Stefanie Berberabe of the NAIA national-champion Westmont women’s basketball team and hot-hitting Aidan Mandel of the unbeaten San Marcos baseball team have been named the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Athletes of the Week.
Berberabe was tremendous for the Warriors in the semifinals and final at the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.
She scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, and had three assists and four rebounds in a 74-65 semifinal victory over Indiana Wesleyan.
In the championship game against top-seeded Thomas More (Ky.), the junior guard scored a game-high 23 points (10-19 from the floor), and had four assists and three steals as the Warriors won 72-61 to claim their second national title in program history.
Berberabe was honored as the tournament MVP and later was named the NAIA Player of the Year.
“She has been such a dynamic player for us this year,” Westmont coach Kirsten Moore said. “She has an incredible fighting spirit that goes along with her incredible athleticism. What is so exciting about her is that she is not just a one-way player. Her defense is electrifying — the way she flies around the court and makes hustle plays. She is such a game-changer on both ends of the court.”
Mandel was a difference maker for San Marcos in a 20-4 victory over crosstown rival Dos Pueblos.
With the Royals leading 1-0 in the fourth, he belted a three-run homer over the left-field fence to break the game open. The 6-foot-6 second baseman also had two doubles and a single, and drove in six runs in the Santa Barbara County Tournament game.
In a 12-0 tournament win over Bishop Diego last Saturday, Mandel went 2-for-4 with a walk and a RBI.
San Marcos and Dos Pueblos meet again on Wednesday at San Marcos.
The male honorable mention choices for this week include Cason Goodman (Santa Barbara High soccer), Marcus Chan (Bishop Diego football) and Qu’Ran Gossett (Bishop Diego football).
The other female contenders for the award are Sydney Marr (Westmont track & field), Tori Davis (Westmont track & field), Iryee Jarrett (Westmont basketball) and Astrid Rosvall (UCSB track & field).
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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