Girls Basketball: Windward Tops Saint Mary's in State Championship

Windward-Los Angeles 51, St. Mary's 47

The Star: Emily Vann, Shannon Mauldin and Gabby Green all scored in double figures for the Panthers.

The Turning Point: After tied the game at 47 late in the fourth quarter, Windward got a big 3-pointer form Jordin Canada which ultimately proved to be enough to give Windward the win.

What’s Next?: Saint Mary's graduates seven seniors, but will have Green and Mauldin, both starters, back next season.

Bottom Line: It was a game between two evenly matched teams and one the Panthers would love to have another crack at. Saint Mary's struggled to keep 6-foot-7 junior Imani Stafford off the boards and out of the paint as the big-time recruit went for 18 points and 19 rebounds. 

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It wasn't the storybook ending Emily Vann was looking for, but moments after the U.C. Davis-bound senior's career came to a close with a 51-47 loss to Windward of Los Angeles in the CIF Division IV state basketball championship, it was clear she was proud of her team's effort and accomplishments. 

"I just felt like we really represented our school well," she said. "Over the years we've just made history, so I'm really proud of everything we've done. We played a tough team (on Saturday). We played hard and we played well."

, which lost to Harvard-Westlake 58-44 in last year's championship, turned in a much better showing this time around.

An impressive drive by Shannon Mauldin (11 points) tied the game at 47 with under two minutes to play, but Windward's Jordin Canada hit the shot of the game moments later.

After a Windward timeout with a minute and five seconds left, the Wildcats (30-4) rotated the ball into 6-foot-7 Imani Stafford, who kicked it back out to Canada for three. 

Saint Mary's didn't respond and, after a Windward free throw made it a two-possesion game, the game was pretty much over.

"We want to give our respect to Saint Mary's," Windward coach Steve Smith said. "They were a great opponent. They played us tougher than anyone has played us all season and we want to congratulate them."

Since Stafford returned from injury in early January, Windward hasn't lost. Saturday's effort was the team's 20th-straight win and it snapped the Panthers' own 17-game win streak, which started to Division III state champion St. Mary's of Stockton.

Without Stafford in the lineup, Windward was still good enough to beat Carondelet. With her, the Wildcats proved to be even better.

"This is a team, it's not just me," said Stafford. "They won big games when I wasn't here. It's everyone. It's not me, it's not Jordin, it's all of us."

Stafford scored 18 points and pulled down 19 rebounds.

"We're not used to playing people who are bigger than us," said Vann, who scored 11 points. "Usually we're the biggest team."

It wouldn't come as a surprise if the Panthers made their way back to the state championship again next year. They'll return a sensational talent in sophomore-to-be Gabby Green (10 points) and will expect big things from Mauldin in her senior yeaur. 

They will, however, lose starters April Bernal, Cody Sims and Vann.

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Windward-Los Angeles 51, St. Mary's 47

1

2

3

4

F

Windward

20

10

13

8

51

SM

14

14

10

9

47

Individuals — (fg ftm tp)

Windward

Milica Toskovic 3 0-0 7, Courtney Jaco 1 0-2 3, Jordin Canada 5 1-3 12, Paris Baird 2 1-4 5, Imani Stafford 8 2-3 18, Troye Mosley 0 0-0 0, MacChiati Smith 2 2-2 6, Kristen Simon 0 0-2 0. Totals 21 6-16 51.

SM

April Bernal 1 0-0 2, Emily Vann 4 1-2 11, Cody Sims 3 0-0 7, Gabby Green 4 2-3 10, Shannon Mauldin 5 0-0 11, Mikayla Cowling 2 0-0 4, Mya'i Thomas 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 3-5 47.

3-point goals: Windward 3 (Toskovic, Jaco, Canada), St. Mary's 4 (Vann 2, Sims, Mauldin)

Records: St. Mary's 30-4, Windward 30-4

CIF Division IV State Finals, March 26, 2011

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Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give editor Emilie Raguso a call at 510-459-8325 or shoot her an e-mail at emilier@patch.com.