After a season that began in December and included 12 league contests and nine postseason games, all that stands between the St. Joseph girls’ basketball team and its first state championship in 20 years is 32 grueling minutes.
The common thread between the last championship team and this year’s Lady Knights is head coach Ed Torres, who’s done an admirable job keeping his talented team focused on the task at hand, while sounding a little like New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick in the process.
“Our goal has been to play hard every game,” Torres told the Sun. “We really worked on not looking too far ahead. All year, we said the most important game is the next game. We focused on looking at the season through a magnifying glass rather than a telescope.”
The 2010-11 season began with a disappointing 0-3 start, but Torres and his team didn’t panic. The Knights have gone an impressive 28-3 the rest of the way, by taking it one game at a time.
Like a snowball, the team kept rolling: Pac-7 League Championship? Check. CIF playoff berth? Check. Top-25 state ranking? Check. Division championship? Speed bump.
St. Joseph girls have already redeemed themselves once this postseason. On March 4, the No. 3-seeded Knights lost to the top-ranked Gardena Serra Cavaliers 66-58 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3-AA Championship game. The Knights, who took the 2010 Division 4-A title, were going after their third consecutive Southern Sectional championship.
As demoralizing and disappointing as the loss was, the Knights didn’t dwell on it. Instead, they chose to use it as fuel for their ultimate goal: the state title.
“We were disappointed in not winning that game,” Torres explained. “We didn’t play very well. [Serra] played better and deserved to win. But we turned that negative into a positive by re-focusing for the Regionals. The girls wanted the opportunity to play Serra again.”
St. Joseph earned a rematch with Serra in the Regional Final on March 19. This time, however, the Knights exacted sweet revenge on the Cavaliers by defeating them in their own backyard. The Knights raced to a 16-point halftime lead and withstood a final Serra rally to earn a 54-45 victory.
Advancing to the State Championship game on March 26 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, the Knights will take on the Bishop O’Dowd Dragons for the California Division 3 title. St Joe’s is ranked 22nd in the state, while Bishop O’Dowd is ranked 23rd. The Dragons boast three players standing 6-foot-2 or taller. The Knights are a relatively short team by comparison—aside from star center Aly Beebe—but this isn’t the first time they’ll be at a height disadvantage.
“If you block out, take care of the ball, and play team defense for 32 minutes, you can overcome many obstacles,” Torres said, “such as a team that is taller than you.”
One advantage the Knights will have is their experience—not just in their upperclassmen, but also with all those CIF playoff games over the past three seasons under their belt.
Last year, the Knights’ season ended at the hands of eventual state champions Harvard-Westlake. Four of the Knights’ starters are upperclassmen, and all of them have been playing varsity ball since they were freshmen. Add in a couple more seniors and a few talented underclassmen, and you have the recipe for one talented and battle-tested squad.
“All that playoff experience has been key to our success, because once you get into the playoffs, every game is much more intense and physical,” Torres explained. “You have to be mentally tough. So experience sure comes in handy.”
One advantage Bishop O’Dowd won’t have is home-court advantage, despite being about 250 miles closer to the game site. St. Joseph travels well—so much so that in the Regional Final, Knights’ fans actually outnumbered Serra supporters, despite their opponent’s proximity to the Galen Center on the University of Southern California campus.
“Our players can hear our crowd, and wherever we play, we have just as many fans. It should neutralize any kind of advantage O’Dowd might have,” Torres explained. “It’s a positive for us to have that kind of following, but ultimately the game will be decided on the court between the two teams.”
As far as routines go, the Knights aren’t doing anything different in preparation for the final; it’s business as usual. The coaching staff continues to emphasize the same things it’s emphasized all year: playing sound team defense, hitting the open player on offense, and, most importantly, playing hard for the entire game. It’s what got them this far, and it’s what will give them their best chance at victory.
“Having the opportunity to play in a state championship game is the ultimate,” Torres said. “Any team’s goal is to win your last game. Not a lot of teams have the opportunity to finish their season with a win.”
The Knights have earned their opportunity; now they have 32 minutes to finish the job.
Intern Jacob Lopez wrote this in 32 minutes, give or take. Contact him at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 24-31, 2011.