Wednesday night's CCCAA NorCal playoff loss at Santa Rosa Jr. College can't diminish a watershed season for coach Antonio Veloso and his Mission College Saints.
The 2023-24 Saints staged one of the top turnarounds in the state, going from 7-20 in 2022-23 to 18-11 this season. Mission finished in third place in the Coast-South with an 8-4 record, a decisive turnaround from last year's 3-5 mark.
As both a reason for and a result of that success, a quartet of Saints received All-Coast-South Conference awards, Veloso recently announced. First-year guards Alli Dioli and Lali Montesino were named to the All-Coast-South First Team, while sophomore guard Hannah Rankin and freshman guard Ciana Mayorquin received Honorable Mention accolades.
Montesino (20.6) just edged Dioli (20.0) for second in the conference scoring race; the pair finished 11th and 13th, respectively, in the state in scoring average. Montesino's 23.1 PPG topped the conference.
Montesino also led the conference with 3.0 steals per game, while Rankin was second in assists with 5.0 APG. Dioli recorded 7.9 RPG, 4.8 APG and 3.3 steals-per game, and Montesino finished the year with 7.2 RPG, 3.5 APG and 3.0 SPG.
Mayorquin finished 2023-24 with 8.1 PPG and 7.0 RPG. In addition to her 5.0 APG, Rankin, a 2023 All-Coast-South Second Team selection, averaged 6.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.1SPG.