Lady Lions, Tigers wrap up winter hoops campaign

The Lady Lions and Tigers reached the end of a three-month basketball journey this week in their respective North Coast Section playoff tournaments, putting the final touches on a couple of outstanding seasons.
Analy (18-10) represented the No. 7 seed in the NCS Division 3 tourney and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 52-45 home win over No. 11 Encinal in the playoff opener on Feb. 18 before being eliminated at No. 2 San Marin on Saturday.
The Tigers were out of the gates quickly against visiting Encinal, stunning the Jets with an 18-6 run in the first quarter before settling for a 25-16 halftime lead. The visitors clawed back to cut the deficit to two at 36-34 at the end of three, but the Tigers had the final say down the stretch as they hung on for a 52-45 win.
Leading the way for Analy were Lucca Lowenberg (20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals), Maya Salas (11 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 4 steals), Ellie Bengs (8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist), Maycee Hunter (7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals) and Samantha Davis (3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals).  
The Tigers were sunk by one bad quarter in the Feb. 22 visit to San Marin, with the Mustangs gaining separation with a 20-5 run in the second quarter. Analy trailed 34-16 at the break and fought an uphill battle the rest of the way en route to a 56-36 San Marin win.
Lowenberg capped a great sophomore campaign with a team-high eight points, while other top scorers included Hunter (7 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal), Chloe Fernandez (6 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals), Davis (5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), Bengs (4 points, 2 rebounds), Bailey Alberigi (3 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal), Salas (2 points, 4 rebounds) and Krystal Anderton (1 point, 4 rebounds). 
Lions bounced in NCS opener 
El Molino (14-11), the No. 13 seed in the NCS Division 4 playoffs, dropped a 74-40 decision at No. 4 Lick Wilmerding in the tourney opener on Feb. 19.  
The Tigers wasted no time in this one, swamping the Lions with a 23-8 first-quarter explosion on their way to a 37-18 halftime cushion. El Mo never seriously threatened in the final two periods as Wilmerding cruised to a 74-40 rout.
Sophomore sensation Ellie Roan paced the Lions’ offense with 21 points and 17 boards. Also in the El Mo scoring column were Talia Husary (9 points, 13 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals), Angelina Gonnella (8 points, 2 rebounds), Hailee Walker (1 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) and Skylar (1 point, 1 rebound, 1 assist).