When St. Joseph High School basketball coach Ron Barba brought his varsity girls’ team together in Phoenix after a Nike summer tournament loss to Burbank’s Bellarmine-Jefferson High School, the motto became his team’s mantra.
“We had to get these kids to buy into this thing,” Barba said. “We’ve said it in every practice, and we’ve been dialed into that theme all year.”
After coming oh-so-close to bringing home California Interscholastic Federation varsity-AA gold over the past three seasons—but losing in the quarterfinals each year—the Lady Knights finally got the monkey off their collective back in 2008-09. The team advanced to the finals and won the CIF Southern Section Division championship on March 7, defeating Serra of Gardena 45-39 in Santa Ana. The win brought St. Joseph its first CIF divisional title since 1991, the year the school won the state title.
The Knights entered the CIF State Division IV Southern Regional tournament as the eighth seed, a ranking that left Barba and his players feeling slighted.
“We felt our strength of schedule was good enough to get us a higher seed,” Barba said. “But I guess you’ve got to play the best to be the best.”
They’ll get their shot at the top against regional No. 1 seed Bishop’s School of La Jolla. As of press time on March 10, the team was on a bus headed south, fresh off a 68-30 beating of ninth-ranked L.A.C.E.S of Los Angeles. The victory marked the Knights’ 10th straight win.
No matter where the postseason ends, Barba said he is “ecstatic” for his team and considered the run a significant achievement for a squad comprised of just three seniors and six underclassmen.
“It’s a great accomplishment. I can’t tell you how happy I am for them,” he said of his players. “There were a lot of doubters thinking that with eight kids, we couldn’t do it, but I think we’re having the last laugh with it.”
The road to the regional championship began well before the playoffs began—one year ago in fact, according to Barba. Stung by last season’s loss at home to Palmdale’s Knight High School in the CIF Southern quarterfinals, Barba said the frustration of getting to the cusp and walking away empty-handed again made his team hungry for more in 2009.
“I think they realized they let an opportunity go by,” Barba said. “We felt like we could win the league ,and we felt a little short-changed afterwards, but I think you realize that sometimes having that taste is what will make you get past that.”
Barba, who has compiled more than 110 wins in his five years at St. Joseph, sat down with his coaching staff before the start of this season and told them what was missing from his team was an on-the-court leader.
That leader emerged this season in all-purpose, do-everything senior Ane McPike. A two-time Los Padres League Most Valuable Player, McPike led the league in scoring overall in 2008-09, averaging 15.2 points per game. She finished fourth overall in rebounding..
“She hasn’t let me down once,” Barba said of his star player. “It’s been true leadership on her end. I think we both have a mutual respect for how we do things. She’s kind of the extension of the coach. She provides the leadership on the floor.”
In the past two seasons with McPike, St. Joseph has gone 53-5. The 5-foot-11 forward and guard credited a tough pre-season schedule—which saw the team play in multiple tournaments and more than 50 summer games—for the difference this season.
“We’re finally where we wanted to be for the past couple of years,” McPike said. “All the dedication and all the hard hours we put into it really paid off.”
Traveling on the road together so much in the off-season improved the team on an intangible level as well, according to McPike.
“We keep getting closer and closer,” she said of her teammates. “Since we’re all really good friends, it just helps our team chemistry, especially on the court.”
Starting sophomore point guard Brianna Bognuda, who led the team in assists this season, said they’ve always had a close bond.
“We were a family [last year] and we’re a family now,” Bognuda said. “We stick together.”
Priding themselves on their defense, the Lady Knights shut down opponents on a regular basis this season, holding the other teams to an average of 19 points per game. The team outscored opponents by a nearly two-to-one margin. The squad finished the season with a perfect 12-0 in Los Padres varsity league play and a 27-2 regular season record going into the CIF Southern Section finals.
Coach Barba said his toughest job at this point is keeping the team focused on the goals they set in the off-season amid all the attention that comes with playoff success.
“Sometimes you get distracted with all the hoopla,” he explained. “Regardless of where we end, it’s been a great season, but when you get this close, you don’t want to lose it to being just happy to be there.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas is happy to be here. Tell him not to lose focus at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 12-19, 2009.