Daily Journal Sports File CSM’s Janisa Jones was part of an all-freshmen team that led the Lady Bulldogs to their first postseason appearance since 2002.

The postseason drought is finally over for two of the four programs in San Mateo County. The Skyline men and CSM women are in the Northern California playoffs for the first time since 2002, while the Skyline women earned a trip to the regionals for the second straight year. First-round games begin today, with the Skyline men playing at West Valley and CSM playing at Sacramento City. The Skyline women eared a first-round bye and plays at Lassen on Friday. Tip-off time for all three games is 7 p.m.

“I’m just glad to be back (in the playoffs),” CSM coach Michelle Warner said. “It (the feeling of making it) was more of relief that we finally made it again.”

Even though CSM and the Skyline men were seeded 17th out of a 18-team field, both were virtual locks to make it in based on the strength of their records and conferences, the ultra-tough Coast North Division. CSM had a solid 18-12 overall record but finished just 4-6 in North Division action. However, a 4-6 mark in one of the highest rated conferences was good enough since the Bulldogs did so well in non-conference action.

The Skyline men, meanwhile, didn’t have a glittering overall record at 17-13, but it went 6-6 in North Division play, good for sole possession of third-place. That’s no small feat considering the teams that finished ahead of the Trojans are state powers City College of San Francisco and Ohlone-Fremont. They were able to place above Chabot, Foothill and Las Positas, three very tough teams.

“Finishing in sole possession of third place in our league is a monumental achievement,” Trojans coach Justin Piergrossi said. “I’m extremely happy for our sophomores because the two best years we’ve had (since Piergrossi took over five years ago) has been with this group. It’s going to be difficult to say goodbye to these guys.”

Piergrossi hopes to delay those well wishes for as long as possible. In matching up with No. 16 seed West Valley (20-12), the second-place finisher in the Coast South Division, Skyline has an opponent it is familiar with. The two teams played in the Skyline tournament on Dec. 13, with the Vikings prevailing, 68-62. Since then a lot has transpired and Piergrossi is confident his team can do the necessary things to make sure the rematch goes differently.

The Trojans have taken traits from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season, as they’ve looked like a completely different team from one game to the next. However, they’re probably playing their best and most consistent basketball of the season, and they’ll need to be strong once again if they expect to advance to the next round. Skyline wasn’t at its best in its regular season finale Saturday, a 58-55 win over Cañada.

The Trojans blew a 13-point lead midway through the second quarter and was down by six points with three minutes remaining. But they dug deep, displayed mental toughness and made some big plays to overtake the Colts at the end. Skyline held Cañada without a field goal for the final 3 minutes, 14 seconds, ending the game on a 11-2 run.

Had Skyline lost, Piergrossi feels his team still would have made the playoffs, but funny things tend to happen during the seeding meeting. Saturday’s victory basically locked up a postseason berth. Mike Lavelle scored a career-high 20 points — including four 3-pointers — and Ronney Freeman and Shawn Echols finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Only five players scored for Skyline — all sophomores.

“There’s nothing like having sophomores (in crunch time),” Piergrossi said. “They’re there to win games like that. There was no panic in them (with three minutes left), and they were probably more calm than we (coaching staff) were. We had to dig deep and make plays with our season on the line. They willed us to victory.”

The Trojans’ formula for success is simple: When they make outside shots — Ronney Freeman and Lavelle have been hot from the outside as of late — they usually win. When they struggle from the perimeter, their offense usually bogs down in the halfcourt and they struggle to score. It’s as simple as that. Lavelle has been somewhat of a revelation, as the sharpshooter has come up with a couple of huge games in the last two weeks. The sophomore struggled with his shot for most of the year but has come on strong recently. And Ronney Freeman drilled a career-high six 3-pointers in a win two weeks ago.

“They were good shooters who were missing for a long time,” Piergrossi said. “They both shot well last season, so it’s not a surprise they’re shooting the ball well now.”

On the women’s front, CSM is facing a Sacramento City team it has not played this season. But Warner knows the college well, having served as an assistant coach there in 1992-94. Warner said the teams are pretty similar in that they’re both athletic and like to get up and down the floor. The key for CSM is not beating itself.

If the Bulldogs stay patient offensively and limit their turnovers — mind you, that’s two big ifs — they’ll probably come out on top, which would set up a second-round matchup with Coast North member CCSF. Meanwhile, Skyline is in its third year back after the program took a 26-year hiatus, but it didn’t take long for it to have success.

The Trojans have been remarkably consistent, putting together winning streaks of four games three times — including the current run they’re on — and an 11-game unbeaten mark that started Dec. 1 of last year and didn’t get snapped until Jan. 14. Coach Trisha Hosley took over last year and got the Trojans to the playoffs, and they upgraded this year’s squad with the addition of former Aragon High standouts Katie and Laura Zasly.

The two combined for 35 points in the team’s regular season finale Saturday, a 64-54 win over Laney.

Forward Danielle Simon (14 points) has been a key addition this season, providing Skyline with toughness and rebounding against taller and bigger teams.