Members of the CIF-Southern Section-champion boys basketball team and girls soccer team from Bishop Diego were honored as the Athletes of the Week at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
Kai Morphy of the Cardinals’ Division 3A-winning basketball team and goal-scoring phenom Kayalily Penn of the Division7-champion girls soccer squad were introduced as the award winners.
Penn scored all six goals for Bishop Diego in a 6-5 comeback win in double overtime against top-seeded Thacher. The Cardinals rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the second half.
Penn, a freshman who has 52 goals for the season, scored the game-winner by heading in a corner kick from Siena Urzua in the 93rd minute.
Penn was also last week’s Athlete of the Week winner for a five-goal performance in the semifinals.
Penn and the Cardinals are back in action Tuesday at home in a CIF State Regional game. They play Central Section Division 4 champion Bakersfield North at 3 p.m.
Morphy, a senior, scored 14 points and hit two clutch free throws in the final 41 seconds to give Bishop Diego a 54-52 win over Dana Hills in the CIF-SS Division 3A title game at the Brick House.
The Cardinals will host Otay Ranch, the San Diego Section Division 2 runner-up, in a CIF State Tournament first-round game on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The male honorable mention choices for this week’s award were Ajay Mitchell (UCSB basketball) and Vince Gamberdella (Santa Barbara High baseball).
The other female candidates include Avery Ball (Dos Pueblos lacrosse) and MacKenzie Ensign (Dos Pueblos softball).
The Athlete of the Week award is sponsored by the law firm of Maho-Prentice.
Coaches are encouraged to nominate worthy candidates. The nominations should be sent to sports@noozhawk.com.
— 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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