GIRLS BASKETBALL: Pinewood Claims Third Straight CCS Title in Dramatic Fashion

Pinewood 45, Eastside Prep 44

The Star: Even on one leg, Pinewood senior guard Hailie Eackles is really, really good. The sensational senior scored a game-high 26 points in the Central Coast Section Division V Girls Basketball Championship game, including a face-up 3-pointer to put her team up six points late in the fourth quarter. Pinewood edged Eastside Prep 45-44 Saturday morning at Santa Clara University. It’s the third CCS crown in Eackles four years at Pinewood.

Eackles took a tough tumble midway through the fourth quarter. The speedy guard and Eastside Prep point guard Ahjalee Harvey collided on an Eackles drive. Both players stayed down for several moments before being helped to the bench. Each finished the game, but were still hobbling a little afterwards.

The Turning Point: An 18-6 Pinewood run in the third quarter erased an eight-point Eastside Prep lead at the half. Mirando Seto, the second leading scorer on the team,scored off a hard drive to the hoop to start off the half. The senior guard was held scoreless in the first 16 minutes of play. It only took one 3-point shot to drop for things to turn around on the offensive end for Pinewood. An accidently banker in corner by senior Caitlin Ciardella was the first of three Pinewood triples in the quarter.

The Quotes: “Eastside plays really great defense,” Pinewood senior guard Kelsey Morehead said after the big CCS title game victory. Morehead connected on a timely trey to pull her team to within two points late in the third quarter.

“We just needed to see one (3-pointer) drop,” Morehead said. “I’ve kinda been in a shooting slump so I think when everyone saw me hit one, it gave all of us confidence.”

 The thrilling finale kept to the script of the teams past three meetings. Nothing usually gets decided until the final minutes of the ball game between the two WBAL rivals.

 “It’s definitely the most exciting one,” Eackles said about her third CCS title game win in her career. “Winning the CCS title game by one point in my senior year is a memory I’ll have forever.”

 What's Next? Both teams will take part in next weeks NorCals. The brackets will be unveiled Sunday night. If things line up just right, the two evened-matched foes could square off for a fifth and final time this season in the NorCal finals.

 Bottom Line: Pinewood motored back to lead by as much as seven points early in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-point shots from ESP guard Ahjalee Harvey closed the gap to only one point with four minutes and change to go. Eackles closed the game with a deuce of an out-of-bounds play and the sorely needed triple from the top of the arc. A late ESP 3-ball came with only .4 seconds left on the clock, helping Pinewood escape with the thrilling one-point triumph.

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