2-4 10, Bertana 3 2-4 9, White 0 0-1 0, Dames 0 0-1 0. Totals 17 9-19 45.

3-Point Goals: S:Graves, Bell. ND:Brazil, Bertana.

Records: Soquel 20-8. Notre Dame 13-14.