St. Vincent girls impressive in sweep to Sutter Home Tournament title

St. Vincent rebounded from a couple of early season heart-breaking 2-point losses in girls basketball to run off three consecutive impressive wins in the Sutter Home Basketball Tournament in St. Helena to bring home the hard-earned title.

The Lady Mustangs got off to a good start on Thursday evening by spanking San Rafael, 55-35, to advance to the tournament winners bracket. The Division III Bulldogs from the Marin County Athletic League stand at 3-4 for the season.

The hotly contested semifinal contest followed against Berean Christian of Walnut Creek, and St. Vincent held on to win, 59-56. A 20-14 advantage in the final stanza was the margin of victory. Alexandria Saisi continued to pace St. Vincent in scoring with a 17-point effort.

Junior Sophia Licata had another solid contest with 11 points, while Julia Murphy added 10 points, shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.

The Mustangs outscored familiar foe Roseland University Prep of Santa Rosa, 15-2, in a game-deciding second period, and never looked back in a 47-32 win in the tournament title game. Alex Ditzio went off for 17 points and 12 rebounds against the North Central League II opponent.

Saisi tossed in 16 points and grabbed five steals, while the reliable Sully Henry scored six to give her a total of 28 for the tournament.

Roseland (3-3) came into the game with a win over previously undefeated Ferndale.

On Monday, the Lady Mustangs traveled to Forestville for their fifth consecutive road game, and suffered a narrow 39-35 loss at the hands of the El Molino Lions. The game was close from the opening tap.

Freshman Ellie Roan knocked in 22 points and pulled down 16 rebounds for the home-standing Lions to pace both teams.

Henry continued her late scoring rush with 16 points for the Mustangs, while Saisi finished in double figures for the ninth consecutive game with 10 points.

Henry had four steals for the Lady Mustangs, who fell to 6-3 for the season. Ditzio grabbed eight rebounds to give her a team-leading 71 for the early season. St. Vincent had a narrow 34-33 advantage on the boards against the Lions. Murphy did not suit up for the second consecutive game for the Mustangs.