Boys’ squad falls just short; girls’ soccer finally loses

The Mission Bay High School girls’ varsity basketball team clinched the CIF Div. III championship with a dominating 64-29 win over the Mount Miguel Matadors (26-6, 8-0) on March 3. The win punctuated one of the greatest seasons in Mission Bay sports history as the Buccaneers finished with an overall record of 24-6 and 12-0 in league play. The league crown advanced the girls’ varsity squad to the first round of the state CIF championships, where the Lady Buccaneers edged out Oak Park 60-59 on March 10. The victory propelled the team into the quarterfinals on March 13 against Arroyo Grande, although results were not immediately available by press time. Meanwhile, the Lady Bucs are still savoring their league championship over Mount Miguel. “To be honest, I didn’t think we could win by that many points,” said head coach Sade Wiley-Gatewood. “I knew my players wanted it after we lost to Mount Miguel last year in the semifinals. We owed them a butt whooping.” Wiley-Gatewood has helped make Mission Bay into a basketball power after only two years on the job. Wiley-Gatewood’s team posted a 21-9 record last year (2010-11) and made it to the semifinal round before losing to Mount Miguel. Mission Bay entered the postseason tournament on a hot streak by winning 14 of 16 regular season games. The team continued to stay hot after a resounding 99-9 win over the Madison Hawks in the first round, then proceeded to defeat the Coronado Islanders 69-43 in the quarterfinals before advancing to the CIF Finals with a convincing 84-68 victory over the Cathedral Catholic Dons in the semifinals. Junior guard Briteesha Solomon led the team in points per game with 24.5 this season, and her performance in the playoffs was equally impressive. She led the team in scoring against the Islanders with 30 in the quarterfinals and again with 28 points in the semifinals. Senior Keyandra Cannon finished second on the team with 16 points per game. The rest of the team is young but has gained valuable postseason experience the last two years. Wiley-Gatewood said she expects sophomores Olivia Olson and Yusra Gharran and freshmen Brianjunae Shepard, Irma Ealy and Onjalise Hillard to continue their development into next season, along with an infusion of new players J’Neiya Burton and Eriel Dennis to replace Cannon and the other seniors. Boys’ basketball The Bucs almost pulled off a sweep in basketball as the Mission Bay boys’ team (18-8) came up just short in a 65-64 defeat against the Cathedral Catholic Dons (28-3) on a last-second basket. The 2011-12 squad, under coach Dennis Kane, also had one of the best years in the history of the program. “I think this year’s team really overachieved, given what they did and who they played against,” Kane said. It was another heartbreaker after losing by one point in the Div. III Championship game the previous year. “The sum was greater than the parts and that’s the signature statement of a team. Boy, every year you don’t know what is going to happen what with injuries, chemistry, attitude, effort and commitment all come into play when determining how good we will be, only time will answer that question,” Kane said. Girls’ soccer The Mission Bay girls’ varsity soccer team (19-1-4) was eliminated in the semifinal round when the Del Norte Nighthawks handed the Buccaneers their first and only loss of the season. Despite the loss, Mission Bay went from 9-7-3 in 2010-11 to a one-loss season and another CIF semifinal appearance.