Windward Girls Win Section Title

A season-long quest has culminated in a CIF championship for the Windward School girls' basketball team, which routed Torrance Bishop Montgomery, 68-46, on Saturday to win the Southern Section Division 4AA title at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The Wildcats' size and depth proved too much for Bishop Montgomery, which was out-rebounded by a staggering 54-26 margin and allowed 18 second-chance points. The Knights' bench was also outscored 19-6. 

"We knew we were a deeper team than them, so the idea was to use our height advantage and pound it inside as often as we could to get them in foul trouble," Windward Coach Steve Smith said. "One of our strengths is that we have so many players who can score. We have six players who have scored over 200 points this season. Not too many high school teams in California can say that."

Four Windward players scored in double digits. Freshman guard Jordin Canada set the tone on the Wildcats' first possession, hitting a 15-foot jump shot that gave her team a lead it would never relinquish. She finished with 14 points and seven assists. Junior forward Imani Stafford added 12 points and 11 rebounds, freshman forward Kristen Simon had 11 points and 11 rebounds and sophomore guard Courtney Jaco added 10 points for Windward (25-4), which took a 31-18 halftime lead on Canada's 18-foot jumper at the buzzer.

"We had no doubt we'd get here," said guard Milica Toskovic, who had four points, eight rebounds and four assists. It's been our goal all year to win this, to get that championship. This was my last chance, so it meant a lot personally as well."

Toskovic, a 6' 2" senior who is headed for Dartmouth, said the top-seeded Wildcats did not underestimate their opponent, despite having beaten Bishop Montgomery in the regular season. "They have a lot of scrappy guards and we knew they weren't going to give up. We just stayed calm, played our game and took advantage of the matchups."

The top-seeded Wildcats outscored Bishop Montgomery 26-14 in the fourth quarter and as the boisterous Windward fans counted down the final seconds, Stafford hugged every teammate she could find. 

"I don't think it's hit me yet," Stafford said in the interview room later. "This was our year and we finally proved ourselves. I'm so happy for the seniors, that we could win this for them."

Half an hour after the game, the Windward players formed two lines outside of the locker room to greet the boys' squad, which was making its way to the court for its Division 4AA final game against Orange Lutheran. 

"Last year, both teams got runner-up," Stafford said. "Hopefully, this time we both can win it. The school chartered four charter buses to come. It seemed like our whole population was here, so we had a lot of support. Now it's time to go cheer on the boys!" 

The victory was vindication for Smith's team, which lost to Santa Maria St. Joseph 54-41 in the Division 4A final last year.

"We took our lumps last year and that helped us tremendously this time around," Smith said. "There's no better education than experience. Last year, [St. Joseph] were going for their third straight. We were confident but their experience really showed." 

Having achieved its first goal of winning the section title, Windward now sets its sights on the state tournament and, hopefully, a third crack at La Jolla Country Day of the San Diego Section, which dealt the Wildcats two of their losses this season.

"This team is on a mission to win state, so our work is by no means done," Smith said. "We'll enjoy this, but the season isn't over. We should be the No. 2 seed in the state playoffs [behind La Jolla Country Day] and it would be great if we get a chance to play them again."

On Wednesday, however, it was all about the section title and the Wildcats left no doubt that they are head and shoulders above any team in their division.