LAFAYETTE — Two games into the season, Acalanes already moves like a team in mid-February form.
The Dons offense worked like a symphony as players sliced in for backcuts and hit uncontested 3-pointers. On the other end of the floor, the Dons smothered visiting University-San Francisco, holding the run and gun offense to below 50 points.
In the end, Acalanes cruised to a 72-48 win at home on Tuesday in just its second game of the season.
“Any win at this point is big because we don’t know what we had,” Acalanes coach Margaret Gartner, whose team lost four key starters from last season, said. “It’s fun. It’s exciting. Every game is big for us.”
Senior point guard Lexi Le had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal. Sofia Fernandez added 19 points and three steals, and freshman Millie Jones had 11 points.
University, coming off a solid win over Sacred Heart Cathedral over the weekend, was led by Anna Beischer, who led all scorers and had a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
“It’s definitely good getting our younger players into the groove of the things,” Le said. “University is a great team, great program. We just got to work on getting stronger and being more physical.”
Acalanes didn’t waste any time getting into its groove.
The Dons opened with a 14-2 run, forcing University to call an early timeout. Acalanes’ constant movement led to a barrage of buckets from the paint and beyond the arc.
Le exploded in the second quarter, scoring 11 of her 20 points in the period alone to give Acalanes a 38-19 lead by halftime.
The Lafayette school continued its momentum into the second half and didn’t let University come within striking distance as the Dons cruised to an easy win.
Gartner used every player available to her Tuesday night in the win.
“I think the chemistry will get better,” Gartner said.
St. Mary’s-Stockton 55, No. 2 SRV 50
Despite San Jose State-bound guard Alyssa Rudd scoring 23 points, SRV couldn’t escape an early hole and fell at St. Mary’s. SRV fell behind 17-5 to open the first period. The Wolves would eventually tie the game at 23, but could not take the lead away from the Rams. Carly Stern and Ella Gunderson each had 10 points in the loss. Kori Rogers scored 15 points and Evelini Smith had 11 for St. Mary’s.
No. 13 Salesian 63, San Marin 44
Emma Bryant scored 17 points in Salesian’s 19-point rout of San Marin. Ezra Palec added 12 points, Naomi Young chipped in 11 and Faith Thompson had seven for Salesian, which won its season opener. Senior Gianna Garbarino had a team-high 11 points for San Marin.
Monta Vista 48, Harker 41
Monta Vista escaped with an early-season overtime win over Harker buoyed by a clutch performance from Kaylee Kwok, who scored six of her seven points in the extra period. Monta Vista’s Allie Rummelhoff scored 15 points to lead all scorers. Sanika Das led Harker with 12 points.
Notre Dame-Belmont 50, Westmont 25
Notre Dame handed Belmont its first loss of the season in a 25-point thumping at home. Sammy Kakala had a game-high 19 points for Notre Dame. Sophomore Naviya Popli had seven for Westmont, which dropped to 2-1.
Boys basketball
No. 1 Salesian 83, Ygnacio Valley 27
Salesian had this game over by the end of the first quarter in a dominant win over Ygnacio Valley at home. Juelz Richo scored a game-high 13 points, Asante Johnson added 12 and Michael Richardson had 10. Salesian’s starters hardly played in the second half as the Pride cruised to an easy victory. Machai Alston led YV with 10 points.
Branson 57, No. 7 Oakland Tech 54
A cold shooting night from the Bulldogs resulted in a win for North Bay powerhouse Branson. Tech shot just 33.3% from the field and allowed the Bulls to shoot 47.5%. Brandon Woodards had 18 points and Jasen Davis had 13 points for Tech. Saddiq Alarbesh added eight points.
No. 14 Bellarmine 53, No. 17 Monte Vista 38
Will Corbett poured in another high-scoring night, dropping 26 points in a low-scoring win over Monte Vista. Bellarmine had a big third-quarter push, outscoring Monte Vista 16-7 to give itself a 13-point advantage going into the final period. Brennan Williams added 11 points for Bellarmine. Junior point guard Max Nishikawa led the Mustangs with 16 points. Bellarmine, which improved to 2-0, handed Monte Vista its first loss of the season.
No. 16 Valley Christian 75, Leigh 56
Bryant Clark had 18 points, Evan Lee had 16 and Freddy Dauda and Jadon Shabaglian each had eight to lead Valley Christian to a 19-point win over Leigh at home. Adrian Delanuez and Cade Robertson each had 12 points for Leigh, which dropped its first game of the season. Valley Christian (1-0) will play Windward on Wednesday.
Antioch 67, Napa 43
Dereon Ourm-Blackman scored a game-high 17 points to lead Antioch to a 24-point victory over Napa at home. Kamren Anderson had 15 points and Ke’Mari Rowe-Simms added six for Antioch, which improved to 2-2.
Livermore 61, College Park 49
Livermore remained undefeated, beating previously unbeaten College Park at home. Sophomore Amare Chandler led the way with 17 points while Zach Lininger had 12. Senior Dylan Wherry added 11. Sophomore Miles Cooper stayed hot, pouring in 19 points for College Park.