Girls Basketball

Anna Barton ‘19

Ila Lane ‘19 Annie Boyle ‘19

2018 CCS CHAMPIONS 2018 NORCAL CHAMPIONS 2018 STATE RUNNER-UP Head Coach: Buck Matthews Assistant Coach: Sebastian Poitier Team Manager: AnaMalia Veamatahau

Shannon Fitzgerald ‘19

Julianne Lempert ‘21

Lala Niu ‘20

Kara Reiss ‘19 Annabelle North ‘20

Tatiana Reese ‘18

Dominique Robson ‘20

Gabby Ruiz ‘19

The Fast Break to State

How does a girls’ basketball team go from a JV team to playing in the State Championship in just four years? “Coach Buck Matthews has taken the program from the JV level, to the top of the lower division in the West Bay Athletic League, to the middle of the very competitive WBAL upper division,” said Athletic Director Mark Stogner. “Priory is now a well respected basketball program in the section and state, in just a few short years.”

Coach Buck built the girls’ basketball program year by year with the overall goal of making it to the State Championship. One of the tougher and riskier strategies was to schedule a tough preseason schedule. “Having a tough preseason schedule prepares you for league and playoffs. It also taught us how to play with a sense of urgency and that we couldn’t take a game off,” Coach Buck explained. “I had complete faith in my team that they would persevere.” The team played against large powerhouse schools like Archbishop Mitty, Aragon, Marin Catholic, and Menlo-Atherton, and felt honored that these well-established programs wanted to play them and they wanted to earn the respect from the area that they belonged. One thing that Coach Buck didn’t account for during the preseason was injuries. Several players suffered injuries that would sideline them for weeks at a time. They never got to play with a full healthy roster until

GIRLS BASKETBALL

CCS playoffs. But according to Coach Buck and Mark Stogner, the entire team was dedicated from the start. “Each player was completely invested in the process,” emphasized Stogner.

Tatiana Reese ‘18 came to Priory in the 7th grade, when the basketball program was still a JV team. Her love for Priory and the mentorship by Coach Buck helped her believe that she could help build the girls basketball program. “I knew right away this was the place for me. It was the place that felt most like home,” Reese said. As for her connection with Coach Buck, Reese explained, “I always thought of him like an important figure in my life. He developed me as an athlete, and more importantly as a student. I couldn’t be more thankful to have him in my life.”

In the 2016-17 season, the team was making great strides with a high-scoring historical CCS win, 69-48, over St. Francis Salesian. But their hopes of winning NorCal and advancing to the State Championship were crushed after losing to Eastside College Prep in the NorCal Championship game.

The NorCal Championship loss only seemed to fuel the team with a deeper desire to get to the State Championship this season. “I expected to go to the State Championship because we were so close last year and how much the girls hated losing last year,” expressed Coach Buck.

With that fire now lit, the team went into the season more determined than ever. As the tough preseason schedule rolled through, the Panthers were at first discouraged at trying to execute winning the game, but knew in the long run that those preseason games had helped to prepare them for playoffs.

The first playoff game began with the CCS playoffs, Priory started as the Division V number one seeded team, and blew through CCS with wins over KIPP San Jose Collegiate, 64-24, St. Francis Salesian, 68-55, and for the CCS Championship, a victory over Castilleja, 72-32.

Moving on to NorCal playoffs, there was suddenly a new unexpected change. A new seeding model called “competitive equity” was introduced and teams in all divisions were separated by strength and not enrollment.

Priory has traditionally played in Division V, but with the competitive equity model in effect, the team was still seeded number one, but was bumped up to Division IV. This

would mean possibly competing against much larger schools. This change didn’t seem to discourage Priory in NorCal playoffs though, as it charged through game-bygame with victories over Moreau Catholic, 62-38, St. Bernard’s, 58- 40, and San Joaquin Memorial, 55-35. Now the team was in the same position as the previous season–the NorCal Championship game. A major benefit to being the number one seed is home court advantage. Priory was able to host the NorCal Championship at home in front of a jam-packed gym. Behind the chants and support of Priory students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, the team battled and came out victorious in a nail-biting triumph over Bradshaw Christian 59-58. History was made once again with the first NorCal Championship. “It just felt good to win a championship with people I love and hold close to my heart and to have people I love dearly supporting me,” said Reese about the historical win. “I cried. I was so excited, I’ve never felt this type of happiness ever.”

As NorCal Champs, that meant the team was going to the big game, the Division IV State Championships. The game would take place at the Golden One Center, the same arena that the Sacramento Kings call home. When Reese was asked about how she felt about playing at the Golden One Center, she was always reminded that it took the dedication and talent of the entire team to get there. “There’s no other group that I’d want to be able to experience this with. I was more happy for them to get an opportunity to play than myself,” Reese said with pride.

Coach Buck felt both anxious and determined going into the State Championship game. “Because of our up and down season, I am not sure anyone expected us to make it to the State Championship game,” he said. Coach Buck went on to explain, “Going into the State Championship game, we were very confident and prepared to play Rolling Hills Prep.”

On game day, the team calmly took to the court and began their warm up routine as Priory fans tried to fill the 17,608 seat capacity arena with their large presence of blue and white Priory attire, face paint, pom poms, and poster boards.

Priory was well represented by Joseph Calderon ’18, who stood center court to sing a beautiful performance of the national anthem. The team stood behind Joseph with a look of determination and pride.

The game against Rolling Hills was filled with emotional ups and down. Reese opened the second quarter with two back-to-back three-pointers and the crowd went insane. Ila Lane ’19, Anna Barton ’19, and Annabelle North ’20 all scored, but foul trouble was already looming by halftime. By the third quarter, Reese had fouled out and her playing time at the State Championship was over. Lane, Annie Boyle ’19, and Gabby Ruiz ’19 each stepped up to put points on the board, but Priory found itself with too many fouls and Rolling Hills was able to benefit from the foul line. As the last few seconds ticked down and Rolling Hills began to celebrate, the Priory team began to hug one another with pride in their hearts and tears in their eyes. The team had fought with tooth and nail, but would wind up losing 57-53. The team, coaches and fans all appeared slightly dazed at the loss as the awards ceremony commenced. “I honestly was stunned in the beginning but as I think about it, we developed some lifelong skills, and we got an experience of

our life,” Reese expressed. “It’s the process I’m proud of, we turned our L’s into lessons.” “This was the toughest loss I’ve ever had to endure because we put in so much time and I know how bad the girls wanted to win that game. I feel we let that game slip away from us,” explained Coach Buck. But being the exceptional teacher of the game, Coach Buck knew that this talented team has a bright future. “I am extremely proud to coach a group of girls that love one another, and played and practiced hard for five months,” he said. “Our goal next year is to win a State Championship and send our soon to be seniors off in style.” North was awarded the CIF Sportsmanship Award for her display of respect for the game and others at the State Championship game. The team and coaches took home the 2018 Division IV State Championship RunnerUp trophy, which now sits as a first of its kind in the Priory trophy room.