GIRLS BASKETBALL: STATE CHAMPS ONCE AGAIN

Pinewood 67, St. Bernard 56

The Star: St. Bernard head coach Bo Corona said it best when asked about Pinewood School-Los Altos Hills senior guard Hailie Eackles performance on Friday, “She simply wouldn’t let her team lose today.”

Eackles saved one of her best performances of her career for last, lighting up St. Bernard to the tune of 31 points in a 67-56 Pinewood win in the CIF State Girls Basketball Division V Championship Game held at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento on Friday afternoon.

The Panthers guard couldn’t be stopped. Whether it was slicing through the teeth of the defense or pulling up for a 3-pointer on the fast break, everything was clicking on this day for the star senior. Eackles finished with a game-high 31 and fellow senior Miranda Seto added 21 points, including 10 makes from the free throw line.

The Turning Point: St. Bernard opened the game on a 7-1 run and led 9-7 when Pinewood head coach Doc Scheppler asked for a timeout with 4:04 left in the first quarter. After a deep breath and a brief chat during the 30-second timeout, Pinewood came out looking to attack. It started with Miranda Seto. The veteran guard drilled a corner 3-pointer--the first of eight treys on the day for the Panthers--and followed up the make with a quick steal and score to give her team its first lead of the game.

Although St. Bernard had the superior size, the Southern California champs couldn’t keep the speedy Pinewood guards in front of them the rest of the way. Point guard Kelsey Morehead ran the show beautifully in her usual 32 minutes of floor time. Pinewood led by nine points at the break and eventually won the game by 11.

The Quote: “I was definitely having fun, especially after we started winning,” Eackles said about her scintillating performance. “I just think we all needed to go out and be relaxed and that’s what we did.”

 What's Next? The season is over. The Panthers cap off the season with their second straight CIF State championship and fifth in school history. Pinewood is now 5-1 in State Title games.

Bottom Line: With all the talk centered on the size differential inside coming into the game, the title was won on the perimeter. Pinewood guards Kelsey Morehead, Caitlin Ciardella, Hailie Eackles and Miranda Seto--all four players are senior starters—harassed the St. Bernard wing players and made their opponents work hard to get the ball inside. On the other end of the floor, the man-to-man defense of the Lady Vikings couldn’t do much to slow down the quick passing and sizzling shooting by the defending state champs.

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As the final buzzer sounded Pinewood School-Los Altos Hills senior point guard Kelsey Morehead started to smile.

With a grin that could have stretched from beaches of Santa Cruz to the shores of the Atlantic, Morehead turned to her right and hugged senior Miranda Seto before a crowd of happy Panthers players and coaches gathered around.

The Pinewood girls basketball team were State Champions once again.

Pinewood defeated St. Bernard 67-56 in the CIF State Girls Basketball Division V Championship Game held at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento on Friday.

It was the second straight state title for the Panthers and win No. 105 for the four-year starting backcourt of Morehead and star guard Hailie Eackles.

The duo has gone 105-26 in their four years at Pinewood, winning three Central Coast Section titles, three NorCal crowns and now two CIF State Championships.

“It’s been an incredible career here at Pinewood,” Morehead said. “It definitely hasn’t set in.  I remember playing here (Formerly Arco Arena, now Power Balance Pavilion) my sophomore year. We all thought that we played a little tentative in that game. We always said to each other that we didn’t want to let that happen again. We were going to play aggressive tonight no matter what.”

Eackles certainly got the memo.

The smooth shooting guard scored 31 points, including 17 in the first half of play. Eackles connected on the first of three straight triples early in the third quarter to force a St. Bernard timeout.

Senior Mirando Seto, who scored 21 points in the win, drilled a trey and fellow senior Caitlin Ciardella followed with her only bucket of the night—a corner 3-pointer to put Pinewood ahead 48-32.

“I just have really clutch girls,” Pinewood head coach Doc Scheppler said. “Last year we played our best game of the year on the biggest stage and we did it again today. All of the titles are special in their own way. I know that I’ve never had a team that plays so clutch.”

Eackles hoisted the CIF State Champion Division V trophy high into the air and then ran towards the Pinewood student section.

A fitting ending to a brilliant career.

“She’s an outstanding player,” St. Bernard head coach Bo Corona said of Eackles. “Good players rise to the occasion. She rose today.”