SAN JOSE — Ryka Aprameyan poured in 33 points and Evergreen Valley won the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division championship Thursday with a 58-52 win at Branham.
“She’s been significantly overlooked, hopefully the secret is out now,” Evergreen Valley coach Drew Fenstermaker said. “She’s not only a prolific scorer. She’s an underrated passer, underrated defender, rebounder. She does a little bit of everything. And as time goes on she’ll only get better.”
Aprameyan, the Central Coast Section scoring leader according to MaxPreps, at 26.1 points per game, scored on a wide-ranging arsenal of shots. She made two 3-pointers, scored in transition and on a number of reaching and twisting drives. She made 11 of 26 field-goal attempts and went 9 of 10 at the foul line.
“We had a lot of injuries,” Aprameyan said. “Everyone doubted us but at the end of the day we’re here, we won league and we’re better than everyone.”
Evergreen Valley’s Ryka Aprameyan (24) heads to the basket against Evergreen Valley’s Lealah Rowden (30) in the fourth quarter at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
With her overall skill and the touch on her shots she gives the impression of someone who’s been playing a long time.
“I started playing seven years ago,” Aprameyan said. “It’s always been my passion, I love playing sports and it’s really fun to make new friends on the team.”
Evergreen Valley (19-5, 10-0) won its second Mt. Hamilton division title in the last three years.
“It means everything to us, we envisioned it from the beginning,” Fenstermaker said. “We knew last year we fell short and wanted redemption. It all starts with meditation, being connected as a team. That’s how we were able to remain poised in big moments and close games.”
Meditation?
“Every day, before practice, before games,” Fenstermaker said. “Sometimes we light incense, sometimes we don’t. It connects us spiritually. I introduced it last year. I got it from Phil Jackson, one of the great NBA coaches.”
Evergreen Valley celebrates their 58-52 win over Branham at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Branham (19-3, 8-2) featured one of the top shot blockers in the CCS in 6-4 senior Quinn Godfrey, a UC Merced commit. She held up her end with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven blocked shots. And point guard Rebecca Sung scored 14 for Branham, going 8 of 11 at the free-throw line. But Evergreen utilized its quickness to outrebound the Bruins.
“We’re most likely out of (CCS) Open now, so we’ll be D-I,” Branham coach Nick Moreno said. “We might match up with Evergreen again. Today we lacked effort rebounding the ball. They outrebounded us by a lot. They got three or four shots every other possession. We cut that down in half I think we win the game.”
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Evergreen led 18-10 after one quarter and was up by 10 when Branham went on a 12-0 run in the second quarter to take the lead. The Cougars had a 28-27 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was back and forth with several lead changes. Branham led 46-45 at the end of the quarter and had its last lead at 50-49 midway though the fourth quarter after a basket by Godfrey in the low post.
Evergreen then went on a 7-0 run that decided the outcome. Diya Dharmashankar’s bucket put the Cougars ahead. Aprameyan added a basket and a free throw and Aastha Bhagat hit a short jumper to close out the run, the win, and the divisional title.
Branham’s Rebecca Sung (10) passes the ball against Evergreen Valley’s Aliya Azam (2) in the third quarter at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Evergreen Valley’s Ryka Aprameyan (24) takes a shot against Branham’s Quinn Godfrey (30) in the fourth quarter at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Branham’s Kendra Williams (5) and Evergreen Valley’s Xuan-Mai Nguyen (25) fight for the ball in the first quarter at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Evergreen Valley’s Lealah Rowden (30) takes a shot against Branham’s Quinn Godfrey (30) and Branham’s Kendra Williams (5) in the fourth quarter at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Branham’s Quinn Godfrey (30) takes a shot against Evergreen Valley’s Lealah Rowden (30) and Evergreen Valley’s Xuan-Mai Nguyen (25) in the first quarter at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Branham’s Quinn Godfrey (30) blocks a shot against Evergreen Valley’s Lealah Rowden (30) in the third quarter at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Evergreen Valley’s Ryka Aprameyan (24), top left, Evergreen Valley’s Aliya Azam (2), top right, and Evergreen Valley’s Lealah Rowden (30) celebrate their 58-52 win over Branham at Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
