Castro etches name into UC Merced women’s basketball history

The final week of February 2015 likely will stay with Christina Castro for the rest of her life.

The first-year UC Merced women’s basketball player was named the California Pacific Conference Freshman of the Year last Thursday after averaging 10.2 points, 2 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Castro became the fourth Bobcat in school history to earn the honor and the second women’s basketball player, joining teammate Shelby Howard.

Castro looked every bit the part during Sunday’s 51-49 upset victory over NAIA Division II No. 13 Menlo College in the Cal Pac Tournament semifinals (the Bobcats play La Sierra for the title tonight at 7:30 in Vallejo). Down 17 at the half, Merced coach Kevin Pham opted to go to a full-court press, hoping to speed up the game and knock Menlo out of its comfort zone.

His freshman thrived in the scenario, scoring her team’s last seven points. Castro’s three-pointer brought UC Merced all the way back, tying the score 49-49 with 1:23 to play. She then stole an inbound pass with nine seconds to go, made a move and buried a 15-foot jumper to win the game.

“She anticipated a pass, jumped in the passing lane and then drilled her shot like she had ice water in her veins,” Pham said. “It was just a clutch player making a clutch shot.

“When we recruited her, we knew she had a knack for scoring. She’s had a lot of clutch moments this season and ended up taking some big shots for us.”

Castro wasn’t the only Bobcat to have a big week. Senior Alexis Wu and sophomore Brittany Martinez were named to the All-Cal Pac second team, and Howard and sophomore Courtney Danna earned honorable mention.

The UC Merced men received All-Cal Pac nods as well with leading scorer Joshua Kimble (13.5 points per game) being named to the second team and George Olumba receiving honorable mention.

All-Central Valley Conference

The Merced College men’s basketball team never achieved the consistency it sought this season. But the one thing coach Bill Russell could count on night in and night out was the steady play of freshman forward Deonta Woodard.

His 15.7 points per game ranked third in the conference, helping the 6-foot-5 sophomore earn a first-team All-CVC nod. Woodard also led the Blue Devils in rebounds per game (6.7) and shooting percentage (53.8) and was named to the CVC all-defensive team.

Woodard was one of three Blue Devils to receive conference recognition with Jermaine Crowder earning honorable mention and Rob Martinez getting named to the all-freshman team.

In addition, Woodard, Crowder and Kendrick Sallis were invited to participate in the CCCAA Sophomore Showcase game.

The Merced men (2-22) weren’t the only ones to endure their share of struggles, as the women (6-19) put up their lowest win total in more than a decade.

Still, the Lady Devils had bright spots. Sophomore Nitoyra Bone and freshman Tekerra Borden were named to the All-CVC second team. Bone averaged 7.4 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds. Borden fought through injuries to lead the team in scoring with 10.3 points.

Dream season interrupted

A season after leading the Golden Valley basketball team to a Central California Conference title and a trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinals, the trio of Josh Sykes, Evan Stillahn and Christian Carroll had their sights on a bigger prize.

Quietly contributing regular minutes coming off the bench, the Cougar alums helped Fresno City College to a 28-3 regular season and the No. 1 ranking in the state. The team looked poised for a run to the state tourney but had those plans derailed before they ever got going. The top-seeded Rams were upset by No. 17 Foothill in the first round of the NorCal playoffs.

This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Castro etches name into UC Merced women’s basketball history."