Girls Basketball: Pilots Win First-Ever NCS Championship

St. Joseph Notre Dame 52, Rincon Valley Christian 29 

The star: Desiree Harris led the Pilots with 14 points.

The turning point: St. Joe’s started the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back.

The quote: “This is a great, historic win for our program. But it just gets us one step closer to our ultimate goal.” -St. Joe’s coach Julianne Berry

Bottom line: The Pilots dominated en route to their first North Coast Section championship. It was an impressive performance by the entire team, for the entire game.

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There were smiles and high-fives, with a few fist pumps and claps scattered in between. But after St. Joseph Notre Dame defeated Rincon Valley Christian 52-29 on Friday, the Pilots’ celebration was subdued.

You wouldn’t have known they’d just earned the biggest win in school history.

St. Joe’s rolled to its first ever North Coast Section championship by beating the Eagles, but with the state tournament still looming, the Pilots are not yet satisfied.

“This is a great, historic win for our program,” Pilots coach Julianne Berry said afterwards. “But it just gets us one step closer to our ultimate goal.”

St. Joe’s rolled to a 9-0 run to start the game, and from there, they never trailed.

“The first two minutes were great for us,” Berry said. “But we knew that it’s a 32-minute game. We got a little complacent at points.”

But never complacent enough to let the Eagles back in it. The Pilots dominated on the strength of their backcourt, as they were led by Desiree Harris’ 14 points. Monina Cuyugan finished second on the team with 12 points, and Jessica De Mesa chipped in 8.

“It all starts with our guards,” Berry said. “They bring the energy. They were getting in the passing lanes, shutting them down on defense, and our offense went from there.”

After a grinding first half in which the Pilots outscored the Eagles 20-14, the game’s pace took off in the third quarter, and St. Joe’s went on to score 32 second-half points. And eventually, the veteran-laden team earned its biggest victory yet.

“We have a lot of players who have been a part of this program for all four years,” Berry said. “They’ve been developing to get to this point. They earned it.”

St. Joseph Notre Dame 52, RVCHS 29