Crystal Springs Uplands on the map with first-ever CCS girls' basketball championship

The Gryphons, while not exactly where they wanted to be, nonetheless did not panic. They stuck to their aggressive style over the final two quarters, outscoring Summit Shasta 29-10 in the second half to pull out a 51-44 win for the program's first CCS title.

“This happened to us before,” Crystal Springs' Jemma Lacap said of the halftime deficit. “We knew not to get flustered.”

The freshman Lacap had a big hand in the rally on her way to scoring a game-high 23 points, with 11 coming in the decisive fourth quarter. It was a personal 7-0 run from Lacap that gave the top-seeded Gryphons (9-1) the lead midway through the final period. She knocked down Crystal's only 3-pointer of the game, draining it from the top of the key to cut the Summit lead to 40-38.

Lacap followed with a pull-up jumper on the next possession and another J with 4:02 left gave the Gryphons their first lead since leading 18-17 with 7:15 left in the first half. The Gryphons then pulled away down the stretch to ice the victory.

“We've practiced for these situations,” said Crystal Springs head coach Sean Mulhern. “They don't get concerned being down in the fourth.”

For third-seeded Summit Shasta (11-4), the second-half swoon was the complete opposite of the first half. After a slow start behind the 3-point line, the Black Bears started to find the range. AJ Paulino, Alison Blair and Jackie Devis all hit first-quarter 3s as Summit rebounded from a 6-0 Crystal Springs run to open the game.

When Alexis Cornejo drained a 3 to open the second quarter, Summit took their first lead of the game, 17-16. Three more 3s in the second quarter — including a banked 3 from Kamille Cayas with 33 seconds left in the half — helped give the Black Bears a 34-22 lead at the break.

The Black Bears shot 7 for 14 from behind the arc in the first half, but in the second, they only connected on 1 of 16 attempts.

“Tale of two halves,” said Summit Shasta's first-year coach Jerrod Nodar. “In the second half, I think we ran out of gas. When we're not hitting (3-pointers) we try to drive to the basket more. But I think we got tired and we settled (for 3s) a little more than we normally do.”

Caelan De Vera led the Black Bears with 10 points and Paulino added 9.

The cold shooting allowed the Gryphons to do what they do best: pound the glass. Crystal Springs dominated the boards, out-rebounding Summit 45-27, led by freshman Raelyn Dela Cruz, who pulled down 16 rebounds while chipping in 11 points, the bulk of those coming from the free-throw line.

The Gryphons doubled up the Black Bears in the rebounding department in the third quarter as Crystal Springs started chipping away at Summit's lead. When Lacap converted a lay-up in transition late in the third quarter, the Gryphons trailed 39-31 going into the final eight minutes.

“When they came to the bench, one of my girls said, 'We won that quarter,'” Mulhern said. “That's the mentality we had.”

Added Lacap: “We were just trying to get (the deficit) under double digits.”

The Black Bears still had the lead, however, but as shot after shot clanged off the rim, the Gryphons started to turn the tide. Crystal Springs used a 12-2 to start the fourth to take the lead and then closed out its first championship with a 8-2 run.

“They don't get scared in these moments,” Mulhern said of his team. “Stay the course and do what we do.”