The MCAL basketball and soccer seasons reached the midway point of the single-round league schedule last week with both Redwood High girls teams securing important wins against Marin Catholic to vault to the top of their respective standings.

The Archie Williams boys soccer team put together a pair of impressive wins to move into pole position. The Marin Catholic boys basketball team won a dramatic game at the buzzer against Redwood to temporarily move into first place. The Giants and Wildcats ended the week both tied for first at 4-1.

Brooke Denler and Kitty White, Redwood girls basketball >> Denler posted a double double with 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Giants took sole possession of first place in the MCAL following a 58-52 win against Marin Catholic on Tuesday. White, a junior who had 10 points against MC and 13 more against Novato, then surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career during a 12-point performance in a 51-19 win against Montgomery.

Sarah Farese, Redwood girls soccer >> Farese’s late strike against Marin Catholic on Wednesday shook up the MCAL title picture. Farese scored in the 77th minute to lift the Giants to a 1-0 victory. Redwood began the week in a three-way tie for second place but finished it in sole possession of first place — though Tam is just three points back with a game in hand. Tam and Redwood play each other on Thursday. Farese, also the MCAL’s top scorer with eight goals through five league games, stayed hot with a hat trick in a win against Novato.

Sean Chamberlin and Willy Finley, Archie Williams boys soccer >> The Peregrine Falcons had an impressive week, posting a 3-1 win against then-league leaders Terra Linda followed by a 6-0 win against San Marin. Chamberlin scored twice in a three-minute span inside the first 12 minutes to get the Peregrine Falcons off to a flying start against TL. Finley assisted Chamberlin’s first goal then had a nifty assist to Jackson Richardson to cap the scoring, dragging the ball back behind him with his right foot before flicking it over to Richardson, who was alone in space to his left. Chamberlin and Finley both found the back of the net twice against San Marin.

Joe Hammond, Marin Catholic boys basketball >> Hammond produced one of the moments of the season so far, hitting a deep 3-pointer as time expired to lift Marin Catholic to a 73-70 victory against Redwood on Tuesday. Hammond had the ball at the top of the key, got separation by moving to his left for a sidestep three in the style of James Harden or Luka Doncic, then banked in the shot from well beyond the arc.

Enrique Guzman, Marin Catholic boys soccer >> Guzman scored goals in both games as MC remained unbeaten in league following a 1-1 tie against Redwood and a 3-1 win against TL. Guzman’s goal against Redwood helped MC pick up its fourth consecutive tie to start the MCAL campaign. Guzman assisted Charlie Carroll on the first goal and scored the third goal against TL.

Bode Dossey and Rodrigo Diaz, Branson boys soccer >> The Bulls roared to life last week securing all six points from two games to put themselves firmly in playoff contention following a slow start to the campaign. Dossey scored penalty kicks against both Tam and San Rafael while Diaz scored against Tam and had an assist against the Bulldogs.

Masa Fujita, Redwood boys soccer >> Fujita found the back of the net three times in a 5-0 win against Novato on Thursday. Fujita scored all three in succession to stretch Redwood’s lead from 1-0 to 4-0 and put the game out of reach.

Josie Quinby, Terra Linda girls soccer >> Ten days after TL almost pulled off an upset win at Tam, the Trojans hit the road again and stunned Marin Catholic with a 1-0 victory on Friday. Quinby scored the game’s only goal, receiving a pass from Rashell Diaz then beating a pair of defenders down the line and scoring in the 65th minute. The result solidified TL’s grip on fifth place in the standings and kept them within reach of the top four.

Tatum D’Angelica and Gianna Grasso, San Marin girls soccer >> The Mustangs got goals from both of their young standouts to earn their first point of the MCAL campaign following a 2-2 draw at Archie Williams on Friday. Grasso, a sophomore, moved from her position at left back to right wing about 30 minutes in and scored almost immediately with the assist from D’Angelica, a freshman. San Marin surged in front early in the second half when D’Angelica drifted across the top of the 18-yard box then pinged in a shot with the assist from Sicily Grasso. Archie Williams rallied to tie the game on a penalty kick scored by Caroline Lozaw.

Addie Covey, Tam girls soccer >> Covey was involved in all four of Tam’s goals this week, which featured a 2-0 win against Branson and a 2-1 win against Colfax. Covey set up Hana Leach for the opener against Branson then scored the second on an assist from Lauren Willard. Covey scored both goals against Colfax, getting another assist from Willard.

Sofi De Jesus, Archie Williams girls wrestling >> De Jesus won all five of her matches via pinfall this past weekend at the Corning Girls Tournament to claim the title at 112 pounds. De Jesus was also named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament. De Jesus improved her record to 19-3 this season with 17 pins and two technical falls. She has finished inside the top three in three different tournaments this season which this being her first title.

Carly Amborn, San Domenico girls basketball >> The Stanford-bound standout continued her stellar season by averaging more than 35 points per game last week — including a career-high 42 in a 56-54 victory on Thursday against Lick-Wilmerding that put the Panthers in second place in the BCL West. Amborn made nine 3-pointers en route to her career-best night. Amborn also scored 29 in a 63-33 win against Liberty in the Cornerstone Christian MLK Classic, earning game MVP honors and an all-tournament team nod.

Evan Brewster and Shauwn Sharp, Terra Linda boys basketball >> Brewster scored a game-high 19 points on Friday as TL secured a 50-40 win against Marin Catholic. Sharp followed that up the next night with a career game against Sonoma Valley. Sharp scored 26 points, including eight 3-pointers, getting hot in the fourth quarter as the Trojans pulled away late for a 68-54 victory.

Grady Stewart, Archie Williams boys basketball >> Stewart poured in a game-high 23 points, adding eight rebounds and four assists as the Peregrine Falcons won their second MCAL game of the week, a 66-54 victory against San Marin on Friday. Stewart also tied for team-high honors with James Butler while scoring 16 in a 57-52 win against TL on Tuesday.

Gavin Early, San Domenico boys basketball >> Early scored 23 points on Thursday as the Panthers handed Lick-Wilmerding its first BCL West loss of the season, 62-48. Early also had a big game with 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 57-46 win against San Marin on Tuesday.