On Friday, Feb. 17, SCHS’s girls varsity basketball team made it to the Central Coast Section for the first time in five years, taking home a victory. 

The first game of CCS was a home game, in which SCHS’s girls varsity basketball team faced off against Piedmont Hills High School. The game opened with a shot from sophomore Mialani Talalele. From there, the game was neck-and-neck for the first 10 points until junior Charmaine Azul secured a four-point lead with a three-pointer.

Junior Nina Llamas ended the first quarter with a drive to the basket, where she bypassed three defenders solo and ended with a layup. As the crowd went wild, the first quarter ended with a score of 16-11. 

“That’s what she does, that’s what Nina does,” Girls Varsity Assistant Coach John Smith said. “It’s something that I’ve just come to expect and enjoy watching.”

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Senior Vanessa Calvillo kept up the lead in the second quarter with strong steals and defense. Azul shot another three-pointer, putting the Bruins team on a roll as they scored in five consistent possessions. Alongside their spectacular offense, the team came together with steals and rebounds, barely letting the Piedmont Pirates get any shots off. 

As the first half came to an end, the Bruins had brought the score up to 29-16, gaining 13 points while the Pirates merely scored 5. 

The Bruins girls varsity team came back strong in the second half as junior Anika Dontu opened with a clean under the basket layup. Talalele kept the score high with points at nearly every possession. The quarter went by fast as the Bruins stayed ahead, while the Pirates attempted to make a comeback, closing the quarter at 36-24. 

Throughout the second half, girls who had previously played junior varsity during the regular season made an appearance on varsity court. 

JV girls coach Saheed Mohamed was in the crowd, proud to see his JV girls on the court. 

“It made me happy, it made me proud,” Mohamed said. 

Sophomore Aryanna Morte was one of the athletes who got moved up to varsity and had a fun experience playing. 

“It was an exciting game but pretty intense,” Morte said. “Honestly, the playing field is different but it was fun.”

Calvillo kept up her stealing game and Talalele grabbed nearly all rebounds. The match came to a close with the first CCS victory of 45-31. 

Talalele pushed hard to score a grand total of 32 points. She finds that her team has strong chemistry and hopes that can lead them to the championships. 

“I wanted to go out there and win it for my team,” Talalele said. “We haven’t been to the playoffs in 5 years so I just wanted to ball out for them.” 

Smith believed that at Friday night’s games, the girls team’s execution was strong but it was their team camaraderie that mattered most. 

“We win as a team and lose as a team,” Smith said. “So the fact that we played as a family is what brings the successful season that we’ve had so far.”