Girls basketball

GIRLS BASKETBALL Aptos completes dominant run

Ackerman, Giufre help Mariners thump Knights for SCCAL title

By JUAN REYES T he Aptos High girls’ basketball team was a heavy favorite going into the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Tournament championship against Soquel High. Guard Gabby Giufre made that clear from the start, scoring the game’s first eight points to help the Mariners cruise past the Knights, 56-19, at Cabrillo College on Feb. 14. She finished with a game-high 23 points, making 10 of her 15 shots, including back-to-back 3-pointers that helped Aptos jump out to an 18-3 lead.

“I came in ready to focus, the team was focused, we were ready to go,” said Giufre. “And my team found me and I was ready.”

Forward Natalia Ackerman finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds—her 15th double-double of the season—for the Mariners (19- 5, 10-0).

The 6-foot-1 senior along with the rest of her Aptos teammates posed for photos with their two new banners for winning the SCCAL regular season and tournament titles.

“Super excited,” Ackerman said. “It was one of major goals this season and we just got it done tonight.” The Knights (9-9, 6-4) couldn’t figure out a way to produce on ofense against a tough defensive efort by the Mariners.

Aptos coach Bruce Funk said they’ve been working really hard on defense in practice throughout the year. That included improving their man-to-man defense.

FLYING HIGH Aptos High senior Natalia Ackerman recorded a double-double against Soquel High to lead the Mariners past the Knights and win the SCCAL title outright.

“But we have three diferent types of zone defenses, with traps, and they’re able to go from one to another. We’ve been working on that all year,” Funk said. The Mariners sufocated the Knights’ ofense which went 0-for-6 to start. Aptos took a commanding 35-9 lead going into halftime. Giufre and Co. kept the pedal to the metal in the third quarter. They extended the lead to as many as 40 points.

The third quarter ended with Giufre connecting with Ackerman for a layup.

The Mariners’ stars pointed at each other, acknowledging the perfect pass for the score, before taking a seat on the bench for the remainder of the game.

Ackerman said the win will help build confidence before heading into the Central Coast Section playofs. “We just gotta keep going,” she said.

Giufre said she’s aware they’ve been at the top of the standings for the last couple of years but the big goal was to go undefeated in league play.

“We came in the gym, got ready to play and have our mind right before the games we can do it and it was possible,” she said. “It was just a matter of being ready and being there.”

Guard Emma Stefanini added eight points and five rebounds for the Mariners, who were in the hunt for a third CCS title and their fourth straight berth to the NorCal playofs. Aptos was ranked No. 112 in the state by MaxPreps heading into the postseason. Giufre said the rankings mean nothing.

“We got to go to CCS and prove ourselves every time we step out on that court,” she said.

JC BASKETBALL Marcopulos steps down after 20 years

STAFF REPORT T he Cabrillo College Athletics Department announced Feb. 27 that longtime men’s basketball coach Tony Marcopulos will step down from his position. Marcopulos spent 20 years at the helm, leading his teams to at least a share of the Coast Conference South championship 10 times and winning 59 percent of their games. According to a press release, his overall record as the Seahawks’ head coach was 333-231. During his tenure, Marcopulos led his teams to more wins than any other coach in the program’s history. James Page has been selected as the next head coach of the program. He spent the past eight seasons as an assistant coach under Marcopulos. Last season, Page went 7-2 in his stint as an interim head coach including a win against City College of San Francisco, the state champion in 2018 and runner-up last year. In the last nine years, Marcopulos’s teams have won at least a share of seven conference titles while making three Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight appearances–the only such appearance in program history–in the postseason. Marcopulos won the Coast Conference South Coach of the Year nine times since the 2006-07 season.

Maropulos first came to Aptos in 2000. He was two years removed from working as an assistant at the University of the Pacific. There he worked with Micheal Olowokandi, the first overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. Marcopulos, also known as “Coach T” by his players, has always had a knack for developing young stars. Marcopulos coached 10 of the past 20 Most Valuable Players of the Coast Conference South, which is 10 more than the program had total prior to his arrival. He’s also

Juan Reyes

CURTAIN CALL Cabrillo College men’s basketball coach Tony Marcopulos will step down from his position after spending the past 20 years at the helm. He led his teams to at least a share of the Coast Conference South championship 10 times and won 59 percent of their games.

led 56 players to earn all-conference honors. Marcopulos’ time as head coach is over but he will continue to teach in the Kinesiology Department at Cabrillo. Inside the Numbers: Coast Conference South Championships (10): 06-07 (9-3), 07-08 (22-9), 10-11 (20-8), 11-12 (24-4), 12-13 (10-2), 13-14 (20-9), 15-16 (20-7), 16-17 (20-8), 17-18 (17-11), 19-20 (8-4) Coast Conference South Coach of the Year: 06-07, 07-08, 10-11, 11-12, 12-13, 13-14, 15-16, 16-17, 17-18

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