Tam Falls in MCAL Semis to Branson, Eyes NCS Bid

In prepping for its Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) semifinal playoff game against Branson Thursday night, the Tam High girls basketball team focused on two major defensive priorities against the Bulls.

First, they had to help out whoever was guarding star Lia Coito. Secondly, they couldn’t leave sharpshooter Hannah Caine open, particularly behind the three-point line.

In a sparkling third quarter, Tam did both of those things, holding Coito and Caine scoreless and storming back from a nine-point deficit.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the quarter was book-ended by a first half in which Coito was on either the giving or receiving end of nearly every one of Branson’s buckets and a fourth quarter that saw Caine nail two back-breaking three-pointers to put the game out of reach in a 49-38 loss to the Bulls.

“We specifically worked on not leaving (Caine) and we left her open and she killed us,” Tam coach Mike Evans said afterwards. “I think we used a lot of energy to get back into it in the third quarter and we ran out of gas.”

The Hawks (18-10) had lost its two regular season games against the Bulls this year, including a 41-38 overtime defeat last week that pushed Branson to the brink.

But the Bulls came out strong in the first, with Coito scoring on an array of shots and more importantly setting up her teammates with a number of easy shots. In one sequence, Coito grabbed a defensive rebound and led Caine with a perfect outlet pass that led to two free throws.

The Hawks made a concerted effort to get the ball into center Britt Lindberg in the first half, and the junior responded with five points, and junior forward Jenna May had six of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter.

Faced with a 23-13 deficit in the first minute of the third quarter, Lindberg scored on a nifty post move and was fouled for a three-point play. Then May took over, scoring eight quick points on drives and short jumpers. Junior guard Hallie Brauner closed out the quarter with a nice drive and dish to junior forward Lena Geupel to cut the deficit to two at 30-28.

Coito, who finished with 17 points, took control quickly in the fourth quarter. She nailed a jumper from the top of the key and finished two stellar drives with her left hand. She also found Caine for a wide-open baseline three-pointer and the lead ballooned to 11 at 41-30.

The Hawks were on their heels and couldn’t recover.

“We were right back where we started,” he said. “We were tired. (Branson) has a veteran team and we’ve got a young team. Our mistakes killed us.”

Despite the tough loss, Evans said he expects his team to be seeded sixth or seventh in the upcoming North Coast Section (NCS) tournament, drawing a home game in the first round. The NCS brackets will be unveiled on Sunday.

“Our goal is to advance in NCS,” he said. “If we can get past that first-round matchup, that would be great.”