From the sports archives: Notre Dame-Belmont girls' basketball takes Central Coast Section Division IV title

The Tigers were out-rebounded, scored just two points in the third quarter and scored a total of just 33 points.

None of that matters, however. The only thing that matters is the Tigers will be hanging their first CCS basketball championship banner since 1999 in their gym as the second-seeded Tigers held off Scotts Valley, 33-29 Friday afternoon at Santa Clara University.

"That's pretty much how all our games go," said Emily Morris, the Tigers' senior center, who scored a game-high 15 points. "The fact we kept them under 30 (points) is what we want to do every game.

"I'm really proud of this team. I couldn't be happier."

The win also means the Tigers will have at least one more home game this season. By advancing to the CCS championship game, they also secured a spot in the Northern California playoffs and will host a first-round game next week.

Notre Dame, which led for most of the game, trailed by one, 29-28, with a minute to play, but scored five points in the final 40 seconds to clinch the title. The Falcons' leading scorer Liz Munger, who was held to just eight points, hit a short jumper in the lane to give her team the lead. But with 40 seconds to play, Notre Dame's Katie Flaherty, in foul trouble all game long, drained the second of her two, fourth-quarter 3-pointers to put the Tigers up 31-29.

Following a Scotts Valley timeout, the Falcons set up in their half-court offense. As the shot clock wound down, the Falcons hurried a shot that missed and was rebounded by Morris, who was fouled. She hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 2.7 seconds remaining to ice the game.

"We're not a team that makes a lot of 3-pointers," said Notre Dame coach Josh Davenport. "We're an inside focus team. They were sagging (on Morris) and we needed someone to step up."

As is usually the case at the CCS basketball championships, both teams struggled with shooting, finding it hard to adjust to the tight rims. The Falcons were not much better, shooting just 26 percent from the floor.

But with a team like Notre Dame (14-14), which wins games on defense, poor shooting is not always a death knell. The Tigers didn't get on the scoreboard until more than four minutes had ticked off the clock. Scotts Valley (22-6) struggled from the outset as well, but held a 4-0 lead early.

"We always struggle to shoot," Davenport said. "It's our defense that keeps us in games."

The Falcons kept the Tigers in the game, however, by turning the ball over nine times in the first quarter alone and finished with 23 turnovers to go with 10 Notre Dame steals. Morris finally broke the seal on a dribble-drive layup with 3:26 to play in the first quarter. She added another basket a minute later and had two free throws to tie the game at 6. With 41 seconds left in the quarter, Amanda Dames hit one of two free throws to put the Tigers up 7-6 after one period.

Notre Dame would not trail again until the final minute.

The Tigers found their range in the second quarter. Point guard Janet Brazil went coast to coast for a layup to put her team up 9-6. Morris followed with a reverse layup before Cynthia White and Brazil hit back-to-back 3s to put the Tigers up 18-12 at halftime.

The third quarter was the game's low point as the two teams combined to score nine points. The Falcons did a slightly better job, scoring seven and tying the score at 20 heading into the final eight minutes.

Scotts Valley can thank its strong rebounding in the third quarter for getting the Falcons back in the game, as they pulled down 12 boards in the third quarter alone.

"Scotts Valley did a tremendous job on the boards," Davenport said. "(But) we were not rattled by a low-scoring quarter."

The Falcons out-rebounded the Tigers 31-24.

Notre Dame regained the lead early in the fourth quarter as Morris scored on a putback and hit 1 of 2 free throws.

The Falcons closed to a point, 23-22, before Flaherty hit the first of her 3-pointers. Scotts Valley responded with a 3 of its own before the Tigers ran a perfect inbound play under the basket that saw Dames score on a wide open layup.

Scotts Valley responded with a 5-0 run to take its last lead of the game, setting the final frantic minute.

"I've been thinking about this (winning a CCS championship) since I started at Notre Dame in 1993," said Davenport, who is in his third season as the head coach.

"I wanted one of my own. It's nice to give back (to the school) one of my own."