Miraculous march leads South City to CCS crown

South City’s dreams of taking home the program’s first-ever CCS title crushed? Guess again.

The Warriors (26-4) proved true to their name, putting forth a spectacular display of team basketball to overcome No. 2 Aptos 66-50 Saturday night at Piedmont Hills High School.

“We’re excited,” South City senior Jerlene Miller said. “It took us four years to get here.”

Cedeno has helped South City to the CCS playoffs for three straight years, and has suffered injuries in all three. In 2015, she left the Northern California playoff opener with a concussion and the Warriors saw a lead quickly shrivel into a 58-57 loss to Tamalpais. Last year in the PAL tournament finals, she was lost for the season with a knee injury.

South City head coach Paul Carion said the difference this year, with Cedeno suffering a severe ankle sprain in practice, that the Warriors had time to absorb the shock.

“Yeah, it was a shock,” Carion said. “We were all in shock. And we all stood around just kind of looking. But then we all settled down and said, OK, we’ve all got to step up … and they had a night to sleep on it and they knew.”

Freshman point guard Alex Salise stepped up big time, delivering a mighty effort than belied her 5-1 stature. While Miller filled up the stat sheet with a noble double-double effort of 19 points and 13 rebounds, Salise — in just her second varsity start — was the driving force.

“I felt defense won this game — and Alex Salise,” Carion said.

South City’s defense indeed wore down Aptos (25-4). But the Mariners led for most of the first half, answering a 22-22 tie with a pair of free throws to start an 8-2 run. Aptos was 10 of 10 from the stripe in the first half, and was on the verge of going into the locker room with momentum and a 36-27 lead when Salise turned into a magician.

Taking a full-court inbound pass with under four seconds remaining in the half, Salise drove past midcourt and heaved a 35-foot shot, around a defender no less, banking in a 3-pointer that sucked the air our of the Piedmont Hills gym with the collective gasp of the crowd.

“I just saw a lane I could take and I just sort of threw it up trying to hit the backboard, wishing it would bank in,” Salise said. “And then luckily it did.”

Down 36-32, Carion’s halftime message to his team was simple.

“Everybody walk out of this gym with an empty gas tank,” Carion said. “Everyone walks out with an empty tank, win or lose we’re going to be OK … and they did.”

Salise took the message to heart. She missed on her first attempt of the second half, but Miller forgave it with a put-back. Then Salise went to town, driving with abandon for back-to-back layups, one more acrobatic than the next, tying it 36-36.

Six lead changes followed, with a 3-pointer from senior Val Avila and two put-backs by Miller looming large for South City, the latter giving the Warriors a 45-44 advantage. It was the beginning of an 8-0 run that put Aptos on its heels.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Mariners closed it to 52-48 on a 3 by sophomore Gabby Giuffre. But Miller answered with a 19-foot jumper almost as improbable as Salise’s earlier 3-pointer.

“That’s her first outside shot of the season,” Carion said. “And that’s huge. … Not only has she not hit that shot all season, she hasn’t taken that shot all season.”

Aptos was spent by the fourth quarter. After a perfect run of free throws in the first half, the Mariners shot just 6 of 15 from the stripe in the second. The death knell came when 6-1 sophomore forward Natalia Ackerman (a game-high 21 points) fouled out with 4:55 remaining.

The Warriors had all their posts in foul trouble as well. Miller survived four fouls, but junior forward Karizma Bergesen — who by far played her season high in minutes — fouled out early in the fourth quarter and 6-foot junior Becca Tasi (seven points, five rebounds) fouled out with 2:25 to go.

But nothing, it seems, could stop South City’s miraculous march to the CCS crown.

“We wanted this really bad, especially our seniors who have been doing this for years,” Bergesen said. “So, we just came in here, we sat down and took a deep breath and realized what we needed to do … and we just took a deep breath and went for it.”

Senior guard Kayla Jew (11 points) finished off the win nailing three straight free throws.

And the Warriors celebrated with vigor.

“I can’t say I was surprised,” said Cedeno, who was front and center on the sideline all night, out of uniform and on crutches. “But I didn’t know they were going to come out this strong. They just had so much hunger in them.”