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Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll.
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) girls Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and, starting Sept. 30, in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
Mecca Alexander, Cornerstone Christian basketball: The program is off to a 3-2 start, and one of the team’s most impressive wins was a 68-47 win over Redwood Christian. Junior guard Mecca Alexander was dominant in the win, scoring 39 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and accruing seven steals and seven blocks to earn a triple-double.
Makiah Asidanya, Salesian basketball: Salesian knocked off defending D-III state champions Oakland Tech on Tuesday, and Asidanya was one of the team’s top players. The senior scored 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Ellie Buckley, Campolindo cross country: Buckley had the best time of any Campolindo runner at the NXN Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon. She ran the 5K event in 17:50.7, a PR by a little over three seconds.
Sayonara Chavez, De Anza soccer: The junior may be listed as a defender on MaxPreps, but she was the team’s top scorer in a 10-0 win over Mount Diablo. Chavez knocked four shots past the keeper as the team improved to 3-0 on the season.
Tanya Ghai, Saratoga basketball: Ghai was unstoppable in a tight 50-46 win over Valley Christian. She made 14-22 shots and scored 35 points. Ghai was active on defense too, with three steals and two blocks credited to her name.
Maya Hernandez, Archbishop Mitty basketball: The senior forward and Loyola Marymount commit scored 19 in a win against Branson on Dec. 1 at the Cardinal Newman Classic. She put up an 11-point and 11-rebound double-double the next day in a win vs. St. Mary’s of Stockton.
Natalie Holm, Los Altos basketball: The junior was a walking double-double last week, averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds in four games last week. Holm also grabbed six steals and handed out two assists per game in those contests.
Evalyn Jimenez, Hayward basketball: Hayward’s junior standout did it all for the Farmers in their 60-19 win over Vallejo. She scored 19 points, grabbed nine boards, and totalled four steals and two blocks. She followed that up by scoring 31 and 26 points later in the week against De Anza and Hercules.
Jaela Nero, Skyline soccer: The Titans began their season with an easy 10-0 win over Life Academy. Nero, who once netted seven goals against Oakland High last season, was the team’s top scorer with five goals. She also had an assist.
Kendall McClure, Heritage basketball: The Patriots won the Peyo Classic for the second straight year, and junior Kendall McClure was named MVP after putting up 48 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists in wins over Riordan, James Logan and Monte Vista.
Miriam Rodriguez, Richmond basketball: Rodriguez has been a consistent scorer in Richmond’s opening week, and has scored at least 10 points in four of Richmond’s five games. Rodriguez netted 18, 10 and 15 points in the Oilers’ three wins last week.
Kennedy Schoennauer, Lincoln soccer: The senior and University of Utah commit is the definition of a clinical finisher in front of the goal. She scored 10 goals in three wins for the Lions, with five coming in a 6-0 Thursday win over Monte Vista. Schoennauer also kicked field goals and PATs for the football team that went 9-1 and made it to the CCS D-I playoff.
Originally published at Joseph Dycus